ST. CLAIR TWP., Ohio — The Butler County Sheriff's Office found the man it was searching for in a St. Clair Township pond after a suspected burglary attempt and arrested him.
Around 5:20 a.m. Thursday, deputies said they responded to a business alarm in the 4000 block of Hamilton Trenton Road in St. Clair Township. Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones said 40-year-old Mathias Jones was attempting to steal a catalytic converter when deputies arrived. Jones fled and was chased by a deputy on foot. During the pursuit, Jones was seen entering a body of water to escape.
Sheriff Jones said the deputy shouted for the suspect to stop when he went in the water, which Jones described as "cold and dark."
The sheriff's office's emergency response services team searched the water for more than eight hours before calling it quits due to darkness.
Sheriff Jones did not elaborate on where they found the man, only saying that it was "suspected Jones was able to make it out of the water safely" and that they spent hours searching the water for "precautionary reasons."
Jones is charged with breaking and entering, a fifth-degree felony.
If anyone has any information regarding this incident, you're asked to call the non-emergency dispatch line at 513-785-1300.
Helicopter is flying over the pond and circling the area @WCPO pic.twitter.com/E1ExQctG7b
— Taylor Nimmo (@tnimms) October 27, 2022
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