A man caught breaking into an Arlington, Massachusetts, home by its returning owner on Saturday led police on a chase on foot on the frozen Mystic River, police said.
He was eventually arrested after falling through the ice along with a police dog that officers sent after him, officials said.
Joseph Kahler, a 30-year-old last known to live in Weymouth, faces charges of breaking and entering, resisting arrest, failing to stop for police and drug possession, Arlington police said Sunday. A woman who'd been with Kahler but wasn't identified was issued a summons after officers found she was wanted on outstanding warrants.
Officers were first called on Saturday about 1:15 p.m., the owner of a home on Mystic Lake Drive arrived with their children to find Kahler walking through the yard to a U-Haul truck parked outside and the kitchen window open, police said.
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Police found the U-Haul after it drove off and followed it, they said. The truck stopped several blocks away and its two occupants, Kahler and the woman, allegedly got out and ran off.
While the woman was quickly taken into custody, Kahler took longer to find, according to the police account. Witnesses told officers he was walking along the nearby Mystic River, then went underneath the River Street Bridge. Officers found him on the other side, after apparently walking across the ice.
Officers chased after Kahler, and they sent a K-9 named Eiko after him when he allegedly wouldn't stop. Kahler ran onto the ice, where he and the dog fell through -- the K-9 was called back to land before reaching Kahler, police said.
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Kahler stood up in the river and wouldn't come out, including when officers threw him a safety line, police said. He was pulled out when an officer went out; he was later treated and released from the hospital, while the woman he'd been with was evaluated at a hospital and wasn't arrested on charges in Saturday's incident.
Officers later found that the U-Haul was stolen and had what's believed to be heroin inside.
Kahler is due in Cambridge District Court to face charges on Tuesday. It wasn't immediately clear if he had an attorney.
Arlington Police Chief Julie Flaherty on Sunday commended the officers who took the suspected burglar and his companion into custody.
"Thankfully, our officers, drawing on their training, experience and professionalism, brought a safe conclusion to this incident," Flaherty said in a statement. "I would also like to thank the bystanders who reported seeing the suspect at various points and ultimately assisted officers in locating him."
