WOODWAY, Texas (KXXV) — Police in Woodway used an unusual clue to solve a recent burglary case — footprints left in the snow that revealed the suspect's distinctive limp.
Officers were called to a home on Catalina Drive on January 22 after getting reports of someone trying to break into the home. When they arrived, the suspect was gone, but police believe the same person appeared on Ring camera video days later breaking into a vacant home in the same neighborhood.
That's when detectives discovered something in the snow that would crack the case wide open.
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"The suspect had a specific walk. He had a limp to his walk, so every step he took, one of his feet dug into the snow specifically, so they were able to look at that footprint and see that that leg was digging into the snow in the entirety of the investigation," Khali El-Halibi said. El-Halibi serves as Woodway's public safety director.
The footprints led officers to a third home where they believed the suspect was staying, but he wasn't there. Hours later during a routine traffic stop, an officer recognized the passenger as the same man from the burglary footage.
"The traffic stop led to a huge break in the case with the individual still wearing the exact same shoes that he was wearing when he actually committed the crime," El-Halibi said.
The man is now in custody and charged with burglary of habitation.
Taylor Walton, a Woodway resident, said he wasn't surprised police were able to catch the suspect using footprint evidence.
"Not surprised that they were able to catch a criminal based off of a footprint, definitely thankful for what they do here," Walton said.
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