With air support

Police dog “Thor” tracked down fugitive in cornfield

Service dog "Thor" with group inspector Erwin H.

(Bild: LPD Steiermark)

A drug driver (28) from Graz fled 25 kilometers from the police in his car on Tuesday night, before being tracked down by a police dog in a corn field in southern Styria. Support was provided from the air by a police helicopter with a thermal imaging camera. The man from Graz is in custody.

Shortly before 9.30 p.m., a police patrol wanted to stop the driver of a silver BMW in Alte Poststraße after he had attracted attention due to his conspicuous and unsafe driving style. But instead of stopping, the driver stepped on the gas and fled. He accelerated his car and sped through the city of Graz at high speed in a southerly direction. He may also have endangered passers-by in the process.

Near collision with a police car
Numerous police patrols took up the pursuit of the BMW, which sped through Raaba-Grambach, Hausmannstätten, Fernitz-Mellach and Wildon to Allerheiligen bei Wildon. The police patrols were hot on his heels. At a mobile roadblock on the L371, the 28-year-old raced straight towards an unmarked police patrol equipped with blue lights - before swerving to the right off-road shortly before a collision.

BMW got stuck in the mud
There he continued his escape for a short time before his vehicle got stuck in the muddy ground and he ran off on foot into a large corn field. The police surrounded the field and called for assistance from the air. The crew of a police helicopter was able to locate the fugitive with a thermal imaging camera and direct their colleagues to the man's location from the air.

The 28-year-old ignored numerous requests to surrender. A police dog patrol - Malinois "Thor" and service dog handler Erwin P. - finally tracked the man down in the field at around midnight after almost three hours on the run. The fugitive was stopped by the sheepdog and then - distracted by the dog's barking - was overpowered by the police officer.

Police officers arrested the man and transferred him to the police detention center in Graz, where he is currently in custody. A medical examination revealed a minor injury to the man's foot. He probably sustained the injury during his escape in the Maisacker. All police officers remained unharmed during this operation.

Various drugs in the car
Officers seized large quantities of various narcotics in the BMW. Investigations revealed that the license plates used on the vehicle had also been stolen. They came from the car of an 85-year-old lady who had not used her vehicle for some time. It is also unclear where the BMW came from.

Further investigations are currently underway regarding the seized drugs. The 28-year-old himself has not yet been questioned and is in custody until further notice. The public prosecutor's office in Graz has ordered an examination of his blood.