Burglary suspects caught near Palmer

PALMER -- Alaska State Troopers and patrol officers from the Palmer Police Department joined forces and used a hi-tech tool in a 90-minute hunt for two burglary suspects last week.

The suspects were found about 200 meters from the site of a home burglary with help from a hand-held Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) device, a camera that "sees" infrared radiation and turns heat into pictures.

Troopers say Wasilla residents Shane A. Martin, 25, and Anthony D. Hanson, 22, were found hiding under a fallen spruce tree as a result. Both men were charged with first-degree burglary.

About 2 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 21, troopers responded to a 911 call reporting a burglary at an unoccupied house on Seagull Drive in a subdivision off 49th State Street, outside of Palmer. The house had an unplowed driveway and troopers found boot tracks in the snow both in the driveway and around the house leading up to various doors and windows, troopers wrote in an affidavit supporting charges against Martin.

Troopers called Palmer Police Department for assistance with the FLIR. The device looks and operates much like a video camera. Its lens is about four inches in diameter, convex and reflective like chrome. The thermal images it creates are displayed as black and white pictures on an eyepiece video display. The Palmer police own a hand-held FLIR built by Raytheon and occasionally lend it to local troopers.

"Frequently, with fleeing suspects we can track them 15 or 20 minutes after they are gone just by looking at their footprints," Palmer Police Sergeant Lance Ketterling said. "It's police proof, just about anybody can use it if we can, but it also has bells and whistles features."

In a demonstration last week the hand-held FLIR also proved to be newspaper reporter proof. Ketterling showed how sensitive the thermal camera was by leaving traces of his own hand print on a metal door. He touched the door for about 30 seconds and his hand print was visible with the FLIR for about a minute afterwards. The FLIR can't detect heat patterns through glass -- point it at a window and it shows a reflection of the heat given off by the person pointing the FLIR.

"Every technology has its limitations," Ketterling said "There are some situations where a regular camera would be more useful."

But for finding someone in the woods after dark the FLIR is becoming law enforcement's tool of choice. Thermal imaging technology is also being used in medical imaging, by firefighters to detect hot spots, by building engineers to detect heat loss through roofs, and by industrial mechanics to inspect bearings.