Morris County Sheriff’s drone, K-9 teams help capture burglary suspects in Chester Township
CHESTER TOWNSHIP, N.J. (Monday) — A Morris County Sheriff’s Office police canine team, assisted by drone technology, helped locate and apprehend three burglary suspects last year following a reported break-in at Chester Middle School, authorities said Thursday.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, the incident occurred Oct. 15, 2025, at about 7:07 p.m., when a sheriff’s K-9 unit was requested to assist Chester Police with a burglary investigation at the school, located at 133 North Road.
Chester police officers reported that three males had forcefully entered the school and were later seen fleeing into an adjacent field and wooded area. A trained police dog was requested to assist in locating the suspects.
Members of the Morris County Sheriff’s Office who responded included Corporal Bajceski, Officer Wood, Officer Mitchell, Officer Silvernagel and Corporal Williams. Upon arrival, officers issued multiple verbal announcements over a public address system warning the suspects to surrender.
K-9 Axe, a certified patrol dog, was deployed and quickly located a trail of human scent leading from the field toward the wooded area where the suspects were last seen. While the K-9 team continued tracking, Corporal Williams used a drone to scout the area and detected a heat signature approximately 200 feet from the dog’s location.
As officers approached, additional warnings were issued. The suspect was found hiding roughly 10 feet from the K-9 and surrendered without incident, authorities said. The individual was taken into custody by Chester police.
K-9 Axe was then used to continue searching for the remaining suspects. During that effort, Officer Mitchell located two additional individuals matching the suspects’ descriptions in the center of Chester. Chester police responded and took those individuals into custody without incident.
Officers later conducted a search of Chester Middle School to assess for damage or theft. Authorities said the inspection found no damage, missing property or conditions posing a danger to students or staff.
The incident was closed without further action, and officials credited coordination between local police, the sheriff’s K-9 unit and drone technology for the successful outcome.
