Water search for fleeing burglary suspect underway in Butler County pond

ST. CLAIR TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WXIX) - A water search continues in Butler County after a fleeing suspect jumped into a large pond but deputies didn’t see him come out.

The Butler County Emergency Response Team is on the scene at Riverside Road off Hamilton Trenton Road in St. Clair Township.

“This is not a life-saving effort right now,” Sheriff Richard Jones said in an interview at the scene several hours after the man went missing. “If he’s in the water, this is a recovery.”

Deputies responded to a burglar alarm around 6 a.m. at the old VFW Hall in the 4000 block of Hamilton Trenton Road.

Sheriff Jones says a deputy saw a piece of equipment being dragged out of the building and when he looked underneath a car in the parking lot he saw a man trying to remove the vehicle’s catalytic converter.

Jones said the suspect saw the deputy, ran across the street and then went into a pond that opens up and leads to Four Mile Creek.

The deputies tried to get the man out of the water but by the time they got to the bank they lost sight of him.

Sheriff’s officials have not yet been able to determine the man’s identity.

If anyone has any information regarding this incident, please call the non-emergency dispatch line at 513-785-1300.

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