SANFORD, Fla. – A car thief bailed out of the stolen car and hoofed it Monday. However, a herd of cows corralled the suspect and led police to her, according to Seminole County Sheriff's Office helicopter video.
Sanford police said they spotted a stolen Subaru SUV from Brevard County Monday near Celery and Locust avenues and attempted to make a traffic stop. The driver of the Subaru kept going, running a stop sign, and crashed into a ditch near Celery and Sipes avenues, according to the police report.
Police said the driver, Jamie Young, 46, ran into a pasture to the east and the passenger, Jennifer Kaufman, ran into a cow pasture to the south of the crash. Another passenger stayed at the crash scene and was arrested, according to police.
Young was found hiding in some bushes and arrested with the help of K-9s, according to the report. However, the Seminole County Sheriff's Office aerial alert team continued to track Kaufman running through the cow pasture, where she would soon meet the bovines who would become her undoing.
In the aerial video recording, the pilot advised Sanford police "for a good visual" to look for the "large group of cows" chasing the suspect.
Richard Kondracki said he's been living along Sipes Avenue for decades with dozens of cattle on this property. He said he has never had a problem with the bovines acting aggressive, but then again, he's never had someone run through his field.
"I think they didn't realize who they were,” he said. “They panicked. The cows were nervous. That would make me panic — if all those big cows come running at you. They didn't know them. They don't know if they're there to hurt them, or steal one of the babies.”
The video shows Kaufman running across the field with about 20 cows close on her tail. One cow even looks like it tried to catch her, eventually herding the suspect to authorities.
“You don’t want to mess with it — any animal, whether it’s a cow, an elephant or a cat. You don’t mess with the babies,” Kondracki said.
"A group of cows provided law enforcement a big assist, repeatedly following and helping corral one who strayed onto their turf," the Sheriff's Office said in the video shared on social media.
Kaufman and Young are charged with drug possession, resisting arrest, trespassing and petit theft.
Watch the bovine takedown in the video player at the top of this story.