Cows lead police ‘directly' to suspect who fled after a traffic stop in North Carolina

North Carolina authorities were assisted by an unexpected group of animals in their pursuit of a suspect last week. Hint: It wasn’t a K-9 unit. 

Boone Police Department officers were conducting a routine traffic stop on Tuesday when a suspect fled the scene in his car and then on foot. The suspect, Joshua Minton, abandoned his vehicle in Watauga County and ran toward an undeveloped area, authorities said. 

“Due to the suspect’s fast and reckless driving our officers were not close enough to see exactly where the suspect ran,” Boone police said in a news release. 

Authorities were searching the nearby area when they were greeted by local cows. Police say the cows led them “directly to where the suspect was hiding.” 

“Apparently cows do not want suspected criminals loitering in their pasture,” Boone police said in a Facebook post. “The cows communicated with the officers as best they could and finally just had the officers follow them to the suspect’s location.”

Authorities arrested Minton on multiple charges including felony flee/eluding arrest with a motor vehicle, driving with a revoked license and disorderly conduct. 

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More cows in the department to help fight crime? 

The police department made light of the incident on its Facebook page saying they never considered exploring how cows could help them fight crime until last week. 

“We at the Boone Police Department are always looking for better ways to serve our community," police said. "We may be a small town; but we are a progressive, forward thinking law enforcement agency." 

But before cows can join the department, police have questions, including if the cows are adaptable to a variety of police work, if the cows are more cost effective than K-9 dogs and how police will transport them to scenes.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cows lead North Carolina police directly to suspect who fled on foot