Bellevue Police K9 units and King County Sheriff’s police helicopter engaged in a late-night chase Nov. 20 to catch a suspect accused of stealing a car in Bellevue last month.

A Bellevue Police officer was on patrol when he spotted a Nissan Pathfinder with a license plate that didn’t match the vehicle description. It was later determined that the car had been stolen last month out of Clyde Hill and the license plates were stolen off a Chevy van in Seattle.

“Often times, suspects that steal vehicles will switch the license plates to avoid detection,” said Bellevue Police spokesperson Seth Tyler.

The officer pulled the car over due to the suspicious nature of the switched license plates, but the driver fled the scene on foot, evading the officer by jumping over a number of fences the Lewis Creek area.

Guardian One, the King County Sheriff’s police helicopter, was called in to assist in the chase.

“They were called to assist due to their ability to search a much larger area than ground units.  In addition, the helicopter has a FLIR (forward looking infra-red) heat seeking camera, which allows the Officers in the air unit to locate suspects, even in complete darkness,” Tyler said.

Surveillance video from the helicopter shows the suspect running through several homes’ backyards on 165th Place Southeast, stopping at one point to attempt to hide under one home’s deck.

With the suspect in the helicopter’s sights, officers surrounded the suspect, who eventually surrendered. Police recovered a cell phone the suspect threw over a fence. At this time, police say it is unknown why the suspect dumped the phone.