Footprints lead police to alleged snowblower thief

GRANITE CITY, Ill. -- Madison County sheriff's police say a snowblower thief's snowy footprints led them right to his hiding place.

Police said that as Donald E. Farris Jr., 21, and his father, Donald E. Farris Sr., 40, drove away from a Granite City apartment complex with two stolen snowblowers Thursday night, the owner of the machines jumped into the bed of their truck.

The owner called 911 on his cell phone and summoned the sheriff's department just as a deputy spotted the commotion and started following the truck, said Lt. Rick Weissenborn.

As the father rolled the truck to a stop, his son bolted from the cab and ran off, Weissenborn said.

Police followed the younger Farris' footprints to a nearby shed, where he was arrested, Weissenborn said. He was treated at Gateway Regional Medical Center for a broken arm he suffered after tumbling out of the moving truck, Weissenborn said.

The Farrises, both of Collinsville, were charged Friday in Madison County Circuit Court with theft of more than $300.