Footprints in snow guide Faribault police from burglary scene right to suspects

Daniel Sanchez's footprints led to Faribault police solving a burglary mystery.

​Usually, when people talk about the importance of "covering your tracks," they mean it in a figurative sense. But Daniel Sanchez and Alonso Silva should've heeded that advice literally.

The two allegedly broke into a business in Faribault and left the scene without being apprehended after an alarm went off. But police, following fresh footprints in the snow, were able to locate the bumbling duo hanging out in a nearby cemetery. Now they're each facing felony third-degree burglary charges.

Alonso Silva.

​According to the Faribault Daily News, police, arriving at the scene of the Tuesday morning break-in, noticed two sets of fresh footprints leading away from the building, suggesting that whoever left them was running. They followed the tracks all the way to a nearby convenience store, where witnesses reported seeing two suspicious males walking around the area.

Officers were able to follow the footprint trail from the store to a cemetery, where they found Sanchez, 21, and Silva, 19, hanging out. Looking at the suspects' shoes, police were able to confirm that they matched the footprints leading from the burglarized business to the store and from the store to the cemetery, and the two were arrested.

Talk about being caught red-handed... or, rather, snow-footed.