Raccoon Mistaken For Burglar Apprehended By Stafford Deputies

STAFFORD COUNTY, VA — A raccoon that broke into a Stafford County home on Saturday morning was escorted out by members of the sheriff's department, authorities said. No raccoons or humans were harmed in the incident.

Originally, Stafford County deputies responded to a home near Novak Drive for a report of a burglary. When deputies arrived just after 3 a.m. on Saturday morning, they checked the home and found no signs of forced entry, the sheriff's office said in an update.

Stafford County's Emergency Communications Center recevied a second call from the home at 3:36 a.m. The residents said they found a raccoon in their home that was missed in the initial check.

"The mischievous masked mammal was contained in a bathroom and captured," the sheriff's office wrote on Facebook. "The deputies used a ballistic shield, ironing board, and bamboo walking sticks to steer him back outside."

The raccoon, which the sheriff's office described as a mask intruder, safely returned to the wild. Authorities believed he entered the home to look for food.

"Normally this type of crime would result in a felony charge and no bond," the sheriff's office said. "But deputies had compassion for the naughty nocturnal nuisance."

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