Getting The Dirt On Tunnel Crook

A burglar spent at least a week tunneling through 40 feet of dirt and sand before his robbery of a Florida sporting goods store was foiled, authorities said.

Not only that, his labor reportedly helped nab him.

He also allegedly failed to provide a "great escape:" When confronted by the cleaning crew, he left the store via the tunnel that looked like something out of the film about a prisoner-of-war camp.

Gary Leon Lowden, 43, was still covered with sand and carrying an armful of Tampa Bay Buccaneers jerseys and Nike sneakers when he was caught by deputies near the Sports Authority store, said Hillsborough County sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter.

A cleaning crew showed up at dawn early Wednesday and he "ran and exited through the floor," sheriff's officials said. Deputies were called to the store after something activated a motion sensor alarm.

When they arrived, they saw no evidence of a break-in — doors were locked and aluminum security gates were tightly shut — but the crew found a hole in the floor of the store's golf section.

The sheriff's office said Lowden and possibly others used chisels and sledgehammers to make tunnel, smashing through the concrete floor and reinforcing the tunnel in places with wooden pallets, which also hid the entrance in a wooded area behind the building and on the other side of a concrete wall.

Lowden was jailed on charges of burglary and grand theft. He was carrying about $3,500 worth of apparel, mostly in children's sizes. Authorities were searching for other suspects.

In Virginia, Stafford County authorities arrested a man they say broke into a house — naked.

The Sheriff's Office says 23-year-old Reginald Patterson of Dumfries was spotted by the homeowner as he broke in through a basement door. The owner, who was in the basement, apparently startled Patterson and the suspect took off running.

Authorities eventually arrested Patterson after drawing him out of hiding in the woods.

Police still haven't found his clothes.