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Police K-9 finds wanted man hiding out under stairway in parent's house

BELMONT, N.H. — You can run, but you can’t hide from Belmont, New Hampshire Police K-9 Vito.

Police had been looking for Stephen Anderson, 25, of Belmont, who had several warrants out for his arrest.

A Belmont officer has initiated a traffic stop this past summer on Union Road, when the officer said Anderson, who was a passenger, jumped out of the moving car. The officer chased after Anderson, who ran into a swampy area, but wasn’t able to locate him.

Since then, police have made multiple attempts to locate Anderson at his family’s home and his friends’ houses.

Family members would often greet police at the door and allow officers to look around for Anderson, but they were never able to find him.

In another attempt to locate Anderson, officers arrived at his family’s home Thursday night without notice. This time, they brought their secret weapon: K-9 Vito.

Officers made three announcements into the home, saying they were there to arrest Anderson and he was to come out immediately.

Several guests in the home left and denied Anderson was inside.

K-9 Vito was then released in the home with instructions to “seek.” After a few minutes, he was drawn to an area on a wall in the basement, near a stairway.

K-9 Vito’s hander recognized his partner’s alert and officers discovered hidden in a cubby under the stairway.

Anderson was arrested and turned over to New Hampshire Probation and Parole.

Captain Richard Mann told Boston 25 News K-9 Vito is an huge asset to the department. He’s a member of the SWAT team in Belknap County and can take a command from his handler in sign language, so they don’t even have to speak at the scene of an event.

K-9 Vito also finds more drugs than all of the department’s officers combined.

“The dealers dislike him,” Captain Mann said. “The inmates in the jail hate him.”

K-9 Vito is an invited guest to local correctional institutes to help seek out contraband.

He has also found runaway children and lost seniors. He’s great with children and even attends social functions.

“Every K-9 on every agency is an absolute asset to the communities they serve,” Captain Mann said. “People just don't know it until they need them.”

Mann said K-9 handlers also deserve a lot of credit for all the time and effort they put into training and caring for the K-9s.

“They work together like a well-oiled machine,” Mann said. “It takes a lot of discipline and personal time.”