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Woman calls 911 reporting home invader — it was just a trapped Roomba

Authorities from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 call from woman who suspected an intruder had locked themselves in her bathroom. Washington County Sheriff’s Office

Fearing that a possible home invader has locked themselves in your bathroom must suck. Having police officers storm the washroom with guns drawn, only to find said suspect is nothing but a robotic vacuum, must suck even more.

That’s exactly what happened to a woman house-sitting for a family in Portland, Ore., on Monday.

Authorities from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 call from a woman who suspected an intruder had locked themselves in her bathroom. The caller told dispatch she could see shadows under the bathroom door.

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Multiple police units responded to the home just before 2 p.m., surrounding the house. A canine unit was also dispatched to the scene.

The sheriff’s office said deputies heard a noise coming from the washroom, prompting calls from the officers for the suspect to surrender.

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After several failed attempts, deputies stormed the washroom with guns drawn and encountered a suspect.

“An automated robot vacuum,” the sheriff’s office said. “We breached the bathroom door and encountered a very thorough vacuuming job being done by a Roomba Robotic Vacuum cleaner.”

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Sgt. Danny DiPietro told the Oregonian that this type of call was a first for him.

“In 13 years, this is my first Roomba burglar,” DiPietro said. “Never had anything like this.”

The sheriff’s office posted a “most wanted” poster on Facebook, noting they had captured the suspect.

“We’re all just still having a good laugh about it,” DiPietro told the newspaper.

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