Drone helps police catch robbery suspect

EUGENE, Ore. – The Springfield Police Department (SPD) says a robbery suspect was caught last week with the help of the Metro Drone Team after he hid in the bushes and jumped into the Alton Baker Canal.

On September 25, 2024, at approximately 10:11 a.m., a possible robbery occurred at Albertson's at 311 Coburg Road, where a man left the store with a shopping cart full of groceries without attempting to pay, SPD tells us.

The man was later identified as Gavan Earl Gangle, and when SPD officers arrived at the grocery store, Gangle ran away. The SPD says Gangle may have gotten into the swamp near the highway.

SPD told us a Springfield Police Sergeant, who is a member of the Eugene Springfield Metro Drone Team, arrived to assist at the Masonic Center on MLK Boulevard and was stationed there as weather conditions worsened.

After an extensive search, several other Metro drone team members who were on scene were sent to other missions.

SPD tells us the remaining Eugene Police Department (EPD) units were released to support additional calls and the SPD operator continued to search the area to locate Gangle with the drone.

As the drone's last battery died, a large heat signature was observed near the subject's last known location. The operator was able to clearly identify Gangle, who had become entangled in brambles while attempting to escape the water.

“Several additional units responded to the area when Gangle emerged from the bushes on the north side of the MLK Community Health Care building and began walking west in the bike path,” SPD tells us. “When officers arrived, Gangle ran while the drone operator gave chase on foot and provided updates.”

SPD reports that Gangle then jumped back into the water and waded southwest into the Alton Baker Canal. Another drone operator joined the chase because the original drone's battery was very low.

Law enforcement then managed to surround Gangle, who was taken into custody without further incident and booked into the Lane County Jail on the following charges:

• Larceny in the Second Degree
• Escape in the third degree