Police: Burglary Suspect Hid In Attic With Beer, Bologna

TIPTON, Ind. -- Police said a man who they were searching for in a Tipton County burglary Friday was found hiding in the attic of a neighboring home with bologna and beer to sustain him.

Indiana State Police were called to a home in the 4000 block of West Division Road at about 12:45 p.m. Friday after a 911 call reporting a burglary in progress.

The burglary suspect was not in the home when officers arrived, but they thought he was still in the area.

Police set up a perimeter and searched nearby cornfields and wooded areas hoping to find the man.

Neighbors called police at about 6:15 p.m. when they arrived home and found that their blinds had been pulled down, something they didn't do.

Police went into the home and found Dana Zirkel, 42, of Windfall, hiding in the attic with beer and bologna that he had taken from the refrigerator at the home, police said.

ISP Detective Tony Frawley said the homeowner in the original burglary call had arrived home to find Zirkle there, armed with a handgun, and confronted him.

Frawley said the homeowner and Zirkle struggled over the gun before the homeowner, whose identity wasn't released, got into his pickup truck and ran over a motorcycle Zirkle had parked in the driveway.

Zirkle was held Saturday in the Tipton County Jail. Police said there was also a warrant for his arrest on burglary and theft charges in Madison County.