Handcuffed Woman Wiggles Out of Police Custody Through Open Car Window with Clueless Cops Just Feet Away

The incident in Muskegon Heights, Mich., was caught on camera and has since gone viral online

NEED TO KNOW

A woman in custody was caught on camera wiggling out of a police car’s open window while handcuffed in a video that’s been shared online
The incident occurred on Saturday, March 28, while Muskegon Heights Police Department officers were just feet away
Police said in a release that the suspect was taken into custody on Tuesday morning

A Michigan woman in custody was seen escaping through a police car’s open window in a shocking video that’s been circulating online.

On Saturday, March 28 at approximately 3:30 p.m. local time, an officer with the Muskegon Heights Police Department was on patrol “when he observed a vehicle parked at an abandoned business,” Chief Maurice Sain said in a press release shared to Facebook on Monday.

As the officer approached the vehicle, “one of the occupants briefly exited” but “quickly re-entered upon noticing the officer’s presence.”

While the driver was “positively identified” during an investigation, the authorities required a fingerprint scanner to confirm the female passenger’s identity. The officers on site learned that the woman in question “had an outstanding parole violation warrant” before she was “taken into custody, handcuffed and secured in the rear seat of a Muskegon Heights Police Department patrol vehicle,” Sain said, per the release.

Woman escaping from the back of a patrol vehicle.Robert Williams via Storyful

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

However, the handcuffed woman — whose name has not been made public — escaped shortly afterwards. Footage via Storyful showed her leaning out of the patrol vehicle’s open window, extending her leg out beside her and then managing to get her whole body out. She then successfully fled the scene while officers were nearby.

Robert Williams, who operates The Block Paper Weekly Facebook page, captured the incident on camera. “Damn … this is live. They [police] don’t even see … Look, look, look,” he was heard saying in the clip as the woman ran away.

“They didn’t see this,” Williams added.

Woman escaping from the back of a patrol vehicle.Robert Williams via Storyful

Sain said, per the release, “while officers were searching the suspect vehicle, the female was able to squeeze through the partially open rear window, exit the patrol vehicle and flee the scene on foot.” He added that “officers immediately responded and attempted to locate her; however, she was not found.”

The authorities also suspected that she was responsible for a breaking and entering incident at a nearby residence that had occurred at 4:20 p.m. on Saturday. “The suspect in that incident is believed to be the same female who fled from the patrol vehicle earlier in the day,” Sain said.

By Tuesday, March 31, at approximately 9:00 a.m., the woman “was located and taken into custody without incident,” Sain confirmed to PEOPLE, noting that “she was found inside an abandoned residence.” Per the police, she “has been lodged at the Muskegon County Jail, on several charges.”