One burglary suspect eluded Rutherford County Sheriff’s deputies and Murfreesboro Police by hiding in a boat under a tarp about two hours in frigid temperatures Friday in Walter Hill, a detective said.

Suspect Christopher Moses, 20, of Academy Street believed officers had given up the search when he climbed out of the boat, said sheriff’s Detective Troy Hooker.

“When he saw us, he was too cold to run,” Hooker said.

Moses was one of three suspects accused of breaking into a Clemente Drive home Friday morning in the Walter Hill community. Hooker charged Moses and companions Daxton Cook, 21, of East Oak Drive and Clifton Daniels, 19, of Carver Avenue, all of Murfreesboro, with aggravated burglary and theft over $1,000.

An alert neighbor noticed the suspects breaking into the home about 11 a.m. and called the sheriff’s office. The neighbor gave a description of two suspects and the car they drove.

Lt. David Clark of the Criminal Warrants Division was driving on U.S. Highway 231 North (Lebanon Highway) when he met the suspects’ car and stopped them at the Dollar General store in Walter Hill. Two of the suspects stopped but Moses fled.

Sheriff Robert F. Arnold, who responded, recognized Cook as a student from Daniel McKee Alternative School where the sheriff formerly worked as a school resource officer.

“Daxton Cook is a known gang member,” Arnold said.

Hooker said sheriff’s deputies and Murfreesboro Police searched for Moses, along with MPD K-9 Officer Trey Mansfield and his dog, T.K., and Deputy Jon Levi and his bloodhound, Ethel, tracked the suspect.

About $1,000 worth of property stolen from the home was recovered in the car occupied by the suspects, the detective said.

All three suspects, who all have previous arrests, were interviewed by sheriff’s detectives and charged. They were booked into Rutherford County Adult Detention Center where a hearing was set Feb. 16 in General Sessions Court.