Three people are facing charges after allegedly breaking into nearly 50 vehicles and sending Howard County police on a manhunt along Route 100 in the early hours of Christmas Eve.

At approximately 4:50 a.m. on Dec. 24, county police were called to the 8300 block of Montgomery Run Road in Ellicott City after a report of people breaking into vehicles. When police arrived, three suspects fled in a stolen Kia Optima before abandoning it and continuing on foot, according to a video posted to social media Tuesday by the Howard County Police Department.

Once on foot, the three suspects were apprehended by police with the assistance of a drone thermal camera. In the video, drone footage shows the trio attempting to run across Route 100, with two hiding in dense brush near a ramp as police search.

Police charged the three suspects, Baltimore residents ages 16, 18 and 19, with breaking into 20 vehicles on Montgomery Run Road. Police allege they’re also responsible for an additional 30 or so break-ins in the 4900 block of Columbia Road in Columbia on the same night.

As of Dec. 22, car break-ins are down 25% in Howard County from the same time in 2024, according to the Police Department.