Couple calls 911 to report burglar in house - deputies find active Roomba instead

FORSYTH COUNTY, N.C. (KSTU) -- A North Carolina couple was watching a movie in their bedroom when they suddenly heard loud noises coming from downstairs. Worried that it was an intruder, the two called 911.

The couple waited for deputies to arrive, hoping their 2-year-old daughter sleeping in her room wouldn't get up to check on the noise, Thomas Milam wrote in his Facebook post shared to the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office's page.

After deputies entered and began to search for an intruder, the officers asked: “Is this Roomba yours?”

Deputies had apprehended the suspect — the couple's brand-new robotic vacuum.

Milam said in the Facebook post that the vacuum had turned itself on in the night and gotten stuck in the hallway, where it had been repeatedly banging against the walls. He said that while they were embarrassed by the comical false alarm, they are thankful for the deputies' quick response and good humor.