A selfie taken at the scene of a crime led to the arrests of three suspects in connection with a rash of burglaries that has plagued Black River Falls for several weeks.

Black River Falls police took the suspects — Nicholas A. Thorson, 19, Dawn Anderson, 37, and Austin Anderson, 17, all of Black River Falls — into custody on Monday, according to a news release from the department.

A break in the case came just after midnight Oct. 23 when Black River Falls police and Jackson County sheriff’s deputies responded to an active burglary alarm at Wazee Sports Center. After searching the building and finding no suspects but confirming that a burglary had occurred, officers collected evidence, including a large knife, surveillance video and a cellphone.

Officer Thomas Cooper secured a search warrant for the cellphone, and officers found a photo of Thorson, who had photographed himself at the scene of the burglary.

The selfie appears to have been taken as Thorson was reaching through an exhaust fan hole and attempting to photograph the opposite side of the fan, Cooper said. The image also captured Thorson’s face between the fan blades.

“This is a new one. I haven’t seen anything quite like that in 34 years of law enforcement,” Black River Falls police Chief Patrick LaBarbera said.

While police work is generally a serious matter, LaBarbera said officers saw the humorous side of a case in which a suspect inadvertently handed authorities such strong evidence against himself.

“You can’t help but chuckle to yourself that someone would be so, for lack of a better word, stupid and take a picture of themselves while committing a crime and then leave their cellphone behind,” LaBarbera said.

On Monday, police received a complaint of fraudulent checks being cashed at the Co-op Credit Union in Black River Falls. In that case, Dawn Anderson helped Thorson in attempting to cash a check made payable to her. Authorities also believe Anderson enlisted her son, Austin, in cashing another check payable to her.

Cooper recognized that Thorson also was a suspect in other recent burglaries and that the checks were actually stolen checks from a burglary several weeks earlier in the city. Police had been investigating other recent check-cashing incidents involving the same checks and others taken in another residential burglary, the release said.

A search of Anderson’s residence in Black River Falls revealed nearly 70 items stolen in area burglaries.

A young child was removed from the residence and placed with Jackson County Health and Human Services as police took the occupants into custody.

Interviews conducted later revealed the recovered property was stolen in nine different burglaries, including eight in Black River Falls, the release said.

Thorson is being held on eight felony counts of burglary to a dwelling as well as armed burglary and other charges.

Dawn Anderson was arrested for forgery, possession of stolen property and being party to a crime. Austin Anderson was arrested for party to a crime-forgery and party to a crime-theft.

“It really turned out nice because we were able to solve a number of burglaries thanks to that photo. He really did us a favor,” LaBarbera said of Thorson.