Residents of a Sherman Oaks neighborhood were back home Thursday morning after being kept out of their residences for more than four hours while police searched in vain for a truck thief.

Los Angeles Police officers got two hits off of a LoJack tracking system at about 7:20 p.m. Wednesday indicating a newer model Dodge Ram pickup truck had been stolen, said police Sgt. Ron Fisher.

Officers spotted the truck in a parking lot and tried to make contact with the driver, but he drove off and ditched the vehicle near Sepulveda and Burbank boulevards, then ran into the neighborhood, Fisher said.

Officers set up a perimeter and brought in police dogs to search for the suspect but were unable to locate him, said Fisher.

The search was called off around 11:30 p.m. and residents were allowed to return home, Fisher said.

A description of the suspect was not released.

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