Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies were searching late Wednesday afternoon for a burglary suspect who fled after being interrupted by a homeowner in Ballard.

Shortly after 1 p.m., a woman arrived home in the 1700 block of Cottonwood Street and found a man wearing a white bandana, essentially interrupting a burglary in progress, according to Kelly Hoover, a Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman.

Hoover said the suspect ran out of the home, jumping over a fence.

Deputies arrived on the scene shortly after and began a search that involved a K-9 unit and Copter 2, but the suspect was not initially located, she said.

The Sheriff’s Department issued a reverse 9-1-1 call to residents in the small Santa Ynez Valley town to notify them of the incident and to request that they avoid the search area.

Hoover said the suspect had not been found by 5 p.m., when most residents were returning to their homes.

No other details were immediately available.

— Noozhawk staff writer Gina Potthoff can be reached at gpotthoff@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.