Officers were responding to a 4:15 a.m. burglar alarm when the homeowner dialed 911, believing someone was inside, Police Chief Jacqueline Luthcke said.
They arrived to find no intruders in the house and the plants damaged outside.
Detectives and a Passaic County K-9 unit was summoned -- after which police found what the chief called "the final clue" on the grass: a tuft of white hair among the broken window glass.
The officers "observed numerous deer in the area, but were unable to positively identify which one was the [perpetrator]," she said.
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