Travis Baumgartner tripped up by own mistakes while trying to flee Canada

The number of criminal suspects tripped up by their own mistakes is a constant reminder that there are few real-life Moriarty's and many more of these guys floating around out there.

This is a good thing for everyone (well, everyone except the actual criminals).

The latest casualty of his own negligence is Edmonton triple homicide suspect Travis Baumgartner, who was arrested at the U.S. border after his licence plate was scanned, sending an alert to officers.

The CBC writes that Baumgartner, 21, was picked up at the border crossing near Abbotsford, B.C. as he tried to enter Lynden, Washington.

[ Related: Edmonton police interview suspect in triple killing ]

Alberta police had been engaged in a 36-hour manhunt for Baumgartner following Friday's armoured car heist at the University of Alberta.

The heist left three security guards dead, all of whom worked for the same company as the suspect.

When officers pulled Baumgartner over, they found $330,000 and an Alberta driver's licence.

What they didn't find was a passport, or an explanation as to why someone who was the subject of such an intense manhunt would think he could slip over the border undetected in his own car.

While panic almost certainly played a role in the chain of events that led to his arrest, you would think that anyone organizing a complex heist would consider alternative means of transportation.

Tom Schreiber of U.S. Customs and Border Protection gave voice to the same question.

"Sometimes you have to scratch your head an wonder why people would knowingly come up and make contact with law enforcement," Schreiber told the CBC. "Maybe he thought he would be able to get through — I don't know."

Baumgartner wouldn't be the first suspect to let his licence plate do the talking.

Earlier this year, B.C. resident Jazmin Klair was caught trying to smuggle nine kilos of cocaine across the U.S. border.

Her chances of getting away with it arguably would have improved had she not been driving a car with a vanity plate that read "SMUGLER."

But it's not just accessories that make people more conspicuous.

Maclean's recently published an article on how not to disappear, using Luka Rocco Magnotta as their prime example.

For instance, if you're trying to remain untraceable, the article states, it's probably wise not to have an enormous web presence, as Magnotta did.

It's also inadvisable to remain active online, reading stories about yourself until you get picked up at a Berlin Internet café.

Despite these textbook examples of what not to do, the reality is it's getting much more difficult to hide. Dubious when it comes to many aspects of our individual privacy, but not such a bad thing when it gets people like Magnotta off the street.