Police officers surrounded an East Anchorage home for hours on Saturday when a man allegedly choked two family members and hid inside with a knife, a police spokesman said.

Before officers could arrest the man, later identified as Christopher Leon Jay, he apparently left the Image Drive home, fled to a residence on Friendly Lane, then slipped away from police there, too, said Lt. Dave Parker.

Jay, who turned 24 a week earlier, later returned to his home and surrendered to police. He was jailed and is set to appear in court Sunday, Parker said.

Parker said officers thought Jay might have been drunk during the initial choking incident about 8 a.m and later passed out. Reports that he was in the home armed with a knife generated a "partial" SWAT response on many of the tactical officers' day off, the police spokesman said.

"They've got him contained," Parker said about 1 p.m. "This is one of those situations where we have time to wait. He hasn't forced our hand. When we have time to wait, we do what we can."

But by about 3 p.m., the tactically trained officers had entered the home and did not find Jay. Police also used a robot to check potential hiding places after an initial sweep, Parker said.

Acting on an "investigative lead," officers looked for Jay at a residence in the 1000 block of Friendly Lane, but didn't find him there either, Parker said. The active search was called off a little after 4 p.m.

Jay returned to his Image Drive home about 5 p.m. and surrendered to police, Parker said.

Reach Casey Grove at casey.grove@adn.com or 257-4589.