West Seattle Crime Watch: 2 searches late tonight

12:04 AM: We don’t have much information about either of these but we’re getting some inquiries, so we’ll make brief mention, and will add any information we do get – which might not be till morning: First, there’s been a police search under way on Beach Drive – including the beach itself – for a while, near Me-Kwa-Mooks and further south. We have not been able to find out what sparked the search; police seem to be looking for one person, and a K-9 team is part of the search. We have an inquiry out to the precinct. Meantime, there was an Admiral-area call about possible gunshots; scanner traffic indicates officers thought it might be fireworks, though one resident who heard it begs to differ.

12:45 AM UPDATE: No word back from the precinct but we’ve learned what was heard via scanner re: the origin of the first Beach Drive call that preceded this search – apparently an interrupted car prowl, with someone reportedly threatened with a knife when they confronted the suspect, who then bolted.

20 Replies to "West Seattle Crime Watch: 2 searches late tonight"

  • Rhonda Porter January 6, 2011 (12:18 am)

    thanks for covering this… I doubt I will be sleeping much tonight – pls keep us posted.

    • WSB January 6, 2011 (12:25 am)

      I still haven’t heard back from the precinct, which might mean my main overnight contact isn’t on, but I’m continuing to listen…

  • The Resident Who Begs To Differ January 6, 2011 (12:31 am)

    Yeah, that was super scary. Please keep us updated with anything else that you might find out. Thank you for always being on top of the latest WS happenings!

  • DKL January 6, 2011 (12:34 am)

    Definitely gun shots in the Fairmont ravine. Every once in a while you hear them but tonight was by far the most I have heard. They fired off a bunch of shots around 11 and came back several minutes later and fired a bunch more.

  • Chris January 6, 2011 (5:14 am)

    Perhaps not related, but saw a K-9 unit an hour or two earlier than this in North Delridge near the Dakota Street trail to Fellowship Creek.

    The accompanying officers did not seem to be particularly “on guard” so my assumption was that it was some sort of training walk (which we’ve seen in the area before.)

  • Cat Woman January 6, 2011 (5:52 am)

    Police went into my backyard (which is totally fine). Needless to say I had quite the adrenaline rush when I heard their footsteps and saw the flashlight. It wasn’t until I saw the nose of their german shepherd right next to my window that I figured out it was the police. Took me about 2 hours to get back to sleep, but thankful that they were out looking for the person!

  • Rhonda Porter January 6, 2011 (7:32 am)

    any idea where the initial car prowl started on Beach Dr?

    Late last year, we had someone steal two wheels off our Honda Fit, leaving the car sitting on it’s suspension on the street. Someone must have interupted them as another wheel was half off.

  • Marilyn January 6, 2011 (7:41 am)

    The gunshots last night were coming from what appeared to be an suv or minivan traveling down Fairmount.

  • Ken January 6, 2011 (10:41 am)

    Is it a normal occurrence to have people firing guns as they drive down the Fairmount ravine?

  • Rhonda Porter January 6, 2011 (11:54 am)

    Ken, when we used to live above the ravine 5-6 years ago, people firing off guns was not uncommon. :(

  • Huh? January 6, 2011 (4:00 pm)

    When my neighbor interrupted a car prowler who threatened him, the police took 45 minutes to respond, but when this happened on Beach Drive it sounds like they issued an all out man hunt. I wonder what the difference was? Ow wait, I don’t live on beach drive, THATS the difference.

  • Adam January 6, 2011 (7:49 pm)

    Last night as I was heading to bed I peered out my window and saw somebody lifting every door handle of my car. The car prowler was dressed in dark clothes, a large hood, and had a black backpack on. His dark shadow looked like the outline of the grim reaper.
    I called 911(The first dispatch I talked to was located in Kitsap County and had to transfer me to King), ran outside, and followed the guy from a distance as he cased each and every house’s yard and driveway. (Location: just one block south of Jacobsen Rd/hill, on the waterside). He then came across a vehicle and began to break into it. At this point, I had given the dispatch the suspect’s exact location and was waiting for the police to arrive.

    The police did come, but they literally drove right past the guy. I flagged the police down and told them they had just past him and that he took off between some houses. The police flipped around and waited by the location of where the suspect last was. (I noticed a beige dodge minivan speed into a cul-de-sac right in front of the cop, possible getaway?)
    A few minutes later, the streets filled with police cars and the echoes of a barking K-9 Unit. The search continued throughout the night all along Beach Dr and on the beach as well. (It was a low tide at the time).
    Then I went to bed.

  • Adam January 6, 2011 (7:56 pm)

    Also,I was not the person who was held at knife point.

  • wsgal January 6, 2011 (8:48 pm)

    A knife-wielding bad guy who might still be around and catchable is always going to get police priority over a bad guy who has packed up his danger and departed.

    Let’s not forget that car theft has really plagued Beach Drive for as long as anyone can remember, as those residents can’t usually see their cars, and car thieves know it. Their plight is one of the reasons we finally got a precinct here in West Seattle — that’s the silver lining.

    • WSB January 6, 2011 (9:04 pm)

      WS Gal, that’s interesting background, thanks. We lived in a Beach Drive condo the first two years we were in West Seattle (20 years ago!) and the window of our car was shot out one night (the one parked on BD, not the one with the lone parking space behind the building where we were renting) … part of a blocks-long spree.

  • S5 January 6, 2011 (9:49 pm)

    Yikes – I was hoping those were fireworks I heard, although I wondered at the time. There were at least 10-15 fired the first time and almost as many the second time. Seemed to originate at the corner of Fairmount and Forest and travel down Fairmount.

  • Jana January 7, 2011 (2:47 am)

    Adam, was that the cul-de-sac right before Jacobsen Rd. if you are headed North that has an alley attached which links up to Jacobsen???

  • Kemper January 7, 2011 (3:32 am)

    I was riding with the primary officer on that call, Adam you should have been more specific if you actually had eyes on the suspect. There was also no additional information from dispatch regarding the vehicle described. And, it got such a large response because it was a pretty slow night and it was believed that it was the same suspect armed with a hunting knife.

  • adam January 7, 2011 (5:23 am)

    no before that

  • adam January 7, 2011 (8:44 pm)

    I understand what you are saying. I had my eyes on the suspect the entire time. I don’t know what else I could have told you. I was on the phone with the dispatcher giving her the location and what the suspect was doing. There is only so much you can do when you are telling the dispatch that the police car is approaching and just passing the suspect. I don’t know if you can hear the dispatch communication, but it would have helped if I had direct communication with you and the other officer. Thanks for the prompt response.

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