West Seattle Crime Watch: Stolen car, bikes; hit-run leaves fender

Three reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch today. First, a stolen car to watch for, taken from 18th SW in the Highland Park area:

We’d be grateful for any help the community may provide in locating the vehicle. It’s a black 2008 Mazda 3 4-door, license plate 863DWG (Oregon). There are some identifying stickers on the vehicle as well: a “Seattle U Law” sticker, and a “Boise State” sticker. It was stolen between the evening of Thursday 8/7 and the morning of 8/10, when we went out to look for it.

As noted in the SPD @getyourcarback tweet about it, call 911 if you see it.

Also keep watch for two bicycles stolen from Alki. From Ara:

Two bikes were locked to a bike rack at the east end of Alki on Saturday at about 5:15 PM. Bike racks on the water side of Alki Ave SW at 55th Ave SW. The lock was cut and the bikes were taken in broad daylight.

2010 Cannondale Synapse Road Bike – Blue Frame, Size 58:

2013 Cannondale Althea Hybrid Bike – Black Frame, Women’s size Tall:

The bikes have traveled with us from coast to coast. They are very loved and important to us. We would love to have them back. Reward and good karma available. Please contact andara13@hotmail.com with any information. Thank you.

Last but not least, a hit-run driver wound up in a yard in the 6300 block of 23rd SW early Sunday and damaged a “stock tank” planter that was growing lettuce and kale.

The planter’s owner says the car’s fender was left behind, “complete with blue-green paint.” It’s now with SPD as evidence, but if you know someone with a car or small SUV that suddenly showed up with a missing fender sometime Sunday (or later) … a police report has been filed.

8 Replies to "West Seattle Crime Watch: Stolen car, bikes; hit-run leaves fender"

  • I. Ponder August 12, 2014 (5:11 pm)

    I’m assuming the bike locks were cable locks. They can be quickly cut with pocket-sized cable cutters. It seems criminal to sell (or buy) $20 locks for bikes that cost $1500+. Kryponite type U-locks are the way to go. It would certainly take a grinder to cut them and that would be noticeable in broad daylight in a public place. I hope a bike shop owner will chime in on why they sell cable locks. I understand it’s likely that consumers demand them, but it’s a bad choice IMO.

  • WestSide45 August 12, 2014 (7:56 pm)

    As a former neighbor of mine once said, “Locks keep your friends out, not the bad guys”. He was referring to the locks on the doors of your house or your car, but the same can be applied to bicycles.

  • John August 13, 2014 (8:52 am)

    A Kryponite U-lock can be opened with a simple scissor jack. A scissor jack can lift a car…it easily snaps open a U-lock..

  • I. Ponder August 13, 2014 (9:44 am)

    Why make it easy by using the weakest type of lock? Cable locks get cut all the time and the thieves are barely noticed doing it. $20 lock on a $2,000 bike is a bad choice.

  • Dan August 13, 2014 (9:49 am)

    I’m looking at buying a home and was looking at neighborhood crime maps for west Seattle and south king county. What did I see? Seattle is dangerous. Statically, my family would be safer in kent, auburn, Renton etc. than west Seattle. I find it telling that such a high income, high affluence and “progressive” area like Seattle isn’t able to manage crime; rather it seems to foster it.

  • linda August 13, 2014 (10:33 am)

    Dan: alternately, it’s possible you see more neighborhood crime in West Seattle because we are strongly encouraged to report all crimes, big or small. So it could be the statistics look high not because there is more crime but because there is a higher level of reporting in West Seattle compared to the other communities you listed.

    • WSB August 13, 2014 (10:43 am)

      I’m sorry that I don’t have time right now to compare Kent and Seattle stats, way behind on a number of stories. We publish a lot about property crime here (and I’m working on yet another story now) but *violent* crime is very low in West Seattle. Don’t know how it is in Kent. Any kind of crime is too much, anywhere, of course, but to say West Seattle is a dangerous place in terms of bodily harm, not true – TR

  • savage August 14, 2014 (2:08 am)

    Have to agree w/ my West Siders, Our community has a zero tolerance for crime.Thieves dont thrive for long in our neck of the woods.If a individual looks suspicious or Is not a familiar face to someone who pays attention (And we all pay attention here in the west)they will be reported and in my case if I have never seen you before and your walking thru scoping yards I stop em ask em who are you and where u going and if they cant produce a reasonable answer I then proceed to flip the script as if I was the criminal scaring them off. Xspecially if they look tweakerish.West Seattle is most likely the safest and interactive hood to raise a fam.As long as u aint up to no good.The West Seattle Blog having made all this possible.I have checked out somevof the other blogs from nearby communities and let me just say BORING.

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