Suspicious sighting: “Looking for a dryer” in Highland Park

| Highland Park | Safety | West Seattle news

Becky got an unsettling call and wanted to sound an alert just in case – read on:

I live off 8th and Elmgrove [map] and my downstairs neighbor called me this morning there were two guys at my front door and walking around the house looking for a dryer to pick up.

He called me and I told him there wasn’t any dryer to be picked up. So he went and told them they were mistaken. Thankfully my neighbor was home and wasn’t at work yet. He said they seemed like they were prowling around seeing if anyone was home.

I’m a little worried because our address is clearly labeled and it was obvious no one was home (our driveway was empty).

I’m going to go home and drop off my 65 lb. dog (who I take to work with me) so if anyone comes back they’ll be greeted by the king of loud barking dogs, but has anyone heard anything about two hispanic men with a white late 80’s/early 90s’ chevy with an extended cab driving around?

sophista-tiki December 11, 2009 (12:32 pm)

Sounds like the guys who pick up old appliances for scrap metal. They could have been given the wrong address. Sometimes people post stuff for free pick up on craigslist and these guys go around and collect it with their truck.
Good idea to leave the dog at home just incase. Ive been leaviug mt 104lb Shepard at home lately during the day just for that exact same reason.

rob December 11, 2009 (12:53 pm)

we just moved from westwood to arbor heights. our old house was one of those that is up off the ground a bit, such that if you are standing in the front yard you cant see in the front room windows very well and every once in a while we would hear from the neighbors that someone had been walking around trying to peer in the windows. despite having neighbors who are home and outside all day, we had this happen a couple times. would come home to find the garage door pushed in as far as the padlock would allow, things like that.
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at our new house, we have made it so you can’t come into the yard from the back, have to enter from the street. the house has a big picture window, the bottom of which is about waist height. we leave the drapes wide open, and our large and somewhat scary dog sits on the couch looking out the window all day, barking at anyone he doesn’t like. there is also another big window in back where he can unhappily greet anyone who happens to find a way into the back yard. i am pretty confident no one is going to spend a lot of time poking around or try to break in to the house because of this.
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so to the point of my long winded story, you need to actively drive the prowlers away somehow. given that we had this stuff go on even though our neighbors were home and outside goes to show you how brazen these people can be. you can’t count on someone seeing them because some of them are good at not being seen, and some are bold enough to carry on their shenanigans in broad daylight.
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fences, sturdy doors with strong locks, thorny bushes under the windows, and a big dog can go a long way.

KBear December 11, 2009 (1:23 pm)

Little dogs can do the job, too. All they gotta do is bark loud enough to alert the neighbors.

Chris December 11, 2009 (3:05 pm)

104 pound shepard! Holy Cow what a big ball of love :)

My 60 pound retriever does the job well. The sweet demure blond turns into a snarling barking junk yard dog when any approaches my house. I am sure she has saved me from being robbed as my house is really hard to secure other wise.

Silly Goose December 12, 2009 (3:23 pm)

OMG, I have seen these guys, and they keep a couple of old washer’s and dryers in the back. They have been driving around in the Morgan Junction area the past week!!

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