Breaking crime news this weekend – and breaking traffic news – has gotten in the way of our usually-daily roundups of West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports. Until now. We have burglary, car prowl, and theft reports – and a followup from someone who has gotten some of their stolen stuff back.

BURGLARY ATTEMPTS: From Anne in Upper Fauntleroy:

We have just reported 2 break-in attempts at our home at 42nd and Thistle. One was on April 21st between 9 pm and 8 am, where they attempted to break off the lower garage door handle to pry in. The next day we had flood lights installed.

The second attempt was made on May 4th, this time the upper garage side door, door knob pried off but our steel door framing holds the extended deadbolts. Our neighbor thinks it was around 3:30 am, because their dog was trying to wake up everyone in the house. They let the dog outside and the dog took off, so the neighbors got in their car and encountered 2 men in a late-model Toyota Sienna minivan that is red or burgundy. They were wearing reflective vests and said they were doing construction work; one had a very thick Slavic accent. They left and then moved the van a few blocks away.

We have security sensors and cameras inside the house, so if they were successful, we will get a good photo to share. I just thought I would let you know, just in case someone else has experienced anything similar, or has seen this van.

CAR PROWL: From Steve in Gatewood:

Add us to your car prowl list. 41st & Holden, underneath bright streetlight. Nothing was left in car, they took a box of Kleenex and some loose change from the center console. We had a couple of CDs in the glovebox; those were still in car. Clear case of someone prowling for money or getting lucky with a hidden valuable.

The car was locked this morning, they may have used electronic means to get in the vehicle – late-model Nissan. Neither of our other two cars was hit, nor were our neighbors’ cars across the street.

‘IT IS NOT A GOOD IDEA TO STEAL AN IDOL’: An Admiral resident texted this on Saturday:

A sentimental piece of yard art was stolen from the front yard of my gray house next to Pizzeria 22 on College Street. It was an Easter Island-style head carved out of wood, about 2 feet tall. This may not sound like much, but it had very sentimental value and has been with me for decades.

Keep in mind, it is not a good idea to steal an idol. The hand-carved head has orange flecked paint on it. Someone now has it in their yard probably, unaware of the danger. And they should know that it is special and especially dangerous when placed in the wrong yard of someone who has stolen it. You still have time to return it to where you found it before your trouble starts. Look for a wooden carved Easter Island head with orange paint flecks.

STOLEN INSTRUMENTS, RETURNED: Back on April 21st, we published Maggie‘s reader report about musical instruments stolen while she and her partner were traveling through West Seattle. Today, we got a followup from her:

I wanted to send a huge thank you for posting our story/photo on West Seattle Blog. A man purchased two of our instruments and, after seeing the cases still had personal items in them, started looking up info on stolen instruments in West Seattle and found the info on your site. He contacted us and has returned both the guitar and the ukulele. We cannot thank you enough!