WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Another car prowl; backpack found

| Crime | West Seattle news

Two reader reports:

CAR PROWL: From Chris:

We live on 38th Ave SW, b/t Stevens and Lander, and I came out on Wednesday morning at 9:10 am to find our Traverse had been rummaged through. We must have left it unlocked when we arrived home around 4:10pm yesterday, since there were no broken windows and no alarm last night. Nothing much taken other than some change in the console, a multi-tool from the door, and flashlight from the glove compartment.

BACKPACK FOUND: Betty, who sent the photo, says it’s hard to tell whether this was stolen/dumped, or maybe just lost. But given the uptick in car-prowl reports lately, we’re featuring it here in case of the latter:

She says the backpack contains “kids’ water shoes, and there’s a charger and a folding knife inside.” If it’s yours, let us know and we’ll connect you.

edrdvm May 20, 2020 (5:22 pm)

My husband has an odd schedule with his job position currently so that being said, he has to walk the dog in the middle of the night right now. He noticed a guy walking near Holy Rosary church two nights ago. Sirens filled the air and the guy immediately raised his hoodie over his head. Then he turned the corner and dropped a booksack on the church grounds. My husband came home and phoned 911 operator. He gave a detail description of what happened and the 911 operator said, “So, what’s suspicious about that?” WTF???? And we wonder why we have such significant amounts of crime in our area here! Could this be the typical response when people call in suspicious behavior??? Aren’t these operators trained to contact the police? Some of these operators may live in suburbs and such and maybe they don’t understand the issues we face here in Seattle proper, but maybe it’s time for Jennifer Danner to speak to these guys and alert them to the issues we have with crime in our region.

Just a thought May 20, 2020 (8:11 pm)

Or maybe this person also has an odd work schedule, was cold, and it was his only opportunity to give to the church he loved.
- edrdvm May 21, 2020 (5:06 pm)
  
  Ha! You must not live in the Junction proper. Every single evening, there are many car burglaries. My husband and I spend several hours outside in our neighborhood and it is a constant issue. This is not profiling, buddy. Have you read the blog this week? Look at all the break-ins in the area! Just because a car is parked on a public street, doesn’t mean anyone can have what’s inside of it! People who canvas the neighborhood at night usually use small flashlights to peak into the cars from the street side of the car. They drop bags that have incriminating evidence in them; whether it be stolen material or tools they use from the break-in. We lived on the south side of Chicago for 5 years while my husband was in school, trust me when I say this, we are schooled in crime avoidance and prevention! One of my first welcoming initiations is to have my catalytic converter stolen from my car which costs ~$2000 to repair. They carried the tools in their back-pack, sawed the converter out from under the car, and carried it off to sell. The world is a bit cruel and people should begin to be more vigilant about crime watches and preventions, not less so. If less so, we will all continue to be taken advantage of. You sympathize with the criminal until it happens to you!
The King May 20, 2020 (10:40 pm)

Considering a close 5-4 vote of the Supreme Court decided to keep Gary Ridgway incarcerated you must have to do something real serious these days. I can’t imagine what the four yes votes had to say to justify his release.
- WSB May 20, 2020 (10:59 pm)
  
  It was not a vote on Gary Ridgway specifically, so nobody voted “to justify his release.”
  https://www.khq.com/coronavirus/q-check-did-the-green-river-killer-gary-ridgway-really-come-close-to-release/article_55a58d00-89ac-11ea-8891-5ba16342202c.html

M May 20, 2020 (7:27 pm)

Several other cars were broken into a block or 2 from 38th and Stevens last night too.

Admiral Dad May 20, 2020 (9:43 pm)

A neighbor on 38th has some video of two people in hoodies trying car doors around 2am last night.

Joan May 20, 2020 (8:40 pm)

That is a 911 operator who needs to find another job—that is a classic suspicious circumstance call. Wowza, so much for public service (and yes, I was a 911 dispatcher for years)

edrdvm May 21, 2020 (5:12 pm)

We thought so as well! Thank you for your post! My husband had to argue with her about the importance of it being checked out. It felt like a complete waste of time. Ridiculous.

Ang May 20, 2020 (9:33 pm)

I’m on 38th and Hanford and my car was rifled through last night. SO frustrating, this is i think the 4th time now. I’ve lived in West Seattle my whole life (38 years) and in my house since 2005. This is the first year this has been an issue.

edrdvm May 21, 2020 (5:14 pm)

Well, my husband and I will continue to make calls when we see this type of behavior. Hopefully others will begin to join in. Maybe we really do need a crime watch patrol to phone in suspicious behavior minimally! It will only get worse with the financial situation.

SJOY May 21, 2020 (10:58 am)

Ahhh Dang Chris, this is Serena… sorry to hear about your car getting broken into… at least there were no guns involved this time :( Hope you guys are doing well.

P May 21, 2020 (11:13 am)

That looks like a backpack I have seen my boyfriend with! Well ex now. I don’t know he might of just lost it near the prowl or left it there because he was the one that did the prowling-as some kind of joke/statement. I think it’s him! Sorry you had to go though that, it must be frustrating.

Sorry, comment time is over.