Burglary prompts four-hour manhunt, school lockdown
Clallam County Sheriff’s Deputies Karl Koehlar, left, and Tom Anderson carry investigation equipment from a Joyce home that was burglarized on Friday, with rifles and a gun taken. -- Photo by Chris Tucker/Peninsula Daily News
By Tom Callis, Peninsula Daily News
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During the manhunt, nearby Crescent School was placed in lockdown for about three hours.
Undersheriff Ron Peregrin said that deputies believe the burglar left in a vehicle shortly after he took guns from a home near Joyce and fled into the woods.
Seven deputies wearing body armor and armed with Colt AR-15 .233 caliber rifles and Remington Model 870 shotguns searched for the man, arriving 15 minutes after they were called, Peregrin said.
They were assisted by a police dog from the Sequim Police Department, as well as Lower Elwha Klallam Tribal Police officers and a helicopter crew from Coast Guard Group/Air Station Port Angeles.
Some of the heavily-armed officers were positioned on state Highway 112 on the west and east ends of the community to provide security away from the immediate search area, Peregrin said.
"We wanted to ensure the area was safe before handling it in our normal investigative manner," he said.
Glimpsed burlgar
At about 2:30 p.m., the residents of a home at 51483 state Highway 112 in Joyce said they saw a man run into the woods north of their house with their 12-gauge shotgun and .45 caliber pistol, Peregrin said.
The residents couldn't provide a description of the man, didn't know who he was, reported no other items stolen, he said.
Deputies have no leads as to the identity of the burglar, he said.
Deputies conducted a one-mile wide search of the area, Peregrin said.
The K9 unit and two professional trackers with the Sheriff's Office were able to follow the man's tracks for only a short distance, he said.
School locked down
Crescent School, about one mile west of the house, was put into lockdown for about three hours, said Tom Anderson, school principal and superintendent.
About 35 students were there for football and cheerleading practice.
The school was notified by the Sheriff's Office at about 3:30 p.m., and the school went into lockdown until 6:30 p.m.
"The kids were very cooperative and supportive," Anderson said.
The school practices lockdown situations each year, and the incident went "very smoothly," he said.
Anderson said parents were contacted immediately, and that the students were supervised by school staff during the lockdown.
Patrol checks of the area were carried out through the night, Peregrine said.
________
Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-471-3532 or tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
Last modified: September 06. 2008 9:00PM