The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office and Port Angeles and Sequim police departments are cooperating to solve 99 summer car burglaries that are believed to have similarities and may be connected.
Vehicle burglaries, or prowls, this summer happened in all three jurisdictions, Clallam County Sheriff’s Sgt. John Keegan said Tuesday, and there were many more than 99 between June and September.
But investigators say that these 99 prowls have similarities that may link them.
Although some of the burglaries happened months ago, some are just now being discovered, Keegan said, because officers have found the stolen items.
“How it unfolded was a little backward because instead of responding to the vehicle prowls, we found some of the items that had been stolen,” Keegan said.
“Some people didn’t report because they thought they had just lost the items, and then some people didn’t want to bother us or they thought it was their own fault for not locking their cars.”
He said he wasn’t ready to say where stolen items had been discovered.
Keegan said he wasn’t sure how the 99 cases were split up by jurisdiction.
But he said that all three law enforcement agencies have been working together to gather evidence.
“It is very important that if someone was a victim during the time frame that they should notify me,” he said.
“If you were a victim and didn’t report the items missing, it is possible we have come across them.”
On Monday alone, Keegan said three people were told they were victims of car burglaries.
“Two of them thought they had lost their items and one more hadn’t reported the prowl,” he said.
Most of the items taken included electronics, purses, money and other valuables.
Port Angeles Police Deputy Chief Brian Smith said Tuesday that detectives are working closely with Keegan to solve the rash of prowls.
One one day alone — June 16 — there were more than seven car prowls on Ninth, 10th and 11th streets in Port Angeles.
“That is the kind of thing we notice,” he said. “Those are very close to each other and we’re paying close attention to those,” he said.
Although both Keegan and Smith said that car prowls typically increase in the summer — warmer weather allows people to be out late at night and more people forget that they have left their car windows down — the numbers were unusual.
In Port Angeles city limit, 124 car prowls happened between June and September.
Some of those are included in the 99 cases that are believed to be connected.
About 50 car prowls were reported in Sequim during that time, said Officer Maris Turner, Sequim Police Department spokeswoman.
Some of those are part of the 99 that law enforcement agencies are collaborating to solve.
Keegan said he wasn’t sure how many total car prowls occurred in unincorporated Clallam County.
“Obviously if we can connect up these burglaries connected by evidence, the more crimes that are aggregated, the more serious the penalty it will be for the suspects,” he said.
Keegan recommended several actions to guard against prowls:
• Make sure to lock your vehicle.
• Take valuables out of the vehicle or hide them from sight.
• Keep track of serial numbers of any electronics or valuables.
• If you are a victim of a car prowl, report it.
To speak to Keegan, phone 360-417-2459.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.