Deputies from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office burst a burglar's carefully constructed scheme to break into units at a storage facility in Chimacum Thursday morning.
The thief escaped …
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Deputies from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office burst a burglar's carefully constructed scheme to break into units at a storage facility in Chimacum Thursday morning.
The thief escaped arrest, however, by driving his truck from the scene of the crime through people's back yards before he eventually bailed after crashing into a chain-link fence and scrambling into the woods nearby.
Deputies used drones and a canine unit from Sequim in an attempt to find the suspect Thursday morning, without success.
Detective Sergeant Brett Anglin of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said a 911 text message alerted authorities to a burglary in progress at the storage facility off Chimacum Road.
When three units from the sheriff's office arrived, deputies discovered the automatic gate to the business had been padlocked by the thief.
A deputy who had gone to the rear of the storage facility found the suspect trying to get away.
The thief drove toward the officer, who jumped out of the way as the truck swerved and kept going.
Anglin said the driver crossed through back yards and fences near the business south of Chimacum Road.
The truck crashed into the fence of another storage facility, then the thief fled on foot into the forest.
At one point, the man crossed Chimacum Creek. Anglin said the man would have been very wet, with soiled clothes, from his getaway.
The search for the man was suspended later Thursday.
Deputies recovered the truck the man was driving and impounded the vehicle while waiting for a search warrant.
The plates to the vehicle, as well as the truck's emblems, had been covered with duct tape to hide identifying information.
"The suspect was obviously attempting to conceal himself," Anglin said.
Several storage units had been cut open with an oxygen and acetylene torch, as had the front gate, he added.
The police dog was able to find the scent of the burglar and the track led to a wooded area east of the storage facility.
The man apparently fled toward Oak Bay, Anglin said.
Patrols in the area will continue, he said.
