Tag: missing
Posted by Caleb Hutton
Text courtesy of the Blaine Police Department, with minor edits for style.
Friday, Feb. 15
11:48 p.m. A resident on Garfield Avenue called police to report her husband was missing, explaining that he had left hours earlier for a short drive over to the grocery store but never returned. Several calls to the man’s cell phone had gone unanswered and the reporting party was growing seriously concerned. Information on the gentleman and his car was broadcast, and in about 20 minutes an officer found the man’s car parked on Marine Drive. Hubby was inside, fast asleep. He was awakened from his blissful slumber and advised to head home for more practice at sleeping well in uncomfortable positions.
Saturday, Feb. 16
9:04 p.m. A gentleman parked his car downtown on Peace Portal Drive for a few hours while having dinner, and returned to find his vehicle had been damaged by a hit and run driver in his absence. Police responded to take a report, and a few days later were able to locate the running vehicle. The likely driver was identified, and a case report was forwarded to the city prosecutor for review of charges.
Sunday, Feb. 17
1:31 a.m. A bit after midnight a resident on Garfield Avenue answered a loud knock at the front door to find two strangers standing on his porch. One man was very large and very intoxicated, and the other was more weight and alcohol-content proportionate. The larger man profanely and repeatedly ordered the resident to stop speeding in the nearby alleyway or face deadly consequences, and handed the resident a handwritten note bearing a similar message. The resident advised he does not speed in the alley or elsewhere, and had not driven anywhere at all in the past 24 hours. Police are investigating to identify the maker of the threats.
10:15 p.m. Police were called to Blaine Avenue when youthful street play in a residential neighborhood took a turn for the worse. Witnesses reported that a group of kids they did not recognize were yelling in the streets and disturbing the area. One young man on a bicycle deliberately rode toward an approaching car, daring the motorist to strike him, and he and his friends then began making rude comments to the driver. Another youth began bragging about his proficiency at breaking in to cars, offering to show his younger partners how to do the crime. Officers located the troublemakers and turned them over to their parents, who were visiting a relative in the area.
11:10 p.m. Two young men reported that a resident of an adjoining apartment building on Mary Avenue had made threatening motions at them as they were parking their vehicles in the common parking area. Police contacted and interviewed the person who made the gestures. She denied purposefully trying to frighten anyone and countered that the young men were probably exaggerating anything they might have seen. She was warned to not attempt any more comical stabbing motions à la Bates Motel while standing close to windows that look over the parking lot.
Tuesday, Feb. 19
5:11 p.m. Police responded to an emergency call for assistance at a residence where a person was unconscious. On arrival they found a family member performing CPR on an elderly relative. The officer assisted until medic units arrived. The elderly man had been in poor health and was not revived.
Wednesday, Feb. 20
1:44 a.m. Officers responded to contact the driver of a car parked on 14th Street, after the vehicle’s driver called 911 saying that she was about to die. The lady living in the car said the government had already taken everything from her and was now conspiring with Canadian authorities to prevent her from seeking refugee status there. Apparently she had repeatedly tried to leave the United States but was having trouble finding a country that would harbor her, and felt that the police were among those responsible. She was not an immediate threat to herself or others, and refused all offers of aid and suggestions for assistance.
By Caleb Hutton
The FBI is asking for the public’s help in solving four murders believed to have been committed in Washington state within the past decade, after suspected serial killer Israel Keyes confessed to the killings, then apparently committed suicide in an Alaska prison.
It’s not clear if Keyes spent time in Whatcom County, but the chart at the bottom of this post shows he crossed the border from Washington to British Columbia more than once.
It’s worth noting — at least according to the chart — none of the missing people listed on the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office website appear to have disappeared at the same time Keyes was in Washington. One of the murders, Keyes admitted, was later ruled an accident.
Here’s the press release from the FBI. I bolded the relevant parts for Whatcom County residents.
Mary Rook, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for the State of Alaska requests the public’s assistance in developing information concerning the travels of suspected serial killer ISRAEL KEYES, deceased, in order to identify additional victims.
Anyone with information concerning Keyes is encouraged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Based upon investigation conducted following his arrest in March 2012, Israel Keyes is believed to have committed multiple kidnappings and murders across the country between 2001 and March 2012. Keyes lived in Washington from 2001 to March 2007, at which time he moved to Alaska. While living in Alaska, Keyes worked as a general contractor but traveled extensively. In a series of interviews with law enforcement, Keyes described significant planning and preparation for his murders, reflecting a meticulous and organized approach to his crimes.
It was not unusual for Keyes to fly into an airport, rent a car, and drive hundreds of miles to his final destination. This was the case in the murder of Bill and Loraine Currier, where Keyes flew into Chicago, rented a car, and drove across several states before arriving in Essex, Vermont. After the murder of the Curriers, Keyes continued his travels on the east coast before returning to Chicago and then to Alaska.
Keyes admitted responsibility for robbing several banks during this time frame, two of which investigators have corroborated. Keyes used the proceeds from his bank robberies to pay for his travel, along with money he made as a general contractor. Keyes also admitted traveling to various locations to leave supplies he planned to use in a future crime. Keyes buried caches throughout the United States. The FBI has recovered two caches buried by Keyes – one in Eagle River, Alaska and one near Blakes Falls Reservoir in New York. The caches contained weapons and other items used to dispose of bodies. Keyes indicated the other caches he buried throughout the U.S. contain weapons, money, and items used to dispose of victims.
Investigators believe that Keyes did not know any of his victims prior to their abductions. He described several remote locations that he frequented to look for victims – parks, campgrounds, trailheads, cemeteries, boating areas, etc. Keyes also told investigators that prior to the Currier case, his victims’ disappearance received little if any media coverage. Based on his own research, Keyes stated that one of his victims has been recovered but authorities ruled the death accidental.
Investigators have not identified this victim or where this crime occurred.
Keyes admitted to murdering four people in Washington; he killed two people (independent of each other) sometime during 2005 and 2006, and murdered a couple in Washington between 2001 and 2005. It is unknown if these victims were residents of Washington or if they were vacationing in Washington but resided in another state. It is also possible Keyes abducted them from a nearby state and transported them to Washington.
Additionally, Keyes admitted to investigators that in 2009 he murdered a victim on the east coast and disposed of the body in New York State. Based on Keyes’ statements, investigators believe Keyes abducted the victim from a surrounding state and transported him/her to New York.
The FBI provided this timeline of the Keyes’ whereabouts. The agency grouped locations by region, rather than state, because of his pattern of travelling long distances by car.
By Caleb Hutton
A wild horse adopted by a Bellingham woman has gone missing in the Squalicum Valley area.
The horse, Flirt, was last seen by some neighbor kids at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 30, after it broke through a 6-foot wooden fence near Y Road.
Tracey Westbury posted photos and gave a detailed description of the horse (a red dun yearling filly, 14.2 hands tall, wearing a halter but not halter-broke) on her Facebook page.
Flirt, a recently adopted 1-year-old wild horse, went missing Tuesday morning, Oct. 30.
Westbury said Flirt was adopted this week and hauled home to the 3600 block of Y Road on Monday night. Flirt was getting ready to go out with her riding partner Tuesday morning when she panicked and crashed through the fence. She might have an injured hind leg.
Because Flirt is wild, anybody who spots her should be cautious. Feel free to call Westbury at 360-224-2693 if you do see the horse. Or call the Whatcom Humane Society at 360-733-2080.
“Most importantly,” Westbury said, “don’t try to run up and catch her. Keep a safe distance.”
The horse was adopted through the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s Wild Horse Program.
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