Son charged with stealing from family home and mystery bone found

Island County Sheriff’s deputies on Camano Island responded to the following recently:

• A 41-year-old woman reported on March 18 that her home had been ransacked and her 13-year-old son, who had stayed home from school, was missing. During the course of the investigation, the woman’s 40- year-old husband came home and they determined that at least $10,000 worth of jewelry, including the woman’s wedding ring and diamond earrings; prescription medications including Vicodin; alcohol and food; a Bose stereo system with surround sound; X-Box 360 and Wii game consoles; and a laptop computer were all missing.

In addition, the man, a master chief in the U.S. Navy, was missing some military clothing and several knives. A note was also found, in which the 13-yearold son claimed he was running away and “would not be found.” A pile of hair on the bathroom floor led deputies to believe he had shaved his head before leaving.

His 17-year-old sister’s friend reported seeing the boy riding the bus with a large black duffel. The next day, March 19, the woman called deputies again and reported that her son had been seen near Burger King in Stanwood.

Deputies informed Stanwood Police, who took the boy into custody. The boy had a backpack with him that contained some of the items missing from his parents’ home, which he eventually admitted to stealing, including medications, knives and a cell phone.

He appeared to be under the influence of a substance, and admitted to smoking “one-quarter ounce” of marijuana, which he had traded prescription drugs for.

The boy did not admit to stealing jewelry, but deputies noted there is probable cause to recommend charging him in connection with first-degree theft of the jewelry anyway. In addition, the boy’s father found what appeared to be two “drafts” of a list in the boy’s room. The list contained items taken from the home, and what rooms they were kept in.

• A 31-year-old woman brought a bone to the Island County Sheriff’s Office Camano Annex on March 24. She found the bone while walking on the shore near her Beach Drive home. Deputies, who recognized the bone as a vertebrate, couldn’t identify whether it was human or not, so they e-mailed photos to the coroner’s office. The coroner’s office requested the bone be mailed to Coupeville for further inspection, although they’re “confident it isn’t human.”

• On March 16, a 52- year-old woman reported that someone had removed an Acer 600 laptop from her home in Driftwood Shores. Nothing else was missing, and as of March 25, the woman hadn’t called deputies with further information, such as a serial number.

• On March 29, a 47-yearold man reported his dog had been attacked by the dog or dogs across the street from his residence in the 2400 block of Wells Way. The man said the dogs were still loose and no one was answering the door at the owner’s home. His dog had been taken to the vet by his wife, and treated for bite wounds.

• A woman reported that on March 28, a woman she had hired came to her home to do some work and brought her two sons, one of whom was assisting. After they left, the woman realized her diamond ring, conservatively estimated to be worth $8,000, was missing. The woman called local pawnshops and learned someone had been in with a ring of that description, but that the young man left when the pawnshop in question asked where he had gotten it. The suspect is a Camano resident in his mid- 20s.