Holiday burglaries return to South Whidbey

Burglars targeting both homes and businesses on South Whidbey during the past month-and-a-half have done their damage mostly during the holiday periods.

“Burglars targeting both homes and businesses on South Whidbey during the past month-and-a-half seem to have an affinity for the holidays, if their recent activities are any indication. Over the Christmas weekend, burglars broke into a Whidbey Coffee stand on Howard Road and into the nearby Blue Star Rockery.On Saratoga Road, burglars committed the seventh in a series of residential burglaries in the Langley area, burglaries in which the perpetrators entered a home by kicking in the front door. During the New Year’s weekend, burglars hit the Bayview coffee stand again. Two home burglaries — one on Lone Lake Road and one on Maxwelton Road — were reported between Dec. 29 and New Year’s Eve.Similar crimes had occurred over the Thanksgiving weekend, with burglars using a chainsaw to cut open a steel door at a Bayview car wash. Four homes were also burglarized by the kick-and-enter method.Detective Sgt. Russ Lindner of the Island County Sheriff’s Office said his agency currently has no suspects in mind. He said the break-ins are similar to one another, having both location and method in common. Because some are centered in the Bayview area and some are in the Lone Lake area, Lindner said law enforcement may be tracking two sets of burglars.We may have two different scenarios going there, Lindner said. Lt. Ray Tash, the precinct commander for South Whidbey, said the burglars have been extremely careful, using gloves during the break-ins and leaving behind little or no evidence.Anyone with information about the burglaries is encouraged to call 911. “