Via news release the King County Sheriff’s Office said last week deputies arrested a 49-year old man who was suspected of “terrorizing homeowners by breaking into their garages, sheds and outbuildings.” Deputies had been actively looking for the man – wanted on multiple counts of theft, burglary and trespassing charges – since August 2018.
Sgt. Ryan Abbott confirmed the name of the suspect as Shayne Kennedy, who was previously arrested in 2014 for similar crimes in the Fall City area.
KCSO said several bulletins had “been posted on social media sites in an effort to increase the chances of the suspect being spotted by the public” and over the past several weeks detectives spent a considerable amount of time searching the woods surrounding victims’ homes in an effort to locate the man.
On Monday, February 11th around 8:50AM a witness called 911 to report that he had spotted suspect – whom he recognized from social media postings – walking east on SE Issaquah-Fall City RD, just south of the Duthie Hill Park.
Per the KCSO news release, deputies responded, but the suspect had already left the roadway. With an approximate foot of snow on the ground, deputies found a set (the only set in the area) of boot prints leading into the woods, in the 26400 block of SE Issaquah-Fall City RD on the eastern edge of the King County Grand Ridge Park – a 1300 acre forest used for hiking and mountain biking that extends several miles west to the Issaquah Highlands.
K9 Deputy Didway and his K9 partner Ranger started tracking the boot prints, deep into the snowy woods – about 2 1/2 miles from the road – when a campsite was located. The suspect was found next to a small campfire, near a makeshift tarp shelter. He was arrested without incident and booked into the King County Jail on investigation of Burglary and Theft charges.
On Tuesday, February 12th, King County Search and Rescue assisted KCSO detectives in deconstructing the camp and removing crates of suspected stolen property, with over two truckloads of items removed from the suspect’s camp.
Detectives are looking for the owners of numerous items that were taken from the camp. KCSO said many items were thrown away due to mildew, but photos of the items they were able to saved were uploaded HERE. Anyone recognizing pictured stolen items are asked to contact the King County Sheriff’s Office at 206/296-3311.
