Manhunt under way near Granite Falls
Published 8:51 am Wednesday, October 6, 2010
GRANITE FALLS – A massive manhunt was under way this morning near Granite Falls for a burglary suspect who fired a gunshot at a Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy late Sunday night.
No one was hurt but the gunfire alarmed authorities, Snohomish County sheriff’s spokeswoman Rebecca Hover said.
“This person was obviously willing to fire on deputies,” she said. “That raises a public safety concern right there.”
A homeowner in the 21200 block of Menzel Lake Road called 911 around 8 p.m. to report a break-in, Hover said.
Basic needs including shoes and blankets were missing. Deputies arrived and used a police dog to track the suspect.
Deputies found a stash of the stolen items in the woods. While they were investigating, a shot rang out, Hover said.
“That took it up several notches,” she said.
A SWAT team was summoned and a police helicopter launched.
The burglary was reported not far from where a stolen plane was discovered Thursday crash-landed in the woods.
Authorities believe serial burglar Colton Harris-Moore, 18, may be responsible for taking the plane from an Idaho airport.
Harris-Moore is a suspect in dozens of burglaries near his mother’s home on south Camano Island and is suspected of stealing two planes from the San Juan Islands.
Hover said detectives do not know who is responsible for the stolen plane or Sunday night’s burglary.
“They’re two separate cases,” she said.
Police have blocked off Menzel Lake Road as they investigate.
A federal helicopter was being launched that has sophisticated equipment to see through the heavy canopy, Hover said.
The sheriff’s helicopter’s heat-seeking gear wasn’t able to penetrate the tree cover to see a suspect, she said.
Nearly every police agency in the county was helping the sheriff’s office in the manhunt.
Everett police sent their SWAT team this morning to relieve deputies who had been searching all night.
Officials said they will be thorough in their search.
“We’re going to keep going until we either arrest this person or can say with some degree of certainty that the suspect isn’t there anymore,” Hover said.
