EVERETT — The Everett-based security company alerted Monroe police that a silent alarm had gone off.
It was around 10:40 p.m. Saturday.
When officers arrived at the St. Vincent de Paul thrift store, they spotted a man and woman.
The store was closed.
The pair, it turned out, wasn’t looking for loot.
Their quarry? An imaginary character.
“That was an emergency response only to find out they are looking for a Pokemon,” Monroe Police Department spokeswoman Debbie Willis said.
The weekend call was a sign of the times. Last week, the new Pokemon Go geo-cache game was released, prompting players to trek hither and yon collecting cyber supplies and engaging in make-believe battles through the free smartphone app. When Pokemon pursuers get within range, they swipe their touchscreen to throw a Pokeball and capture a virtual varmint.
The mobile app is getting people, young and old, outside to explore their communities. They might happen upon a Vulpix, a Metapod or a Squirtle at a nearby park or in a cemetery or near any of a number of other local landmarks.
Over the weekend, Ruby Nye, 23, was out and about after midnight in Marysville, where she makes her home. Later Sunday, she and her boyfriend drove to the Kirkland waterfront and some business parks. It was her first time to that city and the trip was inspired by the chance to look for characters she grew up with in a different locale.
“The games have always been interesting and intriguing,” she said.
Nye was 4 when she collected her first Pokemon card. She has been hooked since, collecting decks, watching shows and movies, and playing games with her parents and brother. Many of her closest friends are big into Pokemon.
In Kirkland on Sunday, Nye and her companions found themselves talking with strangers who shared their passion. “We never would have stopped and said a word to them before,” she said.
Local police don’t want to dampen the enthusiasm, but they do want people to be mindful of safety and trespassing.
Officers in Edmonds warned people to stay off a fishing pier that has been closed for repairs. “The Pokemon will hopefully be there when it reopens,” the department wrote on social media last week. “Had calls about this already.”
In Duvall, police took their warnings to Facebook: “If you feel the need to run around playing Pokemon Go this summer, that’s cool. Just be smart about it.”
What isn’t smart is “creeping around the Duvall PD. We have had some people playing the game behind the PD, in the dark, popping out of bushes, etc.,” police wrote. “This is high on our list of things that are not cool right now.”
“It makes an unsafe situation for players and officers,” they wrote.
Sgt. Sean Doty is a Lynnwood police officer and the father of a daughter who is enjoying the new game.
“I’m sure the vast majority of game players practice common sense and are respectful of private property, but parents should familiarize themselves with this game and others like it as their children may be looking for opportunities to seek out destinations ordinarily off-limits to them in an effort to capture these virtual characters,” he said.
In Missouri, O’Fallon police Sunday arrested three young men and a teen for investigation of armed robbery for allegedly luring victims to specific places through the Pokemon Go phone app.
Nye said she’d be too nervous to walk on or cut through private property in pursuit of a Pokemon, but she did have someone come out with a flashlight around 4 a.m. Sunday wondering what she and her friends were doing parked in a cul de sac with their headlights out. They rolled down a window, offered an explanation and apologized.
She’ll keep that experience in mind, but she’ll also continue to pursue a pastime she enjoys.
She’ll also be getting some more exercise. One aspect of the game is that Pokemon eggs can be incubated through exercise. The eggs hatch based on different distances walked.
“We have talked about hiking to Mount Pilchuck” to see if there are some Pokemon characters hanging out up there, Nye said. At the very least, they’ll be able to hatch some eggs along the way.
On social media, Pokeman players Monday were sharing hot spots around Everett. One from the Riverside neighborhood described seeing young people hunting around that part of town.
“It’s all very exciting,” the player wrote. “Maybe Pokemon Go will help foster a tighter community!”
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@hearldnet.com.
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