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Beware- Sauk/Skagit Break-Ins

23K views 211 replies 72 participants last post by  Old Man 
#1 ·
PSA- According to the Skagit County Sheriff's office, car prowls/vandalism is approaching new highs on the Skagit and Sauk, especially vehicles with trailers. East county has only 2 of their normal 6 deputies on staff, making it hard for them to maintain a presence in the area in order to deter activity. My truck was hit last Friday at the Lower Sauk launch (Suiattle) in plain sight, as was the rig parked nextdoor. They found nothing of value in my rig (other than my spare prescription glasses) but hit a mother lode in the rig next door. Damage to the door and replacement window is nonetheless $2500, not to mention the hassle. Sheriff's Deputy (an avid fisherman himself) reports Lower Sauk, the primitive launch across from Howard Miller, Faber's North and Baker River all getting regularly hit. Sadly, another new normal and definitely not the way to end the day. Beware, report all suspicious activity and definitely don't reward this activity by leaving valuables in your cars.
 

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#195 ·
When fishing locally, always make sure your vehicle is properly marked. Has worked for me for years. I have lost a couple of catalytic converters on 4 wheel drive vehicles, but they were not properly marked and were in Oso and Silvana which I believe is outside of the Logger Protective Zone.
If you have Montana plates their effectiveness is greatly diminished.
 

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#197 ·
When fishing locally, always make sure your vehicle is properly marked. Has worked for me for years. I have lost a couple of catalytic converters on 4 wheel drive vehicles, but they were not properly marked and were in Oso and Silvana which I believe is outside of the Logger Protective Zone.
If you have Montana plates their effectiveness is greatly diminished.
This post reminds me of a study that I have never seen but is often quoted in my work (I'm a large acreage land manager for a non profit). The gist is that the Federal Gov't (USFS or BLM not sure which) did a study and found that their signage was shot up less if it has an American flag on it somewhere, and that's why you see the trails signs/cg signs etc with an American Flag and Keep America beautiful on the bottom right side often.
 
#200 ·
Thank you for reporting this. Unfortunately the cops have never cared about car breakins. All you can do is leave nothing of value in your car, or anything at all that's visible, even a charging cord or a cheap pair of sunglasses. Unfortunately it's hard to take your rid and reel cases with you down the trail, my habit is covering them with a Mexican blanket. Maybe we can start a buddy system where volunteers take shifts watching each other's cars
 
#205 ·
What I want to know is how does every pile of shit that is hooked on meth live along every river. How do they afford to be able to buy the property to trash it. Is there some kind of group program where the addict's scrape their stealings together and can magically afford a piece of property on an amazing river anywhere. Growing up I imagined all the people who lived on the riverbanks as avid sportsmen and sportswomen, stewards of the land. Today it seems like the shittiest pieces of garbage live along the rivers. How?
 
#207 ·
I don't think they are necessarily riverfront property owners, they just happen to live in the area.
If you go by a single wide on your way to the river that has 10+ not working vehicles scattered about the property and looks like a scrap yard, you are likely in tweaker territory.
The sad thing is, you can see that on nearly ever drive to any river in western WA.
The only redeeming quality of all that is how rich the soils are in motor oil and iron.....
SF
 
#206 ·
When I was an exchange student in Australia back in the early 90's, I somehow wound up going to visit a on older veterinarian and his family on a pretty remote sheep or cattle station for dinner. I remember him talking about all of the problems his family had had with "ferls" until they moved further out into the country.

A few minutes in I asked him what "ferls" were - I figured it was a colloquialism for some kind of invasive stoat or weasel. Turns out "ferl" is Australian for "feral" and he was talking about the humans that lived on the rural-urban fringe because they had no other place to go. According to him, city folk were okay, and country folk were okay, but stray city-folk that colonized the periphery for want of other options and became ferls were nothing but trouble..
 
#212 ·
I was fishing the S/F Sauk one summer day when I came upon a beater P/U parked with the windows down and the keys in the ignition. Was it begging to be stolen, I don't know. But the cat must be local and everybody knows that P/U.

There was times on fishing in the woods when you could leave you car parked and when you came back to it, it was intact. It's like that here in Montana. Well most places I fish.
 
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