(WELCHES) – Local residents in the tony neighborhood of Elk Park Road are
on the alert after a spate of recent break-ins.

Four houses were hit in a six-day period from Nov. 6 to Nov. 12. Losses
ranged from nothing being taken after entrance was gained through a broken
window, to an estimated $10,000 ransacking of another.

Hardest hit was the residence of Steve and Lisa Siegfried on Nov. 6.

"We came home Thursday night and after Steve opened the front door we
didn’t even have to go inside," Lisa Siegfried told The Mountain Times. "The
family room was a mess. Steve turned to me and said ‘we’ve been broken
into.’"

"I was shocked," Steve Siegfried said. "There was a feeling of being invaded. I
felt safe here before – probably not so safe any more."

The first clue was a miter saw in the middle of the family room – an item that
was evidently too awkward to be removed.

The couple proceeded through all the rooms and they found it difficult to
assess what was missing due to the chaos that stretched before them.

They had grabbed everything they could to use as carry sacks," Lisa said.
"Steve’s ski boot pack was missing, pillow cases had been taken off the beds.
I guess they just filled them up."

An attempt to call the sheriff’s office was foiled when the phone wouldn’t
work. Later, they discovered the phone had been unhooked at the outside
box. A county sheriff’s deputy arrived later after being summoned by cell
phone.

"The deputy saw all kinds of finger smudges on the furniture and appliances,
but they were made with gloves, so there weren’t any finger prints," Lisa said.
Missing items included power tools, a wall tapestry, jewelry, Tibetan masks
made of turquoise and coral, china, glass figurines and miniatures from Nepal,
and a prescription bottle of pills for their dog – designed to curb a leaky
bladder.

"The directions on the bottle were pretty faded," Lisa said, unable to muffle a
chuckle. "I hope they tried them."

Entry was made through a window in the great room and it appeared the
burglars had used a pitch fork to break the glass.

Fortunately for the Siegfrieds, to access the house requires climbing a steep
outside set of stairs, and Lisa figures that is why the TV, VCR, and other
heavier items were not taken.

They estimate their loss to be close to $10,000.

"But most of the items taken were more personal, things given to us, and had
no value to anyone else," Lisa said.

Ironically, a month before a friend had let them know of a "couple suspicious
characters" hanging out in the neighborhood. That prompted the Siegfrieds to
install an alarm system. The first attempt to do so was thwarted when the
company cancelled an appointment, then they showed up with the wrong
equipment. While waiting for the next appointment, they were burglarized.
"The alarm system was installed the next day," Steve said.

Broken windows were suffered at two other residents, and a computer was
stolen at a home that was entered by smashing through a dead-bolted door.
All the break-ins occurred on Elk Park Road.

The home of Rebecca and Karson Knutson was among those targeted. They
arrived at their residence the day after the event and discovered a broken
window used for entry.

"Nothing was missing," Rebecca Knutson said. "They must have been scared
off, or something. But the window replacement is going to cost us about
$1,000."

Mountain resident Mike Wherity was watching one of the homes for the
residents who were out of town – it was hit Nov. 12.

"I went by to check the house just before dusk and noticed the electric gate
wasn’t working," Wherity said. "The lights were off, the meter had been
removed from the garage and the phone system was disabled."

Entry was made through a double window in the back. "The window was
broken out and the place was ransacked. All the jewelry was gone. A lap-top
was missing. They knew what they were doing," Wherity said.

Sara McClurg, crime prevention officer for the Clackamas County Sheriff’s
Department, confessed there had been an "up-tick in break-ins, but mostly
cars" throughout the county. These were the first incidents to come
specifically from the Mountain community.

"It is conjecture, of course," but in incidents like these, all in the same general
area, the (offenders) are organized and probably locals," McClurg said.

She also noted that the department tracks activity like this. "It gets our
attention," she said. "Our patrol deputies take ownership of districts they work
in. They take incidents like these personally."

Betsy LaBarge, of Cascade Property Management and a resident in the same
area as the break-ins, is spearheading a prevention effort by forming a
Neighborhood Watch Program.

McClurg is working with the Elk Park Road residents and others from the
surrounding area to form the watch unit. The first meeting is set for early
December.

If the program is formed it will be first one in the Mountain community,
according to McClurg.

"Then we’re making history," Rebecca Knutson said.

"I hope we can organize," Steve Siegfried said. "People in the community
need to watch out for each other."