KITTITAS COUNTY, Wash.- A snowmobile stolen from a resident of Kittitas County was located on Sunday, Feb. 19 and a suspect was identified and promptly arrested.
According to Deputy Pete Ross of the Kittitas County Sherriff’s office, a local woman reported an abandoned Nissan Altima on the powerline road leading to her cabin. She identified footprints in the snow leading from the abandoned vehicle into the nearby backcountry towards both her cabin and several other local residences.
Shortly after, a neighboring resident reported their snowmobile missing with the similar footprints leading from the Altima to the site of the theft.
Several deputies joined the search to locate the stolen snowmobile and identify the owner of the abandoned Altima.
A brief while later, a resident of the nearby Elk Meadows neighborhood, about two miles east of the missing snowmobile, reported a suspicious man who appeared from the bushes. The man was reported to be wearing sneakers in the snow.
The man claimed that he had just returned from a nearby park. Residents later noted that there was no park in the area.
Police located the 30 year old man, who is a resident of Ellensburg, where he later confessed driving through the area while under the influence of meth and getting his Nissan stuck. The man abandoned his vehicle and attempted to steal the snowmobile that he later abandoned as well.
The man was arrested for the theft, in addition to possession of meth and was booked in the Kittitas County Jail. His car was later impounded for a search warrant.
