Thieves work over Dufur; car stolen; license plates missing
Anais Mera of Mill A, Wash., west of White Salmon, reported her forest-green Subaru Outback stolen on Friday night or early Saturday morning. It carried the WA License plate BDK2458. She posted the theft on Facebook. She found out the car was recovered a day later in Madras.
By Tom Peterson
The Wasco County Sheriff’s Office is working through a series of reports involving a stolen vehicle from Washington, stolen license plates in Mosier, multiple car prowls in Dufur, and one man fleeing from police in Madras on Saturday afternoon.
No one is in jail.
But people are missing a lot of their belongings.
Here’s the story thus far:
Anais Mera of Mill A, Wash., west of White Salmon, reported her forest-green Subaru Outback stolen on Friday night or early Saturday morning. It carried the WA License plate BDK2458. She posted the theft on Facebook.
Across the river in Mosier, Scott Baker, had an unusual experience on Saturday morning.
Scott Baker
The Northern Wasco County Parks and Recreation Director went outside and saw his own Subaru Outback now had Washington license plates.
Guess what?
They were WA BDK2458 - That’s right, Mera’s plates.
“I got him on camera and he is wearing a hoody,” Baker said of the thief. “From what I could see on the footage he is trying to be sneaky swapping plates with another Outback. I don’t know why he went to the trouble to put them on my car. It does not make a lot of sense to put Washington plates on my car. Did he think I would not notice?”
Baker was now missing his Oregon license plates 432 FZA.
It gets worse, according to the Wasco County Sheriff’s Log.
There were 14 reports of car prowling in Dufur on Saturday morning. Someone had rifled through multiple cars.
Vehicles were hit on Church, Heisler, Main, Fourth, Bohna and Fifth streets, Dufur Road and Lloyd Ave. Expensive item and money were taken. Candy was stolen from one vehicle on Dufur Road and left in a neighbors truck along with an empty juice box. Footprints looking like cowboy boots were left behind in the snow.
The manager of Azure Farms reported he had a clean video of the license plate of a suspected burgler.
Guess What? It was Oregon plate 432 FZA. Baker’s plates.
At 5 p.m. on Saturday night, Madras police were on an unrelated call and came into contact with the driver and passenger of a forest-green Outback, according to the log.
“Jordan Fus is detained at this time,” Frontier Dispatch in Jefferson County relayed to Wasco County 911, according to the log. “Another subject ran, which may have been Jones, Cameron Christopher Ross, date of birth 01-22-1997. Has 3 circuit court warrants out of Wasco County. Cameron took off on foot they are attempting to locate him currently.”
CCCNews is awaiting details from Madras Police.
But guess what? The car had Baker’s license plates, 432 FZA.
However, the car was registered to Mera in Mill A with WA BKD2458 plates.
The Wasco County Sheriff’s log states, “Skamania County has multiple crimes involving this vehicle as well. I advised this is the vehicle that may be involved in car prowls in our county.”
Madras Police and Jefferson County deputies did a search of the vehicle and found multiple items, some with serial numbers. Those serial numbers matched those of stolen property taken from a vehicle in Dufur just hours earlier.
Wasco County Chief Deputy Scott Williams said no one was in custody in relation to the stolen Subaru, noting COVID-19 guidelines prevent officers from incarcerating suspected criminals.
“We’re having a difficult time with this,” Williams said of being able to hold suspects, noting it was possible the men who stole the Subaru could still be out committing crimes.
Williams said the case remains open and the Wasco County Sheriff’s office could use assistance in gathering additional evidence.
“We have had a month of car prowls in Dufur, Mosier and Maupin. We ask that anyone with video surveillance contact detectives at his office at 541-506-2580. Email Williams at scottw@co.wasco.or.us.
