Wetsuit-wearing burglars paddle away on Lake Washington after Yarrow Point home invasion

YARROW POINT, Wash. — Crafty criminals came up with a new twist, getting away with the stuff they want to steal by water, not land!

Police are now searching for suspects who wore wetsuits when they forced their way through a back glass door of a Yarrow Point home early Thursday morning. Not unusual that the suspects broke in through a glass door, but it is a bit unusual that they did it while someone was home, and they made their getaway in wetsuits, paddling away from the property on Lake Washington.

“So, it’s not I guess new, new. It doesn’t happen very often,” said Sgt. Kevin Haistings at Seattle Harbor Patrol.

While this circumstance may not be common, it’s not uncommon to see plenty of crime on the water. This break-in took place around 3:30 in the morning. The people home at the time immediately called 911, but dispatch didn’t alert Seattle Harbor Patrol.

“We would have a crew. We have three people here 24 hours a day,” said Sgt. Haistings.

That's a fraction of the staffing they had in the early 2000s.

“They’re really down on resources and down on officers. I know they’re getting back, but they’re not where they used to be,” said Andrea Pierantozzi with the Recreational Boating Association of Washington (RBAW).

Pierantozzi told KOMO News that RBAW does not directly donate money to Seattle Harbor Patrol, but the membership-based group does lobby for this marine unit to get the resources they need while also educating boaters on the rules to avoid getting pulled over on the water.

They've got more than 200 miles of shoreline to patrol, filled with homes, docks, marinas, boats, and parks.

“It’s not uncommon if we get off and dock and walk a marina to find boats that have frayed lines, or broken lines, boats taking on water,” said Sgt. Haistings.

They also patrol the speed limit from the Ballard locks through the Montlake Cut when they’ve got the staffing.

“The more we can do to raise awareness of what they bring right to a safe boating lifestyle that's real important as well,” said Pierantozzi.

“Most people don’t think about everything that goes on when it’s busy,” said Sgt. Haistings.

For instance, if they get three calls at once, Sgt. Haistings said there's not another precinct in the city that can be called in to help.

“Because we’re it. it’s a specialized piece of equipment we’re operating. A patrol car can’t meet me in the middle of Lake Washington to assist on a call,” he said.

So, with just three of them on duty at once, they have to problem-solve very quickly. Sgt. Haistings also told KOMO News that they can divide and conquer, where two officers head out in one boat, and the Sgt. on duty can grab a smaller or faster boat, or different gear, to assist.

And just the other day, he said some young women being bothered by a man in a park, flagged down the crew as they docked their patrol boat.

“He followed them around, and they said he would sit close to them. He was drinking out of a big foil pouch of wine and making inappropriate comments,” said Sgt. Haistings. Officers contacted the man, who he said then got a little confrontational with them.

“Just verbally confrontational with the officers, but complied and provided some ID. Turned out he had an active warrant, so probably not the best thing to do, for him to have done at that time, but that situation was resolved, and quite frankly, the people in the park thought it was an awesome piece of police work,” he said.

Clyde Hill police are now looking for help finding the men in wetsuits. They released surveillance pictures hoping someone can identify them. Investigators also talked with neighbors, who spotted the same men trying to break into two other homes between 2:00 and 3:00 in the morning, but did not call 911 to report that activity.

Anyone with information about the wetsuit-clad men, seen in the surveillance photos should contact the Clyde Hill Police Department. You can email them at police@clydehill.org or call Det. Beatus Swai at (425) 454-7187. Reference case #23-1868.