In this week’s Anacortes Police Blotter, a reported cyber fraud case, a theft of contents in a delivery van and a mysterious face looking at a porch camera. Scroll down if you can't wait to read about that case.
Friday, February 27, 2026
An Anacortes woman called to advise that she was a victim of fraud. She reported having received a call from a sheriff’s office in Tennessee claiming that the office needed money to place a hold on pending citations. The woman said she previously lived in Tennessee and that the information the caller provided about her was all correct. She sent $3,000 via PayPal. The officer advised that she should block the number and told the reporting party that law enforcement agencies will never reach out and ask for payments regarding any matter. She provided the name of the person she had sent the funds to, and the officer instructed her to reach out to PayPal to file a claim with them. The officer provided the corresponding case number and documented the incident.
Sunday, March 1, 2026
An Anacortes woman reported seeing graffiti on a wall near 35th Street and T Avenue. The responding officer was able to find the graffiti on a retaining wall and found a word and some symbols and numbers spray-painted on a retaining wall. The responding officer documented the graffiti via photographs and called the owner of the company whose property was tagged. He said he would have it taken care of and guessed the graffiti had happened over the past few days.
Monday, March 2, 2026
Officers were dispatched to a physical domestic violence incident in the 2600 block of R Avenue. The incident was reportedly between a man and a woman who were hitting each other in front of apartments in the area. The woman told officers upon their arrival that the man had punched her in the face. Her face was visibly swollen with spots of dried blood on her person. She was noticeably intoxicated. Ultimately, officers arrested the man for fourth-degree domestic-violence assault and transported him to Skagit County jail.
Tuesday, March 3, 2026
An Anacortes woman called to report receiving suspicious mail from Canada with a mailing address in Texas. The letter claimed that a family member had passed away and left her $10 million. She stated that she knew it was fraud and just wanted to report it to the police.
Wednesday, March 4, 2026
Officers were dispatched to the Washington State Ferry Terminal regarding a vehicle prowl. An officer contacted a man with a delivery company, who advised that a different employee had left their rental van parked in the 5400 block of Ferry Terminal Road the previous night with the vehicle’s keys inside the unsecured gas flap for the reporting party to pick up. When the reporting party arrived, he found the keys were missing, along with some Amazon packages inside the van. There was a flashlight outside the van that was not from inside the vehicle. The officer provided a case number and contact information so the reporting party could send information about the stolen packages. The officer also recommended disabling the van somehow so the thief could not return with the stolen keys and steal the van.
Thursday, March 5, 2026
An Anacortes woman called to report that a subject had been on her porch looking in windows wearing a plague doctor mask in the 6100 block of Parkside Drive. The reporting party provided the responding officer with video from the porch, showing the man looking at the camera and then around the porch. The reporting party said nothing had been taken but advised that it was worrying, as he was wearing the mask. Another officer recognized the man in the plague doctor mask photo, and knew where he stayed. Officers contacted another man at the campground, who advised that the man suspected by the officer does wear a plague doctor mask sometimes. Officers later spoke to the man via telephone, who advised that he went to the house by accident and that he was at a friend’s house nearby playing music.