WASHINGTON COUNTY, Ore. — On the night of Thanksgiving, while a North Plains homeowner was out having turkey dinner with friends, burglars broke into his house through a window and door, taking thousands of dollars worth of personal property.
After reporting the incident off of rural Northwest Fern Flat Road to Washington County deputies, homeowner Steve said he's sharing the surveillance video just in case someone recognizes the couple or the car, or if anyone else has fallen victim to the pair. Investigators said at this time, they're not aware of any connections between these suspects and other burglaries in the county.
Around 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 28, a white Volkswagen Jetta pulled into Steve's driveway. A week prior, his security cameras picked up the same car — and presumably the same people — casing the housing and property.
"It was a couple and they got out in front of our house and just walked around, and I thought that was odd. So when I came home, I investigated and everything seemed fine, so I didn't think much of it," Steve said.
Then, they came back.
"They came out of their vehicle, went in the back, smash the window and brought the instrument back to their vehicle, and went through the house," he said.
Shards of glass still cover the pavement outside and the floor inside his home. Steve also pointed out the door inside the garage, busted out and broken. He said they went for the master bedroom and stole thousands of dollars worth of personal property. He's still taking inventory of the damage and what was taken.
The Washington County Sheriff's Office is actively investigating, and officials said they're seeking multiple suspects. Steve hopes the culprits are caught before they can target any other homes.
"We have been up here since 2007 and this is the first time that we've had a breach of somebody breaking into the house," he said. "It's because we live in a a tight-knit community and it's a long enough ways up that it just doesn't seem like there's a lot of criminal activity, but they they're reaching out to the outlying areas."