Thieves take advantage of people who evacuated due to flood concerns in Skagit County
MOUNT VERNON, Wash. - Some people in Mount Vernon worried about their homes and businesses flooding have now been victimized by crooks who took advantage of the situation.
Crooks broke into Farrell’s Auto Wrecking sometime after the owner shut the business down to evacuate the area on Monday.
"Here is one of the doors that they pried open," owner Rob Martindale said.
Rob said tools, catalytic converters and a 2005 silver Kia Sedona were stolen. He estimates he lost around $10,000.
"They threw everything into a van and stole a van out of here. It's a pretty crummy thing do," Martindale said.
News of the break-in traveled fast.
Laura Massingale came back to her farm Wednesday morning after voluntarily evacuating. She says her presence will hopefully keep thieves away from Flyway Farm, a guided bird hunting farm.
"We have 30 acres of paradise," Massingale.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Mount Vernon residents prepare for major flooding as Skagit River nears record flood level
However, she still has a bag packed in the car and has her animals in safe-keeping until the danger to the levee is completely gone.
"The horses are in Arlington, the dogs are in Marysville. It took some coordination," Massingale said.
She is grateful the levee has held up so far and that her community isn’t under water like others up north.
"It’s eye-opening and at some point, we panicked a little bit," Massingale said.
Now she and others are concerned about potential damage to the levee after all the water subsides.
"We are hopeful that it doesn’t and that they keep maintaining the dike and improving on the weaknesses they find this time," Massingale said.
And when it comes to that work, it is just the beginning for dike districts and the Army Corps of Engineers.
In the coming days, dike commissioners will assess the levee and request help from the Army Corps of Engineers to help fix any issues.
RELATED: Mount Vernon gets help from federal government ahead of major flooding along Skagit River
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