When Eric Seidenberger returned to the north end park & ride on Friday, December 17, 2021, he did not expect to see his 1995 Ford F-250 gone from the parking lot.

Seidenberger would not receive news regarding his stolen truck until Thursday, March 10, when he was contacted by the Puget Sound Auto Theft Task Force. The task force is a multi-jurisdictional team that investigates auto theft throughout King and Pierce Counties, and is grant-funded by the Washington Auto Theft Prevention Authority.

The task force had located Seidenberger’s vehicle, along with other vehicles in Wilkeson, Washington, a small town 10 miles east of Bonney Lake.

Seidenberger’s truck was located on remote land, bordering Weyerhaeuser property and a national forest. The truck was located about 3.5 miles off of the main county road, and was found abandoned in an embankment.

Damage to the truck was extensive, as the tires had been removed, the windows and transmission were gone, and there were bullet holes throughout the side of the vehicle. Engine components had also been pulled out of the truck, Seidenberger’s truck box in the bed of the vehicle was gone, the radio had been pulled and the gas tank was also pulled from the truck. The headlights and tailights were also removed.

Seidenberger is currently in the process of removing the vehicle from the property, which according to Seidenberger, will cost him about $500 to $800. He expects to only receive about $100 in scrap metal for the vehicle.

For Seidenberger, these events have been disappointing, as he initially moved from Seattle to Vashon to avoid crime, like the theft he recently experienced.

“Every year gets a little bit more and more encroachment,” said Seidenberger in a phone interview.

This is not the first time the north end of the island has been faced with car thefts or other instances of crime. In December 2021, Nancy Wolff’s home on the north end was broken into and her Honda CRV was stolen. The car was later located by police in Kent.

In January, Jim and Jude Boardman’s north end home was also broken into and they had items stolen, including keys to their car and a fur coat. In February, John Coghlan’s Chevy Colorado was taken from his north-end home, but was later recovered at Vashon Cohousing.

In response to an uptick in north-end crime, neighbors Nancy Wolff and Susan McCabe launched a north-end neighborhood watch in late December 2021.

According to Wolff, the north end watch has continued to expand into new zones and said the overall neighborhood has come together in response to the watch. Wolff added that there has not been a lot of additional crime in the area recently.

She applauded the “great talent” of neighbors in the north end who have assisted neighbors through the watch, such as one neighbor with expertise in security systems, who has offered help to install home security cameras at neighbors’ homes.

According to Seidenberger, he was initially told by the responding King County Sheriff’s deputy that there are no security cameras at the north end park & ride, and given the type of truck he drove, the parts would be especially valuable to thieves.

Seidenberger has now replaced what he calls his “farm truck,” but is taking more precautions with his new vehicle.

“We live in an idyllic place, and here I am putting a club on it,” said Seidenberger.