Cameras, Snow Doom Would-be Thief Near Soap Lake

Unlike the Columbia Basin, much of Grant County, and the northwest are still under snow. And, weather helped locate a suspect.

Cameras, snow help capture suspect

Early Monday morning, March 6th. the Grant County Sheriff's Office as well as Soap Lake Police, were alerted by a business owner who saw a man lurking around his building. He said he saw the man enter, then exit carrying a number of tools. The business was located in the 20000 block of Locust Rd NW, west of Soap Lake.

According to the GCSO, the man placed them in the snow near a road, possibly for pickup later.

When Soap Lake and Ephrata Police arrived along with Deputies, they noticed the suspect had left tracks in the snow. Following the tracks, GCSO K-9 Edo was brought in and began to track the person.

After about two miles, 25-year-old Nicholas Schafer of Ephrata was located and arrested in an orchard without incident.

The multiple stolen items were returned to the business owner, and now Schafer is in the Grant County Jail in Ephrata facing multiple charges.

Having a well-lit security camera system, as well as the snow, pretty much doomed this burglary from the start.