Stolen treasures are recovered

At first, she was devastated, but just one day later, Antoinette Botsford was breathing a sigh of relief.

The Orcas Island woman and professional story teller learned the morning of March 4 that the window on the passenger side of her car had been smashed open during the night, and the bag full of items she uses as props for her stories had been stolen.

It was a painful discovery, and not because of the monetary value of the items. “It was a very personal treasure trove of story-related things,” Botsford said. “They’re irreplaceable,” she explained. “It’s impossible to replace those. Their significance is only to me.”

Botsford called the San Juan County Sheriff’s Department, and shortly thereafter she received a visit from Sergeant Steve Vierthaler. Vierthaler told Botsford that she wasn’t the only one who was victimized. Several other Eastsound vehicles and one local business reported being burglarized over the previous few days.

Vierthaler then made a very important move. He sent an e-mail to all Eastsound businesses with e-mail addresses, in which he informed the owners that “there is a rash of activity” in the area, and that they need to be taking the necessary precautions to reduce the likelihood that they too will be victimized.

Among those who saw the e-mail was Terry Nigretto, of San Juan Title Company. She saw it while at the Eastsound Airport.

The next day she looked out the back window from her office, and there, behind a dumpster, was a bag. Nigretto’s interest was piqued by the e-mail, so she went outside to have a look at what was inside. When she realized that it most likely contained stolen goods, she called Vierthaler.

Meanwhile, Botsford was at the Orcas school teaching a class in storytelling to a group of sixth graders. She didn’t want to get the kids upset, so she tried to make light of the situation. “But the children were horrified; they were just shocked,” Botsford said. And when the class ended, one of the students, Samantha Tidwell, came up to her and said, “I think your drum will come back to you.” Little did she know it at the time, but Samantha’s prediction would very soon come true.

Botsford was both thrilled and grateful when she got the news. “I feel very fortunate, because this is more than any old bag of props,” she said. “I (also) feel grateful to Steve and to the employee at the title company.”

OTHER VICTIMS HAVE YET TO RECOVER STOLEN ITEMS

Not everyone has been so lucky, however. A long-timer islander who lost a set of tools, some of them in the family for nearly a hundred years, has yet to find them. The local business and those who had their cars broken into also have yet to recover what was taken from them.

The matter remains under investigation by the San Juan County Sheriff’s Department.

Meanwhile, Sheriff Bill Cumming advises islanders not to leave valuables in their vehicles. He says this is particularly true when the vehicles are parked in areas where large numbers of people congregate, like downtown Eastsound.

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