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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
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| 1876 | 5 |
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232 stories matching thief
- The Watch Thief of Front Street
A desperate thief snatched a gold watch from a construction site, triggering a neighborhood chase that ended in a vacant lot.
- The Great Butter Robbery of West Street
A bold waterfront heist ends with an unlikely intervention by an old gentleman, a flight across the city, and a classic retort from a local thief.
- The Apple Orchard Bandit
An Olympia fruit thief develops a bizarre, tactical routine to raid orchards under the cover of night, only to be stopped by a shotgun-wielding guard.
- The Captain, the Thief, and the Midnight Chase
When a suspected cattle rustler boarded a steamer to flee across the border, a determined captain navigated a tense confrontation at the Olympia wharf.
- The Great Front Street Shirt Heist
A petty theft at a Seattle variety store ends in a dramatic, water-logged standoff at the base of the city's waterfront.
- The Thief Who Crawled into a Hole
A petty shoplifting chase leads to an absurd standoff underneath a downtown storefront.
- Night Watchman Shoots Intruder at West Seattle Elevator
A thief attempting to steal grain sacks from a West Seattle elevator was shot in the leg by a vigilant watchman and forced to surrender.
- The Night a Soldier Robbed the Editor's House
While the Puget Sound Herald's proprietor and his wife were away, a soldier slipped into their home—then walked back through the kitchen into the sitting room.
- The Berlin Building Burglary
A basement billiard room is hit for a few cigars and a handful of change after a thief hurls a rock through the front door.
- Midnight Theft on Rose Street
A city worker narrowly avoids disaster when a burglar steals his savings while he sleeps.
- The Miser and the Missing Gold
A cautionary tale of a man who loved his gold more than his own peace of mind, only to find that hoarding it under a stone offered no security from the opportunistic thief.
- The Doctor’s Thief Caught by the Landlady
A bold sneak thief invades a medical office, but meets his match in a persistent woman who hunts him down across the city.
- The Bold Horse Thief of Kent
A brazen stranger makes off with a horse from a dance hall, leading authorities on a chase toward the British boundary.
- The Shoemaker's Retribution
A downtown confrontation erupts after a local businessman catches a thief red-handed.
- The Man Who Wasn't: Tacoma’s Mysterious 'John Doe' and the Burglary That Never Was
Police Chief Fackler returns from Everett with a prisoner who fits the description of a local thief, but lacks the evidence to prove it. A tale of mistaken identity and urban anxiety in early 20th-century Tacoma.
- Expert Safe-Cracker Cleans Out Local Dry Goods Store
A thief bypassed heavy security and locks without force, leaving police baffled.
- The Lawyer Who Shaved His Beard for a Thief
In a dramatic courtroom gamble, a defense attorney shaved his own beard to demonstrate how easily witnesses might be mistaken in identifying an accused horse thief.
- A Thief’s Tall Tale in Court
Charles Stevens offered a creative defense after being caught ransacking a room at a prominent Seattle lodging house.
- The Jailhouse Performance of an Insanity Faker
A man accused of horse theft attempts a desperate, bumbling ruse to avoid trial by feigning madness, only to be caught plotting his escape with stolen keys.
- Cabin Raided by Boat Thieves in Kitsap County
A local veteran returns from his mail run to find his winter supplies, clothing, and bedding stolen, sparking a search for the thieves.
- The Price of Sin in Pioneer Seattle
While the city's elite debated municipal elections and infrastructure, a thief made off with a trunk full of coins and jewelry from a house on the margins of society.
- The Thief Who Stole the Wrong Suitcase
A burglar targeting a North Yakima Avenue home made off with a suitcase, only to find the contents were not quite what he expected.
- Chloroformed at the County Fair: A Naked Chase Through Davenport
A Newport man woke to a thief in his hotel room, gave chase in his birthday suit, and let the night air—and a roll of bills—decide the outcome.
- The Unmasking of a Snohomish Thief
After vanishing from a logging camp with a comrade's savings, a thief is tracked to Port Townsend and branded a criminal.
- A Wooden Pistol Emptied the King County Jail
Thomas Blanck, awaiting appeal for murder, locked the night jailer in a cell and walked out with eight other prisoners—armed with a black wooden fake.
Also about this, in other words
- The Thief Who Stole a Coat Under the Nose of the Law
A bold pickpocket makes the mistake of committing his crime right under the watchful gaze of a city official.
- The Thief Who Stole a Watch and Then Returned It
A clumsy pickpocket at a Congregational picnic discovers that stealing from his neighbors isn't as rewarding as he expected.
- The Burglar Who Stole From Himself
A clever thief in Seattle pulls off a double deception: stealing from a store and then framing a Chinese employee for the crime.
- The Thief Who Tried to Sell Stolen Goods Back to the Chief
A brazen Tacoma burglar was caught red-handed when he attempted to sell his illicit haul directly to the city’s Chief of Police.
- The Waterfront Thief of Madison Street
A persistent petty thief is finally caught in the woods near Lake Washington after a long chase through the city.
- The Wealthy Thief of Cheney
A wealthy woman from Cheney, Washington, is arrested in Spokane for shoplifting, revealing a hidden life of compulsive theft.
- Exposition Jewelry Heist
A thief disguised as a farmer tricks a clerk during the Tacoma Industrial Exposition to steal jewelry.
- The House-Worker's Manual
As police struggle with a crime wave, residents discover that daylight burglars are using coded notebooks to track their movements.