White Center Now: The blog about White Center

1:07 AM: Thanks to everybody who called/texted (206-293-6302) about the helicopter activity. Not enough discussion audible via scanner to figure out what they were doing while they were still in the are, but as usually is the case, the crew tweeted just after the incident ended (we did hear “They got the guy” on the local KCSO frequency): “Assisted White Center patrol on person with a gun call in 18 Ave SW. Led patrol in to person in front yard of house. Subject is detained.” We’ll follow up with KCSO later this morning.

ADDED 5:13 PM: Finally have those added details. From KCSO spokesperson Sgt. Cindi West: “Around midnight, we responded to the area of the 10400 block of 18 Ave SW for a report of a suicidal man who possibly had a gun. We contacted the man in the area and did not locate a gun. The man was transported to a hospital for a mental-health evaluation. The man is a 66 year old living in the vicinity.”

The King County Sheriff’s Office Air Support division has published that video showing part of what it was doing late last night – we got texts asking why the helicopter was circling in the White Center area; what you see is the arrest of a suspect found in a stolen car along Myers Way, by the city/county border. After the car was pulled over by Seattle Police, the suspect fled, but was picked up by Guardian One’s FLIR tracking. We don’t know where the car was stolen from – still trying to match this to a specific case.

The King County Sheriff’s Office has just explained what the Guardian One helicopter has been doing over Top Hat. From Twitter: Deputies were sent to a report of “a possible stolen car with person inside, S 100 ST and 2nd Ave S, Deputies arrived and the suspect fled … Deputies have set a perimeter, Helicopter on scene to assist, K9 tracking, stay inside to help the K9 track. … The car is a 1993, red, Acura Integra, 3 door, and is a confirmed stolen car. … Keep an eye out for a white male in his 20’s, in a t-shirt and jeans; this is the suspect who was in the stolen car and ran off.” We’ll update with any new information.

12:04 AM: We don’t have complete details but we do have a bit of info about why Guardian One was over White Center in the past half-hour. The King County Sheriff’s Office crew tweeted that they were helping White Center patrol deputies with someone “on a roof” on SW 106th, but the person came down on their own. What they were doing on the roof – that, we probably won’t be able to find out until morning. (If you are in the area and know, text us at 206-293-6302!)

1:28 AM: No audio, but Guardian One’s crew has published this video of the incident:

Exactly one additional word of information is available – it’s captioned “drunk man” on roof in White Center.

Thanks to Gill for the initial tip that the Guardian One helicopter was out looking for someone/something – moments after we started trying to find out what was going on, we heard on a Seattle city police radio frequency that it was moving over to the West Seattle side of the line, to help look for a possible prowler, reported by someone who also said she heard shots.

According to subsequent discussion, the shots actually had happened on the county side of the line, related to an incident involving a car. There is no word of anyone actually having BEEN shot. Meantime, Guardian One didn’t find any evidence of a prowler, so it moved on.

And now, as we write this, a texter tells us shell casings were found at 28th/104th by sheriff’s deputies who responded quickly after the shots were heard. They, the texter says, were in the area continuing to try to get the word out about the Roxbury rapist from earlier this month. Still no indication of any shooting victim, or damage.

10:35 PM: Thanks to Gill for the original tip on a helicopter search in the White Center/Highland Park vicinity. We kept getting texts from people on the Seattle side of the line and couldn’t find the helicopter for quite some time, until finally spotting Guardian One over the west side of Greenbridge around 9:30 pm. Found a sheriff’s deputy on the ground who told us they were looking for someone believed to be a suspect in an armed robbery at a produce stand earlier. We don’t know which produce stand – drove around looking through the business district to see if we might find any KCSO units on the ground to ask – will have to follow up on that tomorrow. Apologies for the lag in reporting here – we were able to publish to WSB via the smartphone but not here (usually isn’t a problem). We did tweet to the WCN Twitter account, which you can always check in times of breaking news – twitter.com/whitecenternow.

10:44 PM UPDATE: The Guardian One team just tweeted that the suspect they were seeking was not found. Description: “… male … about 5’9″, wearing a red hoody, blue jeans, wearing a black beanie.”

ADDED 9:36 AM WEDNESDAY: Here’s what KCSO spokesperson Sgt. Cindi West tells us: “(Last night) at about 8:40 pm at the Best Roasted Corn Stand on the corner of SW 98th and 15 Av Sw: A male suspect walked up to the stand, displayed a handgun and demanded money. The suspect also demanded the employees cell phone. The suspect fled on foot. The suspect spoke to the victim in Spanish. He was described as a Hispanic male, skinny, about 5’8″ tall, mid 40’s and was wearing a red sweatshirt, blue jeans and a black beanie. The victim has seen him in the area before.”

One more reminde – as first noted here last week, White Center Heights Elementary is due for a special visit by the King County Sheriff’s Office helicopter Guardian One around 1:25 this afternoon, as part of a special project kindergarteners have been working on. The North Highline Fire Department will be there too. WC Heights is at 6th SW and SW 100th.

We don’t usually get early warning when the King County Sheriff’s Office helicopter Guardian One heads this way, but this time we do! Next Thursday afternoon (March 13), you just might notice it over Greenbridge/south White Center. White Center Heights Elementary PTA president David Sonsteng sent early warning of the plan for a visit at the school. Kindergarteners are “working on their community-helpers module in class,” he explains, so Thursday, 1:25 pm-2:25 pm, they will “get to meet some of these community helpers.” In addition to Guardian One, they’re scheduled to meet KCSO Deputy BJ Myers (who’s based out of the downtown WC storefront office), a fire engine from the North Highline Fire District, and an ambulance from AMR. We’ll remind you again that day, but if you might be anywhere near the area, store away the info. (The school is at 10015 6th SW.)

Thanks to those who texted and called about the King County Sheriff’s Office helicopter Guardian One over White Center/Shorewood a little earlier this evening. Absent specifics, we headed out and looked for the helicopter; just missed it, but the Air Support crew did tweet this:

Assisted KCSO Dptys with occupied stolen car in White Center.

— KCSOAirsupport (@KCSOAirsupport) November 23, 2013

Sorry, no specifics on the location of where that stolen car was found/stopped. If we get any more information, we’ll add it.

(Also published on partner site The South Park News)

Kids at Beverly Park Elementary – just south of South Park – got a big thrill Friday when the King County Sheriff’s Office helicopter Guardian One came to visit. Our video shows its landing. Luckily the fog had lifted enough that they could keep their appointment.

That’s Deputy John Pugh, above, who flies Guardian One.

North Highline firefighters were there too:

The students were excited to meet the visiting law enforcers and get a look at their cars.

Later, a busy day and night resumed for KCSO’s air support unit – here’s a tweet with both their helicopters, Guardian 1 and Guardian 2:

G2 getting back from SAR, G1 getting ready for patrol under a full moon. pic.twitter.com/fAOrz6G3oG

— KCSOAirsupport (@KCSOAirsupport) October 19, 2013

10:57 AM: Seeing the Guardian One helicopter over White Center – and/or units on the ground? According to the King County Sheriff’s Office, the helicopter is helping deputies search for a car prowler who stole a purse. No other details yet.

12:32 PM: Search ended unsuccessfully, says KCSO. We did get a photo of the KCSO helicopter and added it – just in case you’re not sure how to tell the difference between law enforcement and TV choppers.

3:58 PM: Just received this update from KCSO spokesperson Sgt. Cindi West: “The suspect from (this incident) was arrested near 102 and 8th SW after being spotted prowling cars in Steve Cox Park.”

11:40 PM: Thanks to everyone who has texted and e-mailed about a helicopter that was apparently over White Center/Highland Park for a while – and then, we’re told, has just left. Not sure yet what was going on but we’re checking. There was a Seattle Fire dispatch to the 9400 block of 15th SW and the arriving engine reported via scanner that there was no patient at the scene plus “all the deputies and police have gone somewhere else.” If you’re seeing the law enforcement response on the ground, please let us know! We’ll continue to check.

12:01 AM: Guardian One, the King County Sheriff’s Office helicopter that assists other agencies too, says via Twitter that it was “over White Center assisting with a robbery call.” No further details so far.

King County Sheriff’s Deputies are still looking in White Center for a man who took off in a stolen car after a suspected domestic-violence incident in Burien. The search included Guardian One, as shown overhead, which we photographed near the Joint Training Facility on Myers Way just south of Roxbury (map) before sundown. KCSO spokesperson Sgt. Cindi West tells us that a plainclothes detective happened to be nearby when the incident was reported at a supermarket on 1st Avenue South in Burien; the detective saw the male suspect on the run, called for backup, and drove after the suspect, whose vehicle was determined to be stolen. The suspect abandoned the car and fled in White Center, and was believed to have made it to the JTF vicinity, which is where the helicopter was searching. Seattle Police were helping watch the perimeter of the search area. As of about 15 minutes ago, Sgt. West said, no arrest yet.

If you see/hear a helicopter tonight – it’s probably just a drill. Just announced by Seattle Fire Department spokesperson Kyle Moore:

Tonight the Seattle Fire Department along with the King County Sheriff’s Office will be conducting a Night Time Hoist Helicopter Training Drill at the City of Seattle Joint Training Facility. The purpose of the exercise will be for firefighters to practice rescuing patients at night from a high rise building.

The drill is part of an All Hazards Regional Aviation Response Partnership which includes the King County Sheriff’s Office, Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office, the Seattle Fire Department and other regional agencies.

Beginning at 6 p.m. neighbors of the City of Seattle Joint Training Facility located at 9401 Myers Way South [map] will notice an increase in activity and noise until 9 p.m. The drill will involve the takeoff and landing of the King County Sheriff’s Guardian 2 Helicopter.