Jewelry thieves arrested after SUV crash leads to rowboat escape on Port Gamble Bay

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Wash. — Deputies arrested a man and a woman who were accused of stealing thousands of dollars in jewelry, then trying to escape on foot, by car, and, finally, by row boat.

The ordeal began around 8:00 a.m. when a Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call reporting a burglary from a shipping container on Killapie Beach Road, near the Hood Canal Bridge.

The 911 caller said a man and a woman had just stolen $11,000 in jewelry from the container and were fleeing the area in an SUV, according to Sgt. Brent Anglin.

Deputies in Jefferson County called for help from the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office after a witness saw the fleeing SUV driving south on the Hood Canal Bridge.

As Kitsap County deputies responded, they came across an SUV matching the description from the 911 call. The SUV had been in a rollover crash near Port Gamble.

The Kitsap deputies saw the man and woman walking away and attempted to stop them while calling in additional resources. Anglin said that the man and woman had managed to steal a rowboat on Port Gamble Bay.

Deputies deployed a drone that recorded the suspects’ attempted escape on the water. The drone video shows the suspects using plywood and an oar to propel the rowboat, which had begun taking on water.

The man and woman eventually ditched the rowboat and swam to shore, where they were arrested.

The suspects haven’t been identified and are expected to be booked into the Jefferson County jail. Anglin said the SUV they were driving would be taken for processing, and he noted it is not yet clear if the stolen jewelry was recovered.

KOMO News will report this incident at 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m.