Police are conducting extra patrols around the Whidbey News-Times office in Oak Harbor after employees discovered evidence that someone — or something — may have been staying overnight in the building.
Circulation director Lynette Reeff said employees became suspicious after a series of mysterious incidents in recent weeks.
Someone put out a cigarette in a box on a sheltered part of the building last week. Early Saturday morning, a driver heard strange noises coming from upstairs in the building, which is largely unoccupied. She was so alarmed she grabbed a baseball bat to protect herself and left quickly.
A couple of employees coming to work early Monday found a door propped open. Staffer William Bolles saw a strange figure disappear into the darkness.
Reeff led a number of employees to the creepy abandoned newsroom upstairs to check for intruders. Nobody was there, but they found a couple of windows were inexplicably unlocked and someone left a pair of sandals at a door that leads outside.
Reeff contacted the Oak Harbor police and Sgt. Jerry Baker responded.
Police Chief Rick Wallace said there will be extra patrols around the newspaper office at night, which is convenient for the cops since it’s located next door to the police office.
Wallace said the officers are speculating that a homeless person could be sleeping in the building overnight to get out of the cold and rain. He noted that nothing was stolen from the office.
The police have noticed an increase in homeless people over the last year, especially the number of people who panhandle in the city. Police officers have dealt with homeless people sleeping in outbuildings, sheds, and even the baseball dugout at Windjammer Park, but he’s not aware of any other reports of a homeless person breaking into a business to sleep.
The unusual goings-ons will undoubtedly add to the decades-old rumor of a ghost haunting the aging News-Times building. Publisher Marcia Van Dyke asked employees to be wary of working late and to report any strange noises to police.
