Lock up your boat and RV batteries, Milwaukie police say ...

Police are seeing a rise in battery thefts in Milwaukie and are warning? residents to lock up their boat and RV batteries. Official numbers are not in, but at least a dozen batteries have been stolen by multiple suspects in the past month, according to Milwaukie Police officer Ulli Neitch.

Metal thefts? So last year. Battery thefts are the new trend in stealing, Neitch said Friday. The thieves are going on people's driveways and pulling batteries from travel trailers, boats and other recreational vehicles, according to Milwaukie Police Department. The thieves take the batteries, worth about $100 a pop, and sell them for about $8 at recycling exchanges.

"This is the new thing. It's like metal theft -- it's a new area thieves have discovered they can make money off," Neitch said.

According to Neitch, Portland Police pulled over a man in a van who had stocked up seven batteries.

"I am sure this will be an incident seen all over the metro area, but it's chronic in Milwaukie. It's gotten bad in the last three weeks. People are now discovering these are missing," Neitch said.

Many of the thefts happened near Filbert Street, but others happened closer to downtown.

Resident John Henry, who lives on Filbert Street, walked outside his house Wednesday to find a man in plaid trying to take two batteries from a storage container in his travel trailer, police said. Henry confronted the man who hopped on a bicycle and rode away. The getaway bike had a trailer where the thief put the batteries. As the thief pedaled to freedom, Henry grabbed the bike trailer, detaching it from the bicycle. Henry now locks his batteries inside his home, police said.

Police described the suspect who fled on a bike as man in his mid- to late thirties, about 5-foot-11, weighing about 160 pounds. He has short, straight, brown hair. He had light facial hair, as if unshaven. He was last seen wearing a plaid flannel shirt and blue jeans.
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-- Heather Steeves

Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/milwaukie/index.ssf/2012/11/lock_up_your_batteries_milwauk.html

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