An ongoing worry for White Center residents, voiced at several community meetings in the recent past, is suspected mail and package thieves wandering the streets and stealing goods from others.

It appears two culprits may have been nabbed on Dec. 13.

According to King County Sheriff’s Office Storefront Deputy B.J. Myers, a male and female were arrested around 9 a.m. on the 10700 block of 26th Ave S.W. for suspicion of package theft.

A resident noticed the 31-year-old male and 26-year-old female looking into mailboxes and called 911 to report it. As deputies responded to the scene, the witness kept an eye on her suspects and watched them walk up to a neighbor’s porch, take packages, and begin walking away.

Just then a marked KCSO Deputy vehicle came around the corner and the suspects threw their packages over a fence in hopes of appearing saintly.

Thanks to the eagle eye of a watchful neighbor, their ruse was of no use and the two were arrested. The packages were recovered and brought back to the owner.

Myers said the U.S. Postal Service sent out an investigator to work with KCSO on the case and to determine if the pair may be responsible for more mail theft.