No good deed goes unpunished

A man called the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office after he picked up a hitchhiker in Columbia Falls and things went awry. The man wanted to give the hitchhiker a square meal, but when the he stopped at some storage units the hitchhiker allegedly took off with the man’s maroon Chevrolet S10 truck.

Deputies found local transients taking a nap after someone called 911 worried that two people were passed out and unresponsive on a sidewalk off Hutton Ranch Road.

A bat was sent to state authorities for rabies testing after it was found in a hotel on U.S. 93 near Whitefish. The bat was turned into the security manager, who contacted police. While waiting for a response the bat took off, escaping the towel the security manager was holding it in. The bat touched the man’s hand but did not scratch him. The manager found the bat in the field across from the hotel, recaptured it and put it in a container until officers could pick it up.

Kalispell Police officers were dispatched to a Fourth Avenue East home to help a homeowner remove a stray cat that had barricaded itself under a bed. The homeowner managed to get the cat out of the house shortly after the officer was sent to help.

A person was found OK after a 911 report that a person riding in a handicapped car had been hit by a vehicle.

Someone called the police as they watched a man break into the caller’s car by throwing a rock through the window. Police were sent to Third Avenue East North to search for the man, who fled the scene on foot.

Whitefish Police found all quiet on East First Street after someone said a man was banging on a neighbor’s door just before 1 a.m. The suspect allegedly arrived in a vehicle blaring loud music and toting a large bottle of alcohol to the apartment. The reporting party wanted the man to be “talked to” about the behavior.

A bike with broken brakes was stolen by a man from the front of a laundry in Whitefish.

Columbia Falls Police Department took a report from a woman on First Avenue who was worried after she found burned paper under her deck. She thought she should report the paper because of the suspected arson fire at Melby’s Furniture store over the weekend.

An officer followed up after speeders were seen on Third Avenue East near a school. The officer encountered five speeders total, with the fastest clocking in at 28 mph in a 25 mph zone.