Woman charged in Ptarmigan Village Condos burglary

Authorities believe they have caught a woman who broke into Ptarmigan Village Condos in Whitefish on Oct. 16. 

Shannon Rae Donovan, 24, of Kalispell, has been charged with one count of felony burglary in the case.

Workers at the facility reported that it had been broken into between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. the day of the incident. Reported stolen was $8,000 in cash, along with vending machines, washers, dryers, checkbooks and other office equipment.

Deputies believed that someone familiar with the facility had committed the burglary. Donovan is a former employee of the facility.

Cameras captured images of a woman and man committing the burglary. The woman had pink hair.

A pink-haired woman was also caught on camera on Oct. 17 in Bigfork, cashing one of the stolen checks. Multiple people reportedly identified the woman in the photo as Donovan. Donovan was arrested, and her hair was still pink.

Bail in this case has been set at $15,000.

Donovan is also being held on a $10,000 warrant issued in August, after she did not show up in Flathead District Court for a scheduled change of plea hearing in regards to a felony theft and felony burglary charge. In that case, Donovan is accused of working with a man on May 20 to break the barrier cable of the sawmill at Lazarous Log Homes. The vehicle drove into the main building and the pair took items including drills, an AC/DC welder, a propane torch, a Dewalt planer and other items.

The man identified as a suspect allegedly said it was Donovan who helped him in the burglary. Donovan was then located in the vehicle that was caught on camera at the scene of the burglary. Some of the stolen items were in the vehicle and Donovan allegedly admitted to her role in the theft.

Donovan is currently on probation, serving a three-year deferred sentence for a felony theft conviction. The sentence was issued on June 5, 2014.