Law roundup: They come from a land Down Under

A pair of out-of-towners in Columbia Falls accidentally drew police scrutiny after someone reported the couple for taking photos of her and her child.

The woman said the pair were operating out of a white van parked near a playground. As soon as she and her child got into their vehicle, the two alleged photographers hopped back into the van. She described it as boasting Australian license plates.

Officers with the Columbia Falls Police Department met with the couple, who were visiting from Down Under, and learned that it was a misunderstanding. The two were just looking at their phones.

A woman told police officers that someone cut the wire of her fence over the weekend.

A dog was constantly getting out in a neighborhood and a resident wasn’t happy with it. They called the police department to make officers aware of the ongoing issue and potentially run a few extra patrols through the area. The resident asked to remain anonymous.

A passerby reported seeing a green Subaru on fire. The vehicle had been left parked the previous few days. Small pops were going off, which might have been caused by ammunition. When first responders arrived, the vehicle was fully engulfed.

A motorist thought they saw two men trying to break into cars and phoned police. Arriving officers confronted the pair, who explained that one of them lives in the area and locked his keys in his car. They were trying to get the vehicle open, they said.

Officers came across a car with the doors left open. They checked a nearby home, but got no answer. With that, they shut the doors and left a message for the vehicle’s owner.