Law roundup: Geocaching mistaken for a drug deal

After their son described seeing someone drop off an item in the parking lot of a big box retailer, a parent phoned the Kalispell Police Department to report a possible drug deal. A vehicle reportedly had driven up to a pole on the west end of the parking lot. Someone inside grabbed an object and then dropped off another item before departing. Officers recognized the location as a geocaching site.

Patrolling the property of the law firm they worked for, an employee came across a fake gun left in bushes where drug deals usually occur. They left the ersatz weapon behind and asked that the police collect it. Responding officers described the fake firearm as a gun stock duct taped to a metal tube. It was trashed. 

Authorities stopped a Chevrolet van with an obstructed license plate. 

Someone left a silver mountain bike on someone else’s property.

Officers disposed of white powder that looked suspiciously like fentanyl. The powder was found in a container and the person who reported the discovery suspected it was left by a member of a cleaning crew.

Someone’s parking job had blocked off access to a cluster of mailboxes for several months and apparently disrupted the delivery of the mail. Officers contacted the owner of the GMC Acadia, who explained that street parking was limited in the area. He agreed to move the vehicle.  

A feud between neighbors had escalated to the point where kitty litter was tossed into a yard. The person on the receiving end of the kitty litter accused her neighbors of harassing her dog. The animal had eaten the kitty litter and “almost died,” she told officers, explaining that she had vet bills to back up her allegations. 

Officers pulled over a Pontiac G6 lacking a license plate. 

Checking in on a woman in a car that a caller described as clearly high, officers learned that she was emotional after taking a phone call from her father. 

Someone reported a possibly stolen vehicle, telling authorities that the white Cadillac DeVille had been left in the same spot for about a week. It had a tow rope attached to it and was leaking antifreeze. 

Investigators helped recover a stolen trailer after a neighbor spotted someone in a gray or silver Chevrolet pull off with it in the early morning hours. 

Seeing a man walking around a parking lot with a “big knife,” a passerby phoned the police. They described the armed man as swinging the weapon around before going back to his truck, but clarified that it did not appear as though he was threatening anyone. Officers were unable to track down the knife-wielding man. 

Someone found a brown backpack full of goods left in an alleyway and alerted the police.