West Des Moines Family Shocked by What Went on in Laundry Room

A West Des Moines woman and her son came home Saturday to find that someone had dumped a bucket in her laundry room and other possessions had been ruined or stolen in a baffling case in which police have no witnesses or leads.

The woman, 67, lives with her adult son. He left the residence around 11 a.m. Saturday to pick her up from an appointment, according to a report on file at the West Des Moines Police Department. When they returned home two hours later, they found the front door unlocked.

That in itself wasn’t unusual. The woman reportedly said that when they’re gone for short periods of time, it's their habit to leave the door unlocked.

Officer Scott Gass said the family had been home for a while when they began to notice some items were missing. Further investigation led them to the laundry room, where they discovered a bucket of paint had been dumped on the washer and dryer.

Also, the living room couch and two mattresses had been slashed, and tools and a computer had been taken from the garage, according to the report. The garage door had been left open overnight.

The victims are compiling a list of other items that are missing.