UPDATE: Sheriff's Respond to Strangers Seen Lurking Around Cottage Lake and Leota

There are not a lot of break-ins going on in the Cottage Lake/Leota area of Woodinville, but maybe that is because of sharp-eyed residents.

, Patch reported that residents in the Cottage Lake and Leota area of Woodinville are reporting an increase in suspicious activity in the neighborhoods that they are afraid could result in break-ins.

A check with the King County Sheriff’s Office showed crime has not increased in previous months.

“The number of forced entry residential burglaries in that area have been remarkably flat over the last four months, averaging 4 to 5 a month,” wrote Sgt John Urquhart, communications officer, in an email to Patch. “There were 6 in September but only 3 in July, five so far this month.”

Urquhart checked on the number of “non-forced” burglaries in the patrol area that includes Cottage Lake, an area that includes Snohomish County on the north; 170th Avenue Northeast jogging over to the Woodinville-Redmond Road on the west; Northeast 155th Street on the south; and Avondale up to Paradise Lake Road on the east. 

Since July, there was one non-forced burglary in September and four so far this month. A non-forced burglary is one where the suspect goes into an open garage (for example) and steals stuff. Or maybe goes into the house through an unlocked back door, as opposed to kicking the door in or breaking a window, whether the homeowner is home or not.

“So it’s always a good idea to remind folks to lock their doors, including keeping the garage door closed,” according to Urquhart.