Woman arrested after allegedly stealing from home construction site

Thurston County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) deputies arrested a woman suspected of stealing from a residential construction area on Brasher Lane SE in Rainier on November 30.

The incident happened around 5 p.m., when the property’s owner reported suspicious activity captured by security camera.

The owner observed individuals entering his under-construction home, loading a propane generator onto a trailer, and then leaving with it.

The owner was able to see the license plate number of the suspect’s vehicle. When responding deputies ran the plate number, the vehicle turned out to be a 2005 Ford Escape belonging to Melissa McGan, who was later identified as the alleged burglar.

Upon arriving at the scene, the responding deputies thoroughly inspected the area and the house.

The property’s owner also provided authorities with security camera footage, which showed a white female and a white male entering the property and searching the house for valuables.

“The video showed a white, blonde female wearing a hat and a black jacket; she had a brown and white dress, which was hanging below the jacket, down past her knee, and blue jeans,” TCSO stated in the police report.

Later in the evening, the homeowner spotted the suspect’s vehicle on Vail Loop Road SE and called the deputies.

The deputies stopped the vehicle and observed a woman whose appearance matched the suspect from the security camera in the driver’s seat.

During questioning, the suspect initially provided inconsistent information, eventually refusing to answer the authorities’ inquiries.

A subsequent search uncovered a small wrapper containing methamphetamine in her possession.

“The suspect was then partially uncuffed to retrieve the drugs from her bra, which was a small wrapper with a crystal-like substance in it,” TCSO stated.

The suspect was transported to Thurston County Jail and booked on charges of first-degree theft and residential burglary.

Despite ongoing efforts by responding deputies, the trailer and stolen generator had not been located as of this writing; the suspect refused to disclose further information and invoked her right to legal representation. TCSO continues to look for the stolen property.