FBI agents served a warrant at a private residence and a longtime business in Clinton on Thursday morning, surprising neighbors and sparking questions about the nature of the raids.
Agents in unmarked vehicles searched Whidbey Oil Sales/U-Haul store on Highway 525 in Clinton at around 7 a.m. and then a Timberline Road home near Deer Lake at about 9 a.m. on Dec. 3. The reason for the searches remains unknown. No arrests were made.
Authorities declined to comment on the case, saying it remains under investigation. Details such as the identities of those being investigated, what the agents were looking for and if anything was recovered were not disclosed. An FBI spokeswoman did confirm, however, that the investigation is not related to drugs, weapons or violent crime.
A woman who answered the phone number listed for the home’s address declined to comment on why the FBI searched the house.
The Record is not naming the home or business owners, who according to state and local records are the same family, as they have not yet been charged. FBI Seattle Division Media Coordinator Ayn Dietrich-Williams noted also that no one has been publicly implicated in a crime.
“Just because we serve a search warrant somewhere doesn’t mean it’s the home of a criminal activity,” Dietrich-Williams said.
The searches left many in Clinton scratching their heads. Terry Cooper of Cooper Auto Sales said he’s known the business owner as an upstanding member of the business community for years. News that the FBI had searched his home and business came as a complete surprise.
“I’ve never heard a derogatory or bad thing about him,” Cooper said.
“Everybody is wondering what’s going on,” he added.
The agency received assistance from local law enforcement, including the Island County Sheriff’s Office and the Langley Police Department. Langley Police Chief Dave Marks would only say that the operation was to serve a warrant.
One woman who lives a few houses away and across the street from the Timberline Lane home said she saw several cars zip down the usually empty road around 9:15 a.m. Noticing the large antennae and dark tint on the vehicles, she walked outside and saw several FBI officers approach the home.
“It wasn’t a SWAT team or anything like that. … No, it wasn’t like the movies,” Kim Harding said.
Harding said she saw what appeared to be FBI agents in khakis and the dark blue jackets with FBI on the back. Given the recent mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., and the major police response, Harding said she was alarmed, but not frightened to see multiple law enforcement officers just down the street.
“It’s not unsettling, more of wondering what’s going on in the neighborhood,” she said.
“I stayed right here,” added Harding from her front door.
A few houses up from Harding, neighbor Rebekah Roberts said she was home and noticed the cars leave around 2:20 p.m. Seeing her neighbor’s home surrounded by FBI agents was startling, she said, but there was no commotion or shouting that she could tell.
“It’s pretty weird for our neighborhood,” Roberts said. “We’re pretty quiet.”
