PORT ANGELES — Port Angeles Police Chief Brian Smith has requested the public’s help in finding a man who reportedly brandished pepper spray to steal a Canadian tourist’s shoes.
At about 4:38 p.m. Friday, Port Angeles Police Officer Zach Moore responded to the “pepper spray robbery,” according to a press release.
A 16-year-old male tourist was walking back his hotel room near Front and Peabody streets when a white man in his early 20s wearing a white and purple sweatshirt pulled up to him on a white BMX bike, according to the release.
He then brandished a can of “bear mace” and demanded the tourist’s red Jordan basketball shoes, police said.
Officers later saw a person wearing red shoes of the same description walk behind a gas station at 504 S Lincoln.
Multiple officers responded when Officer Mike Johnson reported the person fled southbound.
However, officers lost sight of the man as he ran toward the east side of the Terrace Apartments. Sgt. Kevin Miller and police dog Bodie attempted to track the man but a sudden rain deluge stripped his scent, Smith said.
Officers did not find the man.
Those with information are asked to call the Port Angeles Police Department at 360-452-4545.
