A pair of men were arrested Friday during the Festival of Lights for attempting to steal copper from an industrial site in Montesano.

The two men, currently detained in the Grays Harbor County Jail, used kayaks to access the property, said Montesano Police Department Lt. Bob Wilson. The theft is not the first such incident on the property, Wilson said.

“We received a complaint back on Dec. 5 that the business reported a theft of their precious metals, stockpiles of wires and things,” Wilson said. “On the night of the fourth they had received game camera pictures of who had accessed the property by the river.”

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MPD set up their own game cameras, Wilson said, a networked model.

“They take a picture and send it to our phones,” Wilson said. “About 18:32, Officer (Juan) Martinez received a notification on his cellphone that there was movement where we had placed the cameras.”

Many of the law enforcement personnel in Montesano were assisting with the Festival of Lights, Wilson said, likely informing the timing of the attempt.

“Most of the officers were tied up on the event itself, the parade. We had to break a couple officers away to deal with this,” Wilson said. “The parade started in town at 16:00. This was obviously an intentional act.”

Martinez and other officers from MPD, including Wilson, as well as deputies from the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office went to the site, located south of state Route 12 on the Chehalis River.

“As we came in, one of the suspects was running in the river and jumped in the river,” Wilson said. “He was paddling away in the river. We yelled for him to come back, that he was under arrest. He didn’t even hesitate, he kept paddling away.”

While members of the GHCSO called up their boat team, officers sought and found a vehicle thought to be the suspects located northeast of the industrial site, Wilson said.

“Officers were able to locate the suspect vehicle which was unoccupied,” Wilson said. “It was parked way off the roadway, in a very dark place, with a third kayak. As the crow flies it was probably about 300 yards away from the theft site. We figured that’s where they had vehicles staged, it wasn’t too far away.”

Officers waited for the suspects to return to their launch site, arresting both without incident when they returned to the vehicle, Wilson said. Adam Joseph Linker, 35, of Hoquiam and David Allen Nelson, 58, of Montesano, were arrested, taken to the Grays Harbor County Jail and each charged with 2nd-degree burglary and 2nd-degree theft. Linker was also charged with 3rd-degree driving with a suspended license, according to the jail roster.

“If you come out and commit Montesano felonies, we’re not going to go easy on you,” Wilson said.

The vehicle, a pickup truck, was also seized by MPD during the incident, Wilson said. Accessing a property from the water to commit a crime is rare for Montesano, Wilson said.

“Unfortunately this happens everywhere in the county,” Wilson said. “But the accessing from the river, that’s kind of unique.”

For other county residents looking to secure their property, Wilson recommended game cameras for helping to identify potential suspects.

“I always recommend game cameras for locations that can’t be monitored all the time or secured 100%,” Wilson said. “That helps us to identify suspects and hold them accountable.”

Wilson also thanked partner agencies for their assistance.

“Our police department is thankful for a close relationship with the sheriff’s office and other agencies around the county,” Wilson said. “This is how it comes together.”

Contact reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or mlockett@thedailyworld.com.