Hoquiam Police officers were dispatched Monday morning to the Saron Lutheran Church in the 700 block of 8th Street for a reported burglary.

Church staff discovered someone had entered the church, church facilities and office.

“It was apparent the suspect had spent a great deal of time inside the building and had wandered through the entire structure, including the attic,” according to a news release provided by Police Chief Jeff Myers.

The church secretary’s office was ransacked, but only petty cash seemed to be missing.

“The suspect attempted to physically break into the church pastor’s office as evidenced by damage to the door and frame; the suspect was unable to make entry but was injured in the process,” Myers said.

Detectives and officers recovered blood samples and fingerprints at the scene. They were able to track some strange handwritten notes left behind to a possible person of interest.

Hoquiam detectives are now coordinating with Aberdeen Police Department detectives to see if there is any link to what might be a related burglary a few days earlier at Calvary Lutheran Church in Aberdeen.

The latent fingerprints recovered will be sent to the Washington State Patrol for classification.

“Although DNA testing is not normally conducted for property crimes, detectives hope the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab will test the blood evidence — especially if the two burglaries are linked,” Myers explained.

He added that latent evidence analysis can take several months due to state budget limitations at the state Crime Lab, however.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Don Grossi at 360-532-0892, ext. 295 or dgrossi@cityofhoquiam.com.