Rare ring disappears
Amid a rise in theft reports in La Conner, a jewel heist left Trumpeter Jewelry without its most valuable ring — a one-of-a-kind 14-karat yellow gold piece set with a rare faceted opal and diamond.
Authorities believe an adult male and a child worked together Aug. 25 to distract the owner, John King, before slipping away with the $3,400 ring. King said a man, bald and dressed in a muted gray suit, had kept him occupied at the opal case near the front door while the child had access to the easy-to-open display and pocketed the piece.
King recalled seeing the man two weeks earlier and suspects the shop had been scouted. “It was the nicest thing in the store,” he said. By the time he noticed the ring was gone — just 30 seconds later — the pair had vanished.
“I turned around, I saw that the ring was missing, so I ran outside, tried to see where they went on the street, went into a couple of the shops to look for them, maybe a restaurant, didn’t see them anywhere else,” King said.
He called 911 and said a Skagit County Sheriff deputy arrived 45 minutes later.
King has since removed all gold items from the store, citing both the lack of merchandise insurance and the difficulty of prosecuting such thefts. “No gold until we can get a police officer in town that can respond within half an hour,” he said.
Skagit County Sheriff Brad Holmes said he’d been in La Conner all morning, but was called away to help with another incident in Mount Vernon not long before the ring was stolen. He came back to La Conner when King called.
“We were a little delayed because we were at another scene, but we also didn’t go straight to the shop,” Holmes said. He and another deputy scoured the Town’s streets for the suspect before taking King’s statement.
Skagit County authorities said the robbery mirrors a pattern used by organized theft rings that regularly pass through the region. The groups often target small jewelry or vintage shops, using children to cause commotion or steal merchandise directly.
“It could have been worse,” King said, noting no one was hurt.
The shop has always kept their merchandise out and available for people to touch, which King said is a part of the appeal of shopping in La Conner. “You get to shop like you’re in the eighties. We try to have that small town shop. But we’re not doing that anymore.”
“It was the nicest thing in the store.”
John King, owner Trumpter Jewelry
The shop does not have security cameras. “There’s absolutely no use in having a camera,” King said. “There’s so many different legal steps that have to be taken for justice that we just don’t expect that any of that will ever actually happen. So it’s kind of pointless for me to have cameras.”
Investigators have not recovered the ring. Holmes is urging shopkeepers to stay alert for similar tactics and report suspicious behavior immediately.
At Holmes suggestion, the La Conner Chamber of Commerce posted an alert on Facebook, urging the business community to take extra precautions.
• Stay alert when families or groups enter together and attempt to separate or distract staff.
• Avoid leaving the register or valuable merchandise unattended during interactions.
• If you see suspicious behavior, do not confront the individuals directly — contact the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office immediately at (360) 428-3211.
• Share any security camera footage or details with law enforcement.
“We encourage all businesses to remain vigilant and communicate with one another. By working together, we can help deter these thefts and protect our local business community,” the post said.
