Housekeeper’s surprise prompts SWAT call-out

A housekeeper who showed up at a just-vacated rental home west of Redmond was surprised by an apparent intruder Saturday, fled and called police. Officers soon surrounded the home and called out a SWAT team, which entered and found no one inside, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies said.

Renters of the vacation home in the 11000 block of Desert Sky Loop, in the Ridge at Eagle Crest subdivision south of Hwy. 126, had left around the 11 a.m. checkout time, said sheriff’s Sgt. Kevin Dizney.

A short time later, the woman who came to clean the house found a man inside, prompting the call to police.

Deputies were called to the scene around 11 40 a.m., surrounding the home and alerting neighbors of a possible burglar in the home.

Out of concern that a burglar might have been barricaded in the home, the sheriff’s Special Operations Team (SOT) was called out and entered the home about two hours later, joined by sheriff’s K-9 “Duco,” and found no one inside.

Redmond police also provided a K-9 to assist in the search, Dizney added.

“They did not find anybody, and nothing appears to be out of place,” Dizney said, adding that officers spent about 3 1/2 hours on scene.

The woman said the man was wearing dark clothes, but had no other descriptive details.

Dizney said the guests who’d checked out of the vacation rental told deputies he spoke with two people walking by together as he was leaving.

One was described as an older man and the second a younger man walking a dog. They asked the man if he was just leaving or had just arrived, Dizney said.

Meanwhile, another neighbor reported a suspicious car, described as a purple Dodge Magnum with unknown license plates, reported to be driving slowly through the area.

Anyone with more information about the suspicious persons or vehicles in the area was asked to contact dispatchers at (541) 693-6911.