Police: E. Bend McDonald’s overnight burglar sought

Police called to an alarm at the McDonald’s on Bend’s Eastside early Thursday morning found an open door, the alarm still sounding and several items out of place. A check of surveillance video confirmed an apparently drunk man had been wandering around in the restaurant for 20 to 30 minutes, but left — likely empty-handed – before officers arrived.

Officers late Thursday released some images from that surveillance video, in hopes that tips from the public will lead to the burglar.

Officers responded shortly after 2 a.m. to the reported alarm at the closed McDonald’s at the Forum Shopping Center on Northeast Highway 20, said police Cpl. Matt Baldwin.

“The door latch was not working properly” after police showed up, Baldwin said, adding that officers were “not sure if he damaged it or if (it was) already like that.” There was no surveillance video of that area, he said.

The security video showed the man had been in the restaurant for 20 to 30 minutes, but didn’t trigger the alarm until five or 10 minutes before he left, Baldwin said.

And while the burglar tampered with several items, including the cash register and alarm speaker panel, Baldwin said, “We don’t know of anything taken.”

“He pulled out the cash register – of course, there was nothing in it,” he said. “He wandered around for a while. We never see him taking anything.” And there was no food at that time of night to take, either, although Baldwin added, “he looked.”

Nevertheless, Baldwin said the man, if caught, likely would face charges of second-degree burglary and criminal mischief.

Police described him as an adult male with a dark complexion, black hair and goatee. They said he “appears to be intoxicated and may have been drinking in the area on this night.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Bend police or Officer Russ Skelton at 541-322-2960.