Two incidents in a week have heightened awareness and prompted a warning from law enforcement about crooks stealing and striking fear into local residents.
Most recently, a flur ry of cop cars, both local and state agencies, caused some tense moments the morning of Dec. 7 in Llano County.
What started as a “welfare” call, ended in a cross-county response from Llano County Sher- iff's Office deputies and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers.
At 8:20 a.m.n Dec. 7, authorities responded to an investigation in an area of Kingsland which eventual- ly led officers by about 10 a.m. to the Horseshoe Bay area.
“We were trying to check the welfare of an individual,” Llano County Chief Deputy Brad Evans told The Highlander.
“We had his phone ‘pinged’ and we were following that,” he added.
Evans said at that time, the incident did not rise to the level of a public safety issue.
“If we felt like citizens were in danger, we would have done a reverse 9-11,” he said.
By 10:45 a.m. officials sent out an update that local entities were clear of the call.
“We were assured by family members that the subject we were looking for was okay,” Evans added. “He’s no longer in Llano County.”
Armed Suspects
The incident followed a report about six days earlier of suspects on the loose in Llano County considered “armed and dangerous.”
“At some point there was a vehicle stolen from Hays County, then a vehicle stolen in Horseshoe Bay and then the incidents in Blue Lake happened,” Evans explained.
Llano County law enforcement’s involvement unfolded on Dec. 1, when investigators discovered an unoccupied wrecked vehicle on Texas 71. The evidence trail led authorities to connect the crashed vehicle to reports of cars burglarized in Blue Lake, adjacent to Horseshoe Bay. In that report, at least two firearms were reported stolen from vehicles.
More clues connected the string of car burglaries to a vehicle reported stolen in Horseshoe Bay.
“Last weekend, we put that alert out so everybody would be aware … because of what had transpired before they got here and burglarized the vehicle(s),” Evans said. “All this started in other counties.”
Other counties included Hays and Comal, southeast of Llano County.
In Comal County an alleged “exchange of gunfire" with police enhanced the sense of urgency to track down suspects, Evans revealed.
“We have no suspects as of yet (in what) happened in Blue Lake,” he said. “We do not believe them to be in the area anymore.” Local authorities offered limited details about suspect identification or description remains.
However, the stolen firearms as well as the series of events prompted officials to offer advice to avoid becoming victims.
“People need to lock their vehicles,” he said. “Even if they’re in your garage, lock your vehicle.
“If someone had walked outside and saw someone at their vehicle, we do not want someone to confront them. Call 9-1-1.”