Real-life Nancy Drew launches hunt for men who burglarized her

A 70-year-old Gig Harbor woman took the law into her own hands after burglars stole $20,000 worth of property from her home.

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Mavi Macfarlane described to KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson how she  “came home to a house that was completely upside-down.”

Computers, DSLR cameras, jewelry, televisions, credit cards, and phones were all among the valuables that the thieves took from Macfarlane’s residence.

“You don’t feel safe … you feel like, ‘Oh my God, I don’t really want to sleep in this house anymore’ because they know where you live,” she described.

Instead of receiving the thorough help she wanted, Macfarlane was told by law enforcement not to call them every time one of her stolen credit cards was used.

But instead of sitting back and leaving the case to the police, Macfarlane decided to hunt down the criminals herself.

“I was bound and determined to find these creeps,” she said. “I took the mission immediately.”

Taking advice that she had once received from a police officer, Macfarlane did not cancel her credit cards, but instead waited to see where the burglars would use them. An alert from her bank soon told Macfarlane that her cards were used at a gas station in Silverdale.

With help from the manager of the 76 station, Macfarlane was able to obtain pictures of one of the men from a security camera.

The next day, Macfarlane received another fraud alert from a Tacoma gas station and followed the same procedure, obtaining photos of two new suspects.

“In the long run they’re going to save a lot of money because you’ll get these creeps off the road and in jail so they’re doing less stealing of credit cards,” Macfarlane said.

Macfarlane took the photos of the burglars to one of the gas stations where one of her cards had been used.

Soon after, an employee working at the gas station guessed that he was dealing with one of the thieves when a man came into the store attempting to use Macfarlane’s daughter’s credit card — a card bearing the name Elizabeth. With quick movements, the clerk hit the panic button for police and took the man’s phone, holding it hostage until police came.

Officers from the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office and the Gig Harbor Police Department soon arrived at the scene and arrested the men. A gun, drugs, and a collection of stolen jewelry were all found in the criminals’ car.

With the men likely to spend a long while behind bars, Macfarlane is vindicated — and the amateur sleuth has even found herself giving tips to law enforcement professionals.

“I talked to the prosecutor today and I gave him a few tips on how to do this, simply done, so they can do that in the future,” she said.

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