Vandals strike convenience store in Oak Harbor
Published 1:30 am Tuesday, May 26, 2026
Forget diamonds or designer handbags — the perpetrators of an overnight crime last week went dumpster diving, only to find a bunch of cardboard boxes.
The incident took place in the outside back dumpster at DK Market, a convenience store in Oak Harbor. Douglas Kim, the store manager, said surveillance footage shows that two people broke into a locked dumpster around 1 a.m. on May 19. The Oak Harbor Police Department received a report at 7:40 a.m., Police Chief Tony Slowik said. Once located, the suspects will be arrested for damage to property and theft, said Slowik, and they will be trespassed from the property.
The individuals, Slowik said, are people they already recognize. They are transient and unhoused, he noted.
Kim said while one person kept watch, the other dismantled the locking mechanism on the dumpster and briefly rumaged through it. They didn’t stay long after they saw the top layer of mostly cardboard boxes, he added. It was a rookie mistake, since the back dumpsters are usually just filled with boxes, Kim explained. They took the bolts and the locking system itself, Slowik said. Although no arrests had been made as of last Tuesday, police are actively searching for the suspects.
