Oak Harbor Police Detective Mike Bailey is looking for businesses or individuals that may have donated money to the King of the Rock Wrestling Club.

Bailey said money either paid or donated to the club was inappropriately used for non-wrestling activities. The secretary of the club, a 33-year-old Oak Harbor woman, was arrested Aug. 14 on suspicion of embezzlement, Bailey said.

“The embezzlement has been going on for an extended period of time,” he said.

Bailey said the group has claimed to be a non-profit agency when collecting donations, but the IRS does not list them as such.

According to the club’s Web site, King of the Rock Wrestling Club is open to everyone from age five to adult. The Web site has links to the Oak Harbor High School wrestling site, but Bailey said the high school team and coaches have no involvement in the criminal case.

Bailey said the missing money came to light when new board members who noticed irregularities, such as certain vendors not being paid. They requested to see “the books,” but never got a response from the president or secretary. They reported their concerns to the police.

Bailey said he obtained search warrants for bank records and discovered that money had been inappropriately used. The theft is likely in the thousands of dollars, he said, but he’s still investigating.

Bailey urges members of the business community or individuals who have given money to the club to contact him at 279-4622 or call Detective Teri Gardner at 279-4723.

You can reach Jessie Stensland at jstensland@whidbeynewstimes.com or 675-6611.