There's an underwear bandit on the loose in Kodiak, and Alaska State Troopers are reminding residents to lock their doors.
In the past week, troopers have received a string of reports of burglaries, criminal trespassing and theft, according to a trooper dispatch. Residents say they have returned home to find someone had rifled through or stolen various items. In some cases, the thief took women's underwear, the report said.
Troopers said they believe the cases are connected. While investigating the reports, troopers heard that other Kodiak residents had experienced similar crimes in recent months but did not call law enforcement, the dispatch said.
In an interview on Kodiak radio station KMXT, Hannah Clark said when she returned home from fishing trips during the summer, she started to notice some of her things had been moved around.
It wasn't until Wednesday when she connected the summer incidents to her stolen underwear.
"I can't believe there is an actual underwear bandit," Clark told KMXT.
Megan Peters, a troopers spokeswoman, would not answer questions about the number of reports of theft and burglary troopers in Kodiak had received in the past week.
"We are not going to provide more specific information due to ongoing investigations," she wrote in an email.
Troopers are asking Kodiak residents to report suspicious activity, lock their doors and "be vigilant of their surroundings, especially during the early and late morning hours," according to the trooper report.
Anyone with information on the incidents is asked to call troopers at 907-486-4121.