Ferndale Police

Chief Turner speaks about recent legislative changes and the Police Department’s oath to Ferndale. Music provided by bensound.com and Emma Burnfield.

On 7/17/21, Ferndale Police responded to a report regarding Mr. Bleil being a missing person.  According to family members, Mr. Bleil was last seen on 7/16/21 at about 8:00 am as he left his residence.  He suffers with mental health issues, left without his medication and has been behaving abnormally recently. 

He was last seen wearing a dark colored T-shirt, shorts and was carrying a backpack.  Any information regarding Mr. Bleil’s whereabouts can be reported to the Ferndale Police Department at 360-384-3390 or the Washington State Patrol’s Missing Persons Unit at 1-800-543-5678. 

Update 07-02-21: Thanks to the efforts of the community, the suspects in this case have been identified. Thank you everyone for your efforts.

On 6/25/2021, at about 3:51 AM, Ferndale Police were dispatched to Rite Aid located at 5655 Third Avenue for an alarm activation.  Upon arrival, officers discovered that a window had been broken and it appeared that entry had been made.  With the assistance of the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office, the area was checked with a K-9 and the interior of the building was searched but the suspects were not located. 

Video surveillance from Rite Aid captured the suspects making entry to the store through the broken window and stealing property inside. 

The Ferndale Police Department is releasing video footage and photographs of the suspects in an attempt to identify them.  If you have any information regarding this case, please contact Detective Eric Grant at 360-483-5739 or egrant@ferndalepd.org.

Ferndale Police Department is seeking assistance in identifying the subjects in the video above.

At approximately midnight on 5/23/2021, a male subject and his female companion were recorded on surveillance cameras in the 1900 block of Main Street and 5600 block of 3^rd Ave.  The male subject is recorded damaging a tree in one video and taking a chair which was later found damaged in another.

Ferndale Police has probable cause for the unidentified male and would like to contact the female about her involvement.

Please contact Corporal Scott (jscott@ferndalepd.org) or call (360) 676-6911 if you can assist in identifying this subject.

Email Fraud Cases Impact Ferndale Residents

Two separate fraud cases were recently reported to the Ferndale Police Department. Both frauds originated with emails sent to the victims.   The suspects falsely identified themselves as representatives of legitimate businesses and asked for phone calls to address a problem with an account. The combined loss for both victims was over $50,000. 

Both victims phoned the provided telephone number and reported speaking with a person with a heavy accent.  The suspects then solicited personal information from the victims and convinced them it was necessary to complete a wire transfer to correct a problem.  One victim was instructed to purchase gift cards and then provide the card numbers to the suspects.  Both wire transfers were to a bank in Thailand. 

Both victims were elderly, and it is possible the suspects already had some of their personal information which was used to gain their trust.

While credit card payments offer some fraud protection, wire transfers and gift cards do not. 

That is why these are not typical payment options for legitimate business transactions. Any suspicious request from a business can be verified by contacting the business with proper contact information. Do not use internet links or phone numbers from the suspicious email, text, or phone call.  Simply look up the business contact information and verify the issue with the company. 

The following are fraud-related resources where residents can report suspicious activity:

General Fraud

Contact the FBI at (202) 324-3000 or online at www.fbi.gov or tips.fbi.gov.

Health Care, Medicare/Medicaid Fraud

Contact the Dept. Health & Human Services at 1-800-HHS-TIPS or online at www.oig.hhs.gov.

Internet Fraud & Lottery/Sweepstakes Fraud by Internet

Contact the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) online at www.ic3.gov.

State and Local Fraud

Contact the Ferndale Police Department at 911 or online at contact@ferndalepd.org.