Police Lock Down Cascade Elementary During Search for Burglary Suspect

An afternoon burglary of an occupied home in the 16200 block of 114th Avenue Southeast resulted in a brief lockdown at Cascade Elementary on Thursday afternoon.

A K-9 unit out of Federal Way responded to the area to search for the burglary suspect, described as a tall Caucasian man with a thin build, about 20-30 years old, with sandy brown hair, wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans, and carrying a Chihuahua that may have been wearing a black collar, said Detective Robert Onishi of the Renton Police Department.

The suspect is still at large, and there is no information available yet if he took anything from the burglarized home.

Cascade went into lockdown at 2:05 p.m., and then re-opened at 2:53, Onishi said.

Randy Matheson, a spokesperson for the Renton School District, said Cascade Elementary notified the District of the lockdown at 2:30 p.m., but otherwise did not have any other details about the event.

"The Renton Police Department swung by school and asked us keep kids inside while they did work in the community. This happens routinely throughout the school year," he said. "They didn't share the details with us, and we're fine with that."

Events like these do not affect the students or teachers, Matheson said, and often the student body is unaware of the lockdown.

"We don't have the kids under their desks or anything like that," he said. A lockdown simply means that the front door to the school, which is normally unlocked, is locked.

"All other exterior doors to the building are always locked," he said.

Anyone with information about the burglary, or the suspect should contact the Renton Police Department at 425-430-7500.