Snohomish couple robbed at gunpoint by men claiming to be federal agents

SNOHOMISH, Wash. — A senior-aged Snohomish County couple told KIRO 7 they were robbed at gunpoint by two masked men who broke into their home and pretended to be undercover federal agents.

Carolyn Dent, 75, said she believed the men came into their Yew Way home through an unlocked door Friday around 11 a.m. Her husband, Jim, 77, said he was zip-tied and pistol-whipped by the suspects, who demanded money.

Carolyn told KIRO 7 she was upstairs getting dressed when one of the men suddenly appeared in her bedroom doorway.

"I said who are you? What are you doing here?" said Carolyn. "He said, ‘I'm a federal agent.’"

Carolyn said she reached over and pulled part of the suspect’s mask off, but isn’t sure she’d be able to recognize him again.

She said he reacted by covering his face again and allowing her to walk out of the bedroom.

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“I said, ‘help Jim, I need help,’” said Carolyn, who described calling for her husband at the stairwell.

Her husband Jim was downstairs in the restroom.

The suspect allowed her to walk downstairs.

"When I got down there, there was a second fellow,” said Carolyn.

Her husband Jim said he walked out of the restroom and went to the kitchen where his wife and the men were. They elaborated on their lie.

“We are in pursuit of a felon on your property and we need to search the house,” Jim described one of the suspects as saying.

Jim said he tried to call 911 and then the suspects pulled guns, pistol-whipping him and zip-tying his hands in the hallway.

The couple showed KIRO 7 one of the black zip-ties apparently left behind by the suspects who they said then demanded money and left Carolyn alone.

"I made a beeline to the TV room,” said Carolyn, who went for her cellphone.

She said one of the suspects found her, took the phone, then left her alone again.

"Well, I got up and used the landline,” said Carolyn.

This time, she said, her 911 call got through. One of the suspects ended the call but also left her alone and she ran out of the house onto Yew Way.

“Trying to flag someone down!” said Carolyn.

The couple said the suspects searched their room for valuables and went through a jewelry box that was already empty.

"He immediately came down the stairs then, reached in my pocket, pulled my keys out,” said Jim.

The couple said the suspects got away with their cellphones and a white Ford pickup truck. Deputies responded but didn’t find the suspects.

“I was concerned, but I was not terrified,” said Carolyn.

“I did not know whether they had taken her,” said Jim.

Jim told KIRO 7 he was able to get out of the loose zip-tie and went for a gun.

“Came out looking, because I was ready to do some serious damage if I had to,” said Jim, visibly emotional.

The couple is now left feeling unsettled in their longtime home as investigators search for the two suspects.

The Dents said this is the fifth time their home has been broken into, though they weren't previously robbed at gunpoint.

"It could happen to somebody else, it could happen to us again,” said Carolyn.

KIRO 7 called the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office Sunday and a lieutenant would only confirm they’re investigating but had few details available for release.

The Dents said deputies recovered one of their cellphones and a glove left behind by the suspects on their property.

Contact the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office with tips related to this investigation.

Cox Media Group