Bellevue police closing in on comic-book thief

Bellevue police think they're close to catching someone who stole about 6,000 comic books last month from a home north of downtown in the 10000 block of Northeast 15th Street. The owner had stored the comic books at the residence in January and reported them missing late in May, according to Officer Greg Grannis, police public-information officer.

Some of the comics have since been sold, said Grannis, and police plan to show a photo montage of possible suspects to the buyer, something they hope could lead to a positive identification of a suspect.

"The comic-book world is not such a big place," said Grannis, and people involved in trading the comics often know one another.

Police believe the comic books were stolen by someone known to the residents of the home, he explained, since there was no evidence of a break-in.

None of the comics are believed to be particularly valuable, added Grannis, with most of them worth about 50 cents. The total value of the theft was put at $3,000.

"It's kind of like baseball cards," said Grannis. "They might be worth something if you found the right collector."