Shot fired in Granite Falls search — is it serial burglar?

Maybe the notorious 18-year-old Camano Island burglar is at it again, but this time a gun might be involved as Snohomish County deputies investigated a burglary Sunday night just southeast of Granite Falls.

One shot was fired, said Rebecca Hover, spokeswoman for the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office.

No one was injured.

The incident took place a few miles from where a single-engine Cessna 182 Turbo plane was found Thursday. The plane had crash-landed in a clear-cut.

Authorities are investigating whether 18-year-old Colton Harris-Moore was involved.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it appears only one person was aboard the plane when it crashed after running out of fuel. The pilot then apparently fled.

Harris-Moore has been a fugitive since he walked out of a Renton juvenile security facility in April 2008. He has been the focus of a manhunt after a string of burglaries and thefts on Camano Island and the San Juan Islands.

This morning, two dozen officers and tracking dogs from various jurisdictions were looking for the suspect or suspects in Sunday night's burglary, Hover said. Menzel Lake Road has been closed.

Hover said deputies responded to a burglary report about 8 p.m. Sunday, when a family living on Menzel Lake Road came home "to find items missing." She said they were basic-needs items such as blankets and shoes.

The home is located "in a pretty rural area" that's heavily wooded, she said.

As officers were searching, said Hover, they heard a shot fired.

"We believe the suspect knew it was the police because they had identified themselves out there," said Hover.

After the single shot, she said, the deputies took cover and called for backup. A SWAT team was brought in.

The sheriff's office also used a helicopter equipped with heat-sensing device to search for the suspect, but, said Hover, "there's too much of a dense covering."

This morning, neighbors along Menzel Lake Road said they were mostly learning about the search from news reports.

Marilyn Britain said that at about 2 or 2:30 a.m. today she had fallen asleep on the living room couch after watching TV. She said officers woke her and her husband.

"They came through our house and checked," she said. Britain said she then went back to sleep.

Erik Lacitis: 206-464-2237 or elacitis@seattletimes.com