Leavenworth hotel guests find goat in their room

LEAVENWORTH, Chelan County — A couple of guests at the FairBridge Inn & Suites came back to their room early Sunday morning expecting to bed down for the night.

Instead, they opened the door to find an unexpected visitor.

"They were absolutely shocked to find a goat in their room," said Jerry Moore, chief of administration for the Chelan County Sheriff's Office.

The goat was apparently left in the room by two men as a prank, Moore said, but deputies do not believe the pranksters and the room's occupants knew each other.

The incident began about 1 a.m. Sunday when deputies received reports that two men were seen carrying a goat down the sidewalk along Highway 2 in Leavenworth.

"At one point, they were dragging the goat by the horns," Moore said.

As deputies were responding, the two men apparently went to the FairBridge and one of the men told the clerk at the front desk that he had lost his key to Room 111. The clerk gave him a spare, and the two men then placed the goat inside the empty hotel room.

Moore said deputies think the room was chosen at random.

The room's occupants returned about a half-hour later, and reported finding the goat, Moore said.

Based on a description of the two men, deputies arrested a 26-year-old Snohomish County man within about a half-hour, Moore said. Deputies found him walking the streets, and he smelled of intoxicants.

The man was booked into the Chelan County Regional Justice Center on suspicion of theft of livestock and second-degree burglary.

The goat, which had been taken from the Enzian Falls Putting Course, 311 Highway 2, was returned to the putting course grounds unharmed, Moore said. The second suspect is still at large.