An odd turn of events outside Enumclaw resulted in a suspected auto thief being fatally shot by county deputies, the case of the pickup heist resolved and, finally, a poodle reunited with its family.

Everything came to a head shortly after noon Monday, Nov. 25, in the 35200 block of Veazie-Cumberland Road, not too many miles north of Enumclaw.

First, here’s how it all began. Details have been compiled from information tweeted by the King County Sheriff’s Office, a press release issued by the department at 5:30 p.m. Monday and an interview with KCSO spokesman Sgt. Ryan Abbott.

Black Diamond resident Carl Sanders was filling the gas tank of his Ford Raptor pickup the afternoon of Friday, Nov. 22, at the Cenex store in Black Diamond. He headed into the store to make a quick purchase, leaving his vehicle unlocked and with a 4-year-old poodle named Monkey in the truck. That’s when a suspect came by, jumped in the truck and sped away, with the large dog still in the cab of the truck. Gas was still flowing as the suspect fled, ripping the nozzle and hose from the fuel pump.

Law enforcement agencies hunted for the suspect, the stolen vehicle and Monkey throughout the weekend, with no luck.

On the 25th, the Raptor was spotted by a county deputy near Flaming Geyser State Park, but the speeding vehicle made a getaway. Later, a pair of county detectives received information indicating the stolen truck could be found in the vicinity of Southeast 352nd in the small, unincorporated community of Cumberland. They responded in their unmarked GMC Yukon and, when attempting to make contact, the suspect used the pickup to ram the police vehicle. The detectives stepped from their Yukon to confront the suspect and an altercation took place, with detectives reaching through broken windows to battle with the suspect. During that encounter, both deputies shot the suspect who died at the scene, still inside the stolen Raptor.

Information from those final moments was initially vague, Abbott said, because department rules mandate that officers are not talked to for 72 hours after they’ve been involved in a shooting.

One thing that was certain is that Monkey was still in the pickup at the time of the shooting. At that point, the frightened dog jumped from the pickup and ran. Monkey was soon returned to his family.

The deputies involved in the incident sustained lacerations to their hands and were treated at the scene. They have been placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure. One has been with the King County Sheriff’s Office for 21 years and the other six years.

In keeping with Initiative I-940, the Seattle Police Department responded and is investigating the shooting.