The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office took a call reporting the theft of an inflatable Santa Claus and reindeer companion from a Shady Lane residence. Retail value estimated to be less than $100, but value to a merry Christmas — priceless! 

Another caller reported a four-foot-tall “light-up peacock” stolen from her front yard on Conrad Drive at some point Monday night. 

A woman called to report she had received a check in the mail from “Secret Shoppers” for $1,600, with instructions on how to cash the check. Responding officers believed the check was a scam, and the caller said she would destroy it. 

A man on Stanley Springs Drive reported a set of tire chains missing after they fell out of the back of his vehicle. The chains were in a “blue plastic milk crate.”

A man said he frequently receives calls from a motel asking to speak with “Doug.” He tells the caller there is no Doug, but they keep calling back. 

A man on Dillon Road in Columbia Falls reported a money clip with $500 in cash stolen from the center console of his unlocked vehicle. 

A driver in a silver “Honda Accord type” vehicle was driving “all over the roadway” on U.S. 35 near Bigfork. The driver nearly hit several oncoming vehicles. Officers were unable to locate the erratic driver. 

Outgoing mail from a man’s mailbox on Mission Trail in Kalispell was found on the street a little ways from his house. One envelope was ripped open, but the confused thief didn’t take anything when he realized the check inside was not payable to him after all. 

A man in search of a Rocky Mountain high reached an unfortunate low at a store on U.S. 2 east of Kalispell. The man stole a product made from an evergreen tree related to coffee that the caller said is considered to be “the latest legal plant-based high.”  

In a second theft at a different store, the thief left a backpack behind after stealing a box of Pop-Tarts and Mountain Dew from a store on U.S. 2. The reporting party believed the backpack contained drugs, so the thief may have considered that a fair trade for the Mountain Dew.

A man in a rollover accident on KM Ranch Road over a month ago stated that his pistol was stolen after the accident. 

A loaded .22 caliber rifle was found near a fence on Stoner Creek Road in Lakeside. The caller said there were kids around, and requested an officer pick the gun up. 

A group of 12-year-old boys were playing “chicken” with cars on West Reserve Drive. 

A man who was almost “sideswiped” by a male driver on Kienas Road, proceeded to follow the driver to his home. The distraught driver decided to leave the home just as unexpectedly as he had arrived, however, after a pistol was pointed at him. 

People were throwing ice and snow at a house on Frontage Road in Columbia Falls where a 14-year-old girl and her two younger brothers were home alone. The girl called to report the incident, but when responders arrived the perpetrators were gone. 

Tires were slashed on a man’s car parked on Gunsite Loop. 

A caller stated the people next door were “doing strange things” at an Evergreen residence. The caller stated the male next door tore the bumper off his car, then replaced it with a new one. Later, three people arrived and entered the house. The caller believed there was drug-related activity happening.

A woman reported to the Whitefish Police Department that she received a strange letter. It was not threatening but she did not know who sent it. 

A Ford Focus was hit on Wisconsin Avenue sometime during the night, causing damage to the passenger side door. 

A snowboard was stolen out of a pickup truck during the night while parked on U.S. 93 south of Whitefish. 

Bear tracks were reported in the parking lot of a business on Wisconsin Avenue. 

The Columbia Falls Police Department received a report that two men were fighting on Nucleus Avenue.