woodplankthief.3-22

San Mateo police are asking for the public's help in identifying a 'wood-be' thief who stole multiple planks from picnic tables and benches from two city parks. Police began receiving separate reports last week of the theft of wood planks from multiple benches and tables at Ryder Park and Beresford park. At 8:30 a.m. Monday, a park employee reported the removal of a bench plank at Ryder Park, 1801 J. Hart Clinton Drive. The following day, another three tables and benches were found to be missing wood planks. On Friday, wooden planks were reported to have been stolen from three picnic tables and two benches at Beresford Park, 2720 Alameda de las Pulgas. The suspect disabled a park security camera at Beresford, "but not before it captured the subject's likeness," police said. "At 12:49 a.m., cameras recorded a male subject in the area of both the playground and picnic areas," police said. Police say the stolen wood, approximately 6 feet long, is of good quality, and added the suspect caused hundreds of dollars of damages to the city's security camera. They're seeking the public's help in identifying him. "The light-skinned male appears to have short dark hair and was wearing a two-toned baseball hat with light colored front emblem, a yellowish plaid button front shirt, a greenish jacket with dark trim, and dark pants, shoes and gloves. The subject was wearing a mask and carrying a black bag and cellphone. We are looking for anyone who can help us identify this person of interest." Anonymous crime tips can be submitted to http://tinyurl.com/SMPDTips or by calling the Secret Witness line at (650) 522-7676. Please reference case 21-0316-009 and 21-0319-005.