On July 19 Port Townsend Police Officer Trevor Hansen was dispatched to meet with a citizen reporting theft. Elizabeth Scarborough provided a copy of a printed email from the Washington State Parks service, as well as a letter saying a check in her name had not been accepted.

Scarborough recognized that it was not her handwriting on the check. The check had a phone number printed at the top and Hansen was able to trace it back to Sarah Marie Miles, 27, a transient residing in Port Townsend, who had prior affiliations with drug use and associations with drug users. Hansen attempted to call the number but did not receive an answer, according to Hansen’s Probable Cause Statement.

He added that Scarborough reported the next day that she was also missing electronics, and that Miles was actually her cleaning lady.

Scarborough told Hansen that she was hurt by this new realization and that she trusted Miles and was trying to help her out with a job. Scarborough contacted Miles about the missing checks and electronics but Miles denied all allegations and would not apologize. 

Hansen later encountered Miles near the Port Townsend QFC where she then admitted to having the items and that she knew about her warrant. Miles also claimed that Scarborough had asked her to throw out the items in question but while she was doing that her vehicle got broken into and the checkbook happened to be back there with the trash. She said she thinks that it was possibly someone out to get her and new her phone number, explaining why her number was on the check. Hansen made it clear that he did not find the theory to be credible. 

Hansen stated that he gave her the chance to return the items and arrested Miles when she refused to do so.

According to court records, while leaving, Hansen said that if she could return the stolen items he would only book her on the warrant and would complete a report on the theft but not book her that day. Miles only then admitted to having the laptop, and told Hansen she was borrowing it, but also said she did not have the tablet.

Trevor, Sarah Miles' boyfriend, met up with Hansen to return the laptop and told Hansen where the tablet was. Trevor returned the tablet. 

Miles continued to deny that she had the checkbooks and was taken to the JCSO jail and over the next several weeks Scarborough went over the other items she declared as missing. Items included other than the original missing items were two boxes of rings, containing about 80 rings in total. The estimated cost of all the rings would be between $7,000 to $9,000. Hansen has been unable to locate Miles to interview her about the rings but he believes that Miles is responsible for the rings based on her willingness to steal from her.

Miles has pleaded not guilty. If convicted on all three theft counts, she faces up to seven years in prison and fines up to $20,000 plus restitution and assessments.