HOLLAND (WHTC-AM/FM) — Holland Department of Public Safety posted a simple, direct appeal on Facebook Wednesday afternoon: “Please help identify …”
Police are looking for a car-theft suspect, describing him as a “Hispanic male, around 30 years old, heavy set.”
The message indicates a vehicle — which police did not describe — was taken at about 5 a.m .on Oct. 6, 2018.
Anyone with information is asked to contact is asked to email Detective Kris Haglund at k.haglund@cityofholland.com or call 616-355-1150. People can also share information via Silent Observer, which offers cash rewards for tips leading to arrests and convictions.
Anyone with information related to this incident is asked to contact all the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department at 616-738-4000; or call Silent Observer at 1-877-88-SILENT; or text OCMTIP and your message to 274637; or submit an online tip at www.mosotips.com.
More than 25 Facebook users shared the HDPS’s post, with a handful leaving comments. Some criticized the quality of the surveillance camera photos. The most-popular comment came from Jaime Valdez, who wrote, “Just letting you all know right now that is not me. My cheeseburger gut is way bigger and I have a real beard. I own my own vehicles, thank you.”
But Valdez wasn’t exactly joking, he later explained, writing on the HDPS Facebook thread, “I made that post because someone tagged my brother in one of the Holland bank robbery articles earlier this year saying it was him.. the police showed up in presence at his work and home looking for him not knowing someone tagged him as a joke.. lol
“Today someone tagged me in this and didn’t want the the police wasting their time looking for me.”
