Reports of a helicopter circling Capitol Hill and concentrating its pattern over 15th Ave E started rolling in tonight around 9:45 PM. A quick canvas of the Hill and calls to available sources have turned up no explanation but one police officer would tell me that his department was not conducting a search in the area tonight.

The helicopter used in manhunts in the city is part of a regional program managed by the King County Sheriff’s Department. The county also is charged with providing policing of the Metro bus system, so, delving into pure speculation, it’s possible that a crime involving a bus could result in a county-directed search on the Hill. It is also possible that the officer I spoke with was misinformed or unable to give me full details.

There was a report of police activity possibly involving a bus on Broadway tonight in front of the liquor store. I stopped at that scene and SPD officers were present and taking statements and could not provide information about what had happened at the time.

We’re still looking into this. Let us know if you have anything to add to the puzzle.

UPDATE 10:56 PM:
Spotted in West Seattle too?

UPDATE 11:52 PM:
The West Seattle Blog has learned that a private company is conducting tests tonight using infrared photography to look for ‘air barriers’ around Seattle buildings. The company is called BCRA — here’s information about their services. Wikipedia says “air barriers control air leakage into and out of the building envelope.” On a night like tonight, gotta think you don’t need a helicopter and infrared photography to find leaky air but what do we know.