What to do if you’re affected
First: do not contact or pay the filers. These schemes often try to get owners to pay to “quiet” or “buy back” land they already own. You do not owe them anything. Work through the officials and professionals below.
Step by step
1. Confirm whether your parcel is affected
Check the Affected Properties list for your name/parcel. For the authoritative answer on whether a fraudulent legal description touches your land, ask your title company’s plat examiner.
2. Get certified copies from the Auditor
Request certified copies of the relevant deed(s) — especially #4583924 (Schermer) for the Section 4/5 area — from the Island County Auditor.
3. Report to the Sheriff
Reference fraud case #26-I10572 (Det. Bo Miller). Ask to be recorded as an affected owner and provide a brief statement of harm (e.g., a title company declining to insure).
4. Open a title-insurance claim
Notify your title company/underwriter of the recorded cloud and request their written position. Owner’s policies may cover defense/clearance of a fraudulent claim.
5. Talk to a real-estate attorney
Discuss quiet-title/declaratory relief and whether to join the County’s Legal Action Request. Share this site’s Legal Team section.
6. Watch the record
Periodically check the Auditor’s recorder and Washington Courts for new filings naming the parcels or the filers, so any re-attempt is caught early.
7. Join the neighborhood Facebook group
Stay updated on the case and the neighborhood meeting, and connect with other affected owners in the Brooks Hill Neighborhood Facebook group.
Official contacts
Contact details are provided so affected owners can reach the officials handling this matter. Please be courteous — these offices are assisting the neighborhood.