It was Friday afternoon in south Redding, out along Eastside Road, which runs alongside the railroad tracks opposite South Market Street. Just south of Bonnyview Road, the area is largely open, with a few auto body and towing shops, with a small neighborhood of ranch style homes, and the 9-hold Allen’s Golf Course nearby. The small, but much loved breakfast and lunch stop, The Snack Shack, is located here. A woman who had parked her car behind the small diner encountered another woman who had broken into her car and was stealing property.
The Snack Shack on Eastside Road
According to the Redding Police, when the 42-year-old victim saw the thief, the burglar took off, but she was carrying a shotgun. Undaunted, the victim followed her anyway, and demanded her property back. She may have feared the worst when the perpetrator leveled the gun at her, but she did not fire. She did however, drop the stolen goods, and ran off north along Eastside Road, until she reached Olney Creek, and fled under the railroad bridge and South Market Street.
While she was fleeing, she held the shotgun, and several passing motorists were alarmed as she pointed it in their direction. The police were contacted and responded at 1:37 in the afternoon. After arriving at the scene, they found the suspect, 44-year-old Natalee Lynn Vanosdol, under the South Market Street/Highway 273 bridge over Olney Creek. The shotgun had been hidden in some bushes nearby, but the officers located it easily.
Vanosdol has a long history of trouble with the law while living in the Redding and Shasta Lake area. Records going back to 2005 show an arrest on Christmas day for driving under the influence. She was charged with the same offense in April of 2006. She resided in the town of Shasta Lake at the time.
Between 2006 and 2010, having relocated to Redding, she was arrested at least seven more times on charges of DUI, probation violations, and once for presenting false identification to an officer.
Four years later, in March of 2014, she was arrested by a Redding area CHP officer while driving a stolen vehicle. After being booked at Shasta County Jail, she was given a court date, and failed to appear. A warrant was issued, and she was arrested in June on the outstanding warrant, in addition to driving on a suspended license. She was charged with contempt of court in August as well.
Vanosdol had fled under the railroad bridge at Olney Creek.
Once again out on probation, on December 7 of 2014 in the town of Shasta Lake, a Shasta County Sheriff’s deputy spotted a stolen car near the corner of Pine Grove and Cascade Blvd., near the Interstate 5 Freeway. The driver turned out to be none other that Natalee Vanosdol, who was arrested for vehicle theft and possession of the stolen vehicle. She was also charged with yet another probation violation and with driving on a license suspended for her past DUIs.
When Vanosdol was detained at the bridge on Friday, and then brought back to the scene in preparation for transportation to the Shasta County Jail for booking, the officers spoke with the vehicle robbery victim, along with others who came forward at the location around the Snack Shack. A resident on North Drive, just around the corner from the Snack Shack, reported that they had been the victim of a “cat burglar”, who had taken the shotgun Vanosdol was using, along with other items. Once she had taken the shotgun, further investigation, and a review of another homeowner’s surveillance video, showed that she had burglarized yet another house on North Drive.
In the video, she was seen approaching the house, leaning the shotgun against a tree, and then going into the garage. She helped herself to what she wanted in the garage, and then walked into the front door of the house. She soon discovered that someone was home, and ran off with her stolen loot, grabbed the shotgun and proceeded towards the Snack Shack, where the adventure continued.
Vanosdol was booked at the Shasta Jail on charges of assault with a firearm, robbery, burglary, petty theft, and being a convicted felon with a firearm. She reported her current address as the Good News Rescue Mission on South Market Street, which is about 3 miles north of the scene of the crimes. Her bail was set at $60,000, and she is reportedly still in custody.
