Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A man’s body found south of Tumwater in March of 1998 finally has been identified and detectives are looking for the public’s help to solve the case.

Richard D. McCollom

The coroner’s office determined the death to be homicide, but the cause of death is being withheld to aid in the investigation, according to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.

The victim is Richard D. McCollom, who was 32 years old when he was killed. McCollom was discovered dead on Sheldon Road.

He was last known to reside in Pierce County, sheriff’s Lt. Greg Elwin said in a news release.

Elwin said the office has been in touch with family and acquaintances, and has developed information from those contacts. They continue to follow leads, Elwin said.

Anyone with information about McCollom or his death is asked to contact sheriff’s office investigators.

Information can be shared with detective Ben Elkins at 360-786-5279 or elkinsb@co.thurston.wa.us or Olympia/Thurston Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or www.crimebusters.org

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office says it appears the motive for yesterday’s attack at an Oakville home was an attempt to rob the residents of recent casino winnings.

Chief Criminal Deputy Steve Shumate said one of the residents had won money in the previous couple of days, and detectives believe the suspects learned of it. He didn’t say how much.

Deputies called about 5 a.m. yesterday were told two masked man carrying machetes kicked in the door at the home on 200 block of East Alder Street.

The man and woman who live there were punched, but the machetes were not used, according Shumate. Their injuries were minor, he said.

Deputies are actively looking for the suspects, believed to be Oakville residents in their 20s, he said.

The intruders left without getting any money, according to Shumate.

During the incident, the man was able to pull the mask off one of them, Shumate said.

“We think that’s what caused them to flee,” he said, suggesting it was fear of being recognized.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Deputies are on the scene this morning of a home-invasion incident in Oakville in which two residents were assaulted.

The Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office reports two masked men kicked in the door to a home on the 200 block of East Alder Street. A man and woman there were assaulted and the intruders left without taking anything, according to the sheriff’s office.

Investigators are working on developing suspects and figuring out the reason for the attack, according to Chief Criminal Deputy Steve Shumate.

Shumate said in a news release they have a possible identity of one of the subjects, as his mask was removed during the altercation. The 911 call came just after 5 a.m.

Three occupants of a vehicle were detained following a police pursuit then crash near U.S. Highway 12 in Malone, but that doesn’t appear to be related to the Oakville incident, Shumate said.

The chase began with Chehalis Tribal Police. A police dog was dispatched to track the driver who fled on foot, he said.

More information will be released when it becomes available, he stated.

The scene on Hart Road east of Winlock today. / Courtesy photo by Lewis County Sheriff’s Office

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The discovery of seriously deteriorated explosives in an old barn outside Winlock led to the intentional destruction of the building this morning by experts.

A bomb squad with the Washington State Patrol concluded the safest way to dispose of the volatile materials was to conduct a controlled burn, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

The dilapidated structure on the 100 block of Hart Road was almost nearly consumed by fire by about noon today, the sheriff’s office reports.

A deputy responded there last night after the property owner made the find while cleaning out the barn, according to the sheriff’s office.

The explosives appeared to have been there long before he bought the property and probably for several decades, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said in a news release. It was hard to tell exactly what it was because of its poor condition, but they think it may have been old mining dynamite, she said.

Members of Lewis County Fire District 15 lit the fire about 11:40 a.m. and the plan went off without any hitches, according to Brown.

It’s not an uncommon kind of call for the sheriff’s office in Lewis County, even though access to explosives nowadays is fairly limited.

Lewis County Sheriff Steve Mansfield said the man who came across the old explosives in his old barn did the right thing in a dangerous situation. He hopes other would do the same.

“I continue to urge people not to pick up, handle, or transport anything that even remotely resembles an explosive device,” Mansfield stated. “The best thing to do is immediately leave the area and call our office.”

The volatile materials laying inside the barn. / Courtesy photo by Lewis County Sheriff’s Office

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The drowning victim from the incident on Mayfield Lake on Saturday has been identified as a 46-year-old Silver Creek man.

His name won’t be released until the coroner is able to talk with his family.

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office said he and a 49-year-old Tacoma resident had been fishing, but both went into the water when their boat drifted away after a brief stop a small island near the state Route 122 bridge at the northwest portion of the lake.

The 46-year-old stopped swimming about five feet short of the craft, and his companion went after him but turned back because of the cold temperatures, according to the sheriff’s office.

An employee at the nearby Ike Kinswa Park rescued the fisherman and brought him to shore where CPR was performed, but he was pronounced dead at Providence Centralia Hospital, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

The Tacoma man was taken to Morton General Hospital to be treated for hypothermia.

Brown said the two had been drinking.

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For background, read “Mayfield Lake incident claims one boater, another rescued” from Saturday April 26, 2014, here