Lewis County Sirens.com

Updated at 6:11 p.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The man found dead on a Centralia street yesterday has been identified as 64-year-old Anthony Fries.

He is a Centralia resident who lived in the vicinity of where his body was discovered early yesterday morning, laying along the 100 block of East Third Street, just off North Tower Avenue.

An autopsy conducted this morning concluded Fries died from cardiac-related issues.

Centralia police said yesterday that they found signs of trauma and that Fries did not die from natural causes.

The death was suspicious in part because it occurred outdoors, Lewis County Coroner Warren McLeod said.

Since there were no witnesses, police and the coroner’s office pursued the case in the same way they would have if a crime had occurred, according to McLeod.

The “trauma” was minor abrasions, he said, which the doctor found consistent with collapsing onto the pavement after a massive cardiac event.

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CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correct the victim’s last name. The coroner initially released his last name incorrectly, because of a typo.

Updated at 11:44 a.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 25-year-old Randle man is at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle following a weekend wreck that left him with very serious injuries.

Aid and deputies called about 1:20 a.m. yesterday to the 100 block of Glenoma Road found the car had been traveling fairly fast when the driver lost control at the turn and collided with a tree.

Johnathon R. Fisher had not been wearing a seatbelt, so the impact threw him head first into the passenger door, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

Fisher was the only occupant in the vehicle, though he was accompanied by a case of Bud Light beer found in the front seat, and deputies were told he had drank numerous beers before leaving Randle, according to the sheriff’s office.

Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said Fisher was headed to Riffe Lake when the accident happened.

He was taken by ambulance to Morton General Hospital where he was stabilized and then transferred to the Seattle hospital, according to Brown.

Fisher is listed in serious condition this morning in the intensive care unit, according to a hospital spokesperson

The car was totaled and impounded, Brown said. She said Fisher was driving with a suspended license and faces possible arrest for driving under the influence, depending upon the results of blood tests.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The family of the missing Kayla Croft-Payne will host a gathering tomorrow in Chehalis to mark the four year anniversary of the disappearance of the then 18-year-old Lewis County girl.

Kayla Croft-Payne

The vigil will be held from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Penny Playground in Recreation Park in Chehalis.

A press conference is scheduled as well, conducted by Michelle Bart, with a Vancouver, Wash.-based group called National Women’s Coalition Against Violence & Exploitation.

Croft-Payne’s family encourages the young woman’s friends, associates and members of the public to join them.

Croft-Payne was living in a trailer between Chehalis and Napavine on April 28, 2010 when she last logged onto her MySpace internet account. She was reported missing on May 5 by a friend who hadn’t seen or heard from her for several days.

Last year at this time, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office began looking into information Croft-Payne shared with others about getting her photos taken by someone she met online, as she wanted to become a model.

What: Vigil for Kayla Croft-Payne
Where: Recreation Park, Penny Playground in Chehalis, 221 SW 13th St.
When: 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. Saturday April 26, 2014

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For background, read :

• “Sheriff’s office digs around Winlock property in connection with missing girl case” from Friday May 10, 2013, here

• “Kayla Croft-Payne: Family of missing girl questions link to modeling website” from Monday April 29, 2013, here

• “Kayla Croft-Payne: Missing Lewis County teen’s parents still seeking answers” from Friday March 25, 2011, here

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

For anyone who wants to do their part in helping take a bite out of prescription drug abuse, the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office is offering to help take old meds off your hands.

On April 26, the public can drop off containers of expired and unwanted medications at the ROOF Community Resource Center in Rochester on the corner of U.S. Highway 12 and Bend Street  SW, according to the sheriff’s office.

The event takes place between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

The idea is to prevent theft, diversion, misuse, abuse, accidental ingestion, addiction and even death, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The number of people across the country abusing prescription drugs is higher than than those using cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens and inhalants combined, officials say.

Boy Scouts will be at the location to discuss crime prevention and prescription drug abuse, as part of an Eagle Scout project aimed at raising awareness among teens and young adults, according to sheriff’s Lt. Greg Elwin.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 15-year-old Morton boy is locked up after allegedly stabbing his mother multiple times yesterday.

Police Chief Dan Mortensen said he was called around 3:30 p.m. yesterday to the home where the two live at the 800 block of Overlook Drive.

He didn’t know the condition today of the 35-year-old woman, he said.

“When I saw her, she was in the ER at Morton, getting prepared to be airlifted to Harborview,” he said. “She was conscious and talking.”

The teen was booked into the Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center for second-degree assault, he said.

He described the reason for the assault as “family issues, apparently”, but said he is early into the investigation.

Neither name was released.