Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Update: The Olympian reports a body found this afternoon is that of the missing woman.

Lacey police are asking for the public’s help finding a 53-year-old woman missing since Sunday whose vehicle was found abandoned.

Renata L. Hanson

Renata L. Hanson was last seen Sunday leaving her home in southeast Lacey, according to the Lacey Police Department,

Her vehicle was found at the Woodland Creek Community Park at the 6700 block of Pacific Avenue Southeast, according to a news release. A preliminary search was conducted with negative results, Lt. Jim Mack said in the news release.

Hanson is described as 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighing 120 pounds.

Police are asking anyone with information on Hanson to phone detective Beverly Reinhold of the Lacey Police Department at 360-459-4333.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A Centralia woman was arrested for driving under the influence after her speeding car slammed into a pickup truck parked on the side of a residential street last night in Centralia.

Both vehicles were totaled, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Angela M. Charnell, 28, suffered broken ribs and her 6-year-old passenger was bruised, the state patrol reported. She and the boy were taken to Providence Centralia Hospital after the wreck.

It happened about 10 p.m. on West Second and H streets, according to authorities.

Centralia police reported Charnell was also arrested for reckless endangerment.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 20-year-old driver was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle after a head on crash on U.S. Highway 12 in Rochester yesterday afternoon.

Troopers called about 4:45 p.m. to the scene near Pecan Street said both cars were totaled and a third vehicle driven by a Chehalis woman was damaged from debris from the wreck.

Kory J. Hardcastle, 20, of Tumwater was westbound when his Honda Civic crossed over the centerline striking an eastbound Toyota Avalon, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Hardcastle was taken by helicopter to the Seattle hospital, according to the state patrol.

The occupants of the Toyota, William C. Meyers, 77, and Carol M. Meyers, 74, both of Olympia, were transported to Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia, the state patrol reported.

Debris from the wreck struck a nearby pickup and trailer causing about $1,000 damage, according to the investigating trooper.

Its occupants, Kristin Lusk, 27, Jannette M. Largen, 60, and Michael A. Largen, 66, were reportedly uninjured.

The state patrol blamed the crash on inattention.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A collision early this morning between a semi truck and a passenger vehicle on Interstate 5 south of Napavine sent a 37-year-old Centralia man to the hospital.

Shawn Gammon was northbound near milepost 66 when the left-side front of his pickup truck struck the rear right corner of a 2008 Peterbilt, according to the Washington State Patrol.

A trooper called to the scene about 4:40 a.m. reported Gammon’s truck then ran into the center concrete barrier.

Gammon was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital with cuts to his face and soreness in his back and neck, the state patrol reported. His 2007 Nissan Frontier was totaled.

The driver of the big rig was reportedly uninjured.

The wreck follows another one at about 8:15 p.m. last night in which a woman was hospitalized after a rollover accident on Interstate 5 in Chehalis.

Troopers called to the northbound lanes near the Chamber of Commerce Way interchange found the 2004 GMC Envoy on its top.

Eileen M. Morgan, 55, of Elma, was northbound when she tried to change lanes, noticed a vehicle next to her and overcorrected losing control of her vehicle, according to the state patrol.

Morgan was taken to Providence with a cut to her head, according to the investigating trooper. Her vehicle was destroyed.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Criminal activity in Centralia during the first six months of this year is showing a dramatic reversal from the sharp uptick that was measured in 2010, Police Chief Bob Berg reported yesterday.

Violent crime is down 29 percent and property crime is down 38 percent compared with the first six months of last year, according to Berg.

Berg notes crime in Centralia seems to be following the pattern of 2009, and continues a six-year downward trend.

The department believes its enforcement work has had somewhat of an effect of reducing the number of crimes in the city, but Berg says crime is a community problem and police can’t take too much credit when the numbers are good, nor too much blame when the numbers are bad.

Most significantly changed are felony assaults. In the first six months of 2010, the department saw 38, while in the same period this year it saw only 18, according to a news release from the Centralia Police Department.

Burglaries dropped much as well, with 117 during the first half of last year but only 68 in the first half of this year.

“We are at a loss to explain the significant single-year spike in criminal activity in 2010, other than we had several known criminals released back into the community,” Berg said in his news release.

The statistics are as measured by the Federal Bureau of Investigations Uniform Crime Reporting system, and looks at certain offense as indicators of overall activity.

The chief reports that violent gang activity continues to be suppressed in Centralia, although incidents of graffiti tagging are on the rise.

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Read about 2010 crime statistics in Lewis County, here