Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The Lewis County Coroner’s Office has positively identified the remains found by a guide boat on the Cowlitz River near Toledo as the fisherman who vanished in January from an area several miles upriver.

Prathana Nammavong

Forty-three-year-old Prathana Nammavong from Des Moines was able to be identified by a unique tattoo, according to the coroner’s office.

An autopsy has been completed but a determination about the cause and manner of his death can’t be made until the results of toxicology tests come back, according to Chief Deputy Coroner Dawn Harris.

Nammavong was reported missing January 28 after two friends went to the Blue Creek Boat Launch area south of Ethel to meet up with him. He was a regular weekend fisherman there. His chair and fishing pole were located on the bank near the river’s confluence with Blue Creek.

Multiple searches were conducted without success.

Just after 1 p.m. on Wednesday, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office got a call from anglers on a guide boat who spotted fishing waders caught on a branch that led to the discovery of his remains in the area of the Mandy Road boat launch.

A representative of his family was notified that day of the find and the possibility it was Nammavong, according to the sheriff’s office.
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For background, read “News brief: Human remains located in Cowlitz River near Toledo” from Thursday May 4, 2017, here

Updated at 2:55 p.m.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A man was found dead behind a business in downtown Centralia this morning but police found no outward signs of foul play.

Just before 8 a.m. today, officers responded to a report of a male lying on the ground not breathing off the 500 block of South Tower Avenue near the railroad tracks, according to the Centralia Police Department.

Arriving officers and EMS units concluded he was deceased, detective John Panco stated in a press release.

A preliminary investigation determined there were no signs of foul play apparent, according to Panco.

Panco said there were no obvious injuries and nothing to suggest how he may have died.

The area where he was found, between the Chevron gas station and the tracks is a place he likely would have been seen if he was there before darkness yesterday, according to Panco.

There was no identification on the man and police are estimating he is between 50 and 60 years old, Panco said.

“Looking in the immediate area, it appears he may have been sitting at one time, but we don’t have any idea why he would have been there,” Panco said.

The body has been turned over to the Lewis County Corner’s Office for further examination, according to Panco. The coroner’s office will figure out who he is and how he died, he said.

Electrical receptacle inside apartment is burned / Courtesy photo by Riverside Fire Authority

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A lightning strike last night led to a power surge that damaged multiple electrical outlets and electronics at a nearby Centralia apartment complex.

Firefighters called just before 8:10 p.m. to the area on the 1000 block of Scammon Creek Road found that lightning struck a large fir tree about 10 yards north of the building, according to Riverside Fire Authority.

Numerous units in the three-story complex lost power and a surge of electricity followed, according to Fire Capt. Jesse Berry. Nobody was hurt however, Berry stated.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The occupants of a guide boat on the Cowlitz River spotted fishing waders on a branch in the water yesterday that led to the discovery of human remains in the area of the Mandy Road boat launch outside Toledo.

Authorities are investigating the possibility they belong to a 43-year-old man from Des Moines who vanished while fishing early this year several miles upriver, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

Friends came to meet up with Prathana Nammavong on January 28 in the Blue Creek Boat Launch area and found his vehicle, fishing poles and chair, but not him. That boat launch is south of Ethel, off Spencer Road.

Chief Deputy Dusty Breen said there are some indications the remains recovered yesterday may be Nammavong but the identity, cause and manner of death need to be determined.

“To us, it’s a very strong possibility, but we don’t want to jump to conclusions,” Breen said.

Breen said a representative of Nammavong’s family was notified yesterday of the find and that it is possibly their loved one.

Breen asks anyone with any information on these remains to contact the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office at 360-748-9286, or Lewis County Communications at 360-740-1105.

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For background, read “News brief: Missing Cowlitz River fisherman still not located” from Wednesday February 1, 2017, here

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The Lewis County Coroner’s Office confirmed last night the body of a young man found inside a Honda Accord in the Twin City Town Center parking lot on Friday is the missing 16-year-old boy from Camas.

Cole Burbank

Cole Burbank was reported missing by his parents on April 13; he was last seen at Camas High School about 7:45 am. that day.

While the coroner has not made a conclusion about how he died, it’s not being ruled a suspicious death, according to Camas Police Department Public Information Officer Debrah Riedl.

Riedl said the urgency to find him as quickly as possible that launched a search immediately was because he was considered an endangered youth, based on his state of mind.

It was a friend of the family that located his car on Friday afternoon in the Chehalis shopping center, because they were searching everywhere for the vehicle, Riedl said.

Police determined from store video and witnesses that the car had been there since the same day he went missing, she said today.

Lewis County Chief Deputy Coroner Dawn Harris has indicated the determination of the cause and manner of his death won’t be done until the receipt of the results of toxicology tests.

A Facebook page titled Remembering Cole Burbank states that a memorial service for the teen will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Camas High School.
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For background, read “Police awaiting autopsy for confirmation about body found inside parked Honda Accord” from Monday April 24, 2017, here

The area in, around and above the electrical outlet burned. / Courtesy photo by Lewis County Fire District 8.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Firefighters were called to a house on the 200 block of Classe Road south of Ethel early this morning where a living room wall had caught fire.

It was caused by an overheating cell phone charger, according to Lewis County Fire District 8.

Chief Duran McDaniel said it melted the plug, ignited the wallboard and had been “cooking” for awhile but burned itself out.

“It’s not the first charger I’ve heard of catching walls on fire,” McDaniel said. “It’s something the public needs to think about.”

A crew pulled the wall apart to make sure nothing more was burning, he said.

McDaniel suggested that folks need to be cautious with chargers, as all electronics have a chance of overheating.

“If your phone charger is really hot, it’s a potential problem,” he said.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The driver who was killed when his pickup truck wrecked along the 1400 block of Centralia-Alpha Road on Monday afternoon is being identified as 64-year-old John Halvorsen of Chehalis.

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office said it appeared his truck had drifted off the road, struck a culvert and rolled multiple times.

The Lewis County Coroner’s Office says Halvorsen died from blunt force injuries to his head and neck.

Deputies and the Washington State Patrol investigated the accident that occurred between Logan Hill and North Fork roads east of Chehalis.
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For background, read “News brief: One person dead in rollover crash” from Tuesday April 25, 2017, here