Lewis County Sirens.com

Update: 3:22 p.m.

They were just found stuck in the snow on the 21 Road, by personnel from state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

All are fine, according to sheriff’s Cmdr. Steve Aust.

They are working to get them unstuck, Aust said.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A group of as many as six individuals are the subject of a search outside Randle today.

Victoria House, 21, and Jason Toups went with some friends last night to play in the snow and haven’t returned home, House’s mother Bobbie Howell Dalton said this afternoon.

The sheriff’s office has set up a command post at the Randle fire hall, according to Lewis County Fire District 14 Chief Jeff Jaques.

“Some young folks went out to play in the snow last night and haven’t been seen since,” Jaques said.

Dalton said she called 911 about 10 a.m. when she realized her daughter missed a morning appointment.

All six are from Morton, Dalton said.

“My daughter’s three months pregnant and recovering from a broken ankle, so we’re kind of doubly worried about it,” she said.

Dalton said she has been told one of them texted a friend about 11:10 p.m. last night and said they were headed out the 23 Road to the Orr Creek Snow Park in the Cispus area south of Randle.

She believes they are driving in two trucks, she said.

She said she was told Lewis County Search and Rescue was out looking for them.

Lewis County sheriff’s Cmdr. Steve Aust said this afternoon a formal search had not been set up as they didn’t know for sure where the group had been headed.

Friends were out looking for them though, he said.

A deputy was headed out to Walupt Lake about 3 p.m. after learning they had been spotted there, Aust said.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A man accused of a drive-by shooting in Centralia from 2006 made a plea deal yesterday instead of going to trial.

Colbert A. Salmeron

Colbert A. Salmeron was 19 years old when he was arrested after an incident on the 500 block of North Tower Avenue.

A group of four individuals were standing next to a pickup truck in a parking lot when someone – allegedly Salmeron – fired several shots shattering its window and striking a nearby car and another truck, according to charging documents. No persons were hit.

Salmeron was facing multiple charges of first-degree assault and hiding out in El Salvador when he was captured last year.

Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Colin Hayes said he believed Salmeron was motivated to plead guilty because of a similar case during that period when  Centralia teenager Guadalupe Solis-Diaz Jr. was sentenced to more than 90 years in prison.

“Mr. Salmeron could have been in a similar situation had he been convicted as charged,” Hayes said.

Police said both incidents were gang-related.

Salmeron, now 25, faces a sentence of somewhere between about 14 years and a little more than 19 years in prison.

He pleaded guilty yesterday in Lewis County Superior Court to one count of first-degree assault, two counts of third-degree assault and bail jumping.

The prosecutor’s office dropped a charge of drive-by shooting, a charge of unlawful possession of a firearm, and firearm enhancements which each add mandatory extra time that must be served consecutively.

Salmeron has been described by police as a Texas resident who was visiting Centralia that summer, and as associated with the Little Valley Lokotes.

One of the alleged targets, Brandon Cagle, told police he had a brief relationship with Salmeron’s ex-girlfriend, and he believed that was why they were shot at, charging documents state. The others named as standing near the pickup truck are Tyson Anderson, Michael Lumpert and Katie Sullivan. Salmeron named Edgar Juarez as one of the victims in his formal statement of guilt yesterday.

His sentencing is set for Jan. 25 at 1 p.m.
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Read background on the case, here