TWO DEAD IN HIGHWAY 12 WRECK
• Two people are dead and one is critically injured following a multi-vehicle wreck this morning about seven miles east of Randle. Troopers and aid were called around 10 a.m. to the scene on U.S. Highway 12 near Cascade Peaks Campground, according to the Washington State Patrol. State Patrol Sgt. Mike Cournyer said it involved a semi truck, a passenger car and a pickup truck pulling a camp trailer. The highway has been closed in both directions all day, with a detour in place, but tow trucks are at the scene now and it could be cleared in the next 30 minutes, Cournyer said. Of the six people involved, two were not hurt and one was taken to Morton General Hospital with a minor injury, according to Cournyer. The critically injured person was taken to Tacoma General Hospital, he said. A dog died as well, he said. More information should be available later.
OTHER COLLISIONS
• Morton officers were called at 2 p.m. on Saturday to a two vehicle accident at the intersection of Second Street and Main Avenue. A motorcycle failed to yield to oncoming traffic, according to the Morton Police Department. No one was seriously injured, according to police.
• At 3:40 p.m. on Saturday, officers responded to a motorcycle versus pickup wreck in the 400 block of Second Street in Morton. The driver of a motorcycle was taken to Morton General Hospital for medical treatment, according to the Morton Police Department. The accident is under investigation.
THEFT
• Police were called to the wastewater treatment plant on the 3000 block of U.S. Highway 12 last Tuesday regarding “some things taken from the site.” Police are still waiting for the estimated dollar loss, according to the Morton Police Department.
CHILD EXPLOITATION
• KOMOnews.com reports a 66-year-old Centralia man was among nine people arrested during an undercover operation in Kitsap County in which subjects responding to online ads traveled to agreed locations for meetings, with an interest in sexual exploitation of children. The individuals, none of which had any prior felony convictions, were arrested and charged with either sexual abuse of a child, possession of child pornography or sexual exploitation of a child, according to KOMOnews.com. Authorities say the operation generated hundreds of responses. The sting was a collaborative effort involving the WSP’s Criminal Investigative Division, Investigative Assistance Division, Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, Federal Bureau of Investigations and Kitsap County Prosecutors.
AND MORE
• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, misdemeanor assault, protection order violation, driving under the influence, driving with suspended license, driving with no license; responses for alarm, dispute … and more.