Archive for August, 2017

Human remains recovered from Mineral Lake

Thursday, August 10th, 2017

Updated at 4:38 p.m.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Five weeks after a local man was believed to have vanished in Mineral Lake, his body has been found in the lake.

Deputies were called yesterday morning to the north Lewis County community along state Route 7 where they recovered human remains from the water, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

Gerald L. Harris, 54, of Mineral went missing on July 5.

As recently as Tuesday, the sheriff’s office reported they continued to conduct interviews with people and were waiting for a break in the case. They couldn’t say for sure if Harris drowned or maybe something else had occurred.

Harris had a court date coming up the week after he went missing and it didn’t look like the case was going to have a very good outcome for him, sheriff’s Chief Deputy Dusty Breen said earlier this week.

Deputies were called about 9 a.m. yesterday after two boaters fishing on the lake observed something floating in the water, according to Breen. With help from the boaters, sheriff’s office personnel were able to recover the body and bring it to shore at a boat launch, Breen stated in a press release this morning.

After lunch time today authorities identified the deceased as indeed Harris. Lewis County Coroner Warren McLeod said he died of drowning.

The details of Harris’s disappearance are murky.

Deputies had been dispatched just before 4 p.m. on July 5 to the lake on a call reporting suspicious circumstances, according to Breen.

A boater had encountered Harris’s 49-year-old girlfriend adrift in a boat on the lake and she said Harris had been in their boat, then he wasn’t in their boat but she was significantly impaired by at least alcohol and her recollection wasn’t very clear, Breen said.

Deputies got help from other boaters to search the area, brought in the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team to check the lake with sonar devices, but also checked Harris’s residence and other locations in the community.

They entered him into the system as a missing person and continued to investigate.

Harris had been charged this spring with second-degree assault and possession of methamphetamine after an incident at the home he shared with his girlfriend on May 30. Harris bailed out of jail on June 1 and was due back in court for a hearing on July 13. A no-bail warrant was issued for his arrest when he failed to appear.

Breen indicated this afternoon that detectives still don’t have a clear picture of what occurred prior to Harris being in the water. His girlfriend has been interviewed multiple times and they are trying to piece together what they can from her recollections, according to Breen.

The sheriff’s office continues investigating the death and looking for answers, he said. The coroner has labeled the manner of death as undetermined.

He said the sheriff’s office is asking anyone with information 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 “Search continues for missing man in Mineral Lake” from Friday July 7, 2017, here

Chehalis: Two females seriously hurt in head-on crash

Thursday, August 10th, 2017

Updated at 3:53 p.m.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A 68-year-old woman and a teenage girl from Winlock were airlifted after a head-on collision last night in Chehalis.

Police and firefighters called about 9:08 p.m. to the scene on Northwest Louisiana Avenue just south of West Street found the driver of the other vehicle had fled, according to authorities.

Chehalis Police Department spokesperson Linda Bailey describes the victims’ injuries as serious. The Chehalis Fire Department says they were flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. The passenger is 15 years old, according to Bailey.

The Washington State Patrol is assisting with the investigation.

As of about 2:30 p.m. today, the older woman’s condition was stable and the girl had already been released from the hospital, according to Bailey.

Their names were not released, but they had been traveling in a white 1994 Geo Metro. The suspect was driving a red 2005 Saturn Ion, according to Bailey.

The fire department said he had airbags, the women did not.

Police are looking for information about the suspect. He is described as heavy set, about 30 years old and about 5-feet 10-inches tall. Bailey said he wore a tight-fade type of haircut.

Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to call the Chehalis Police Department at 360-748-8605.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Wednesday, August 9th, 2017
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ASSAULT

• An 18-year-old resident of Olalla allegedly assaulted a staff member at a health care facility at the 900 block of South Scheuber Road in Centralia last night when he was upset about not being given pain medication. Police called about 9:17 p.m. booked Robert S. Hastings into the Lewis County Jail for third-degree assault, according to the Centralia Police Department.

THEFT, THEFT, THEFT

• An individual reported at 12:25 p.m. yesterday that $650 of her rent money was stolen out of a drop box in a case associated with the 1000 block of North Scheuber Road in Centralia.

• A person reported yesterday afternoon that a check that had been issued to pay a bill was stolen and then cashed by an individual unknown to them. This matter associated with the 500 block of West Main Street in Centralia is currently under investigation, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Chehalis police were called about 7:20 a.m. today to the 1700 block of North National Avenue where someone attempted to make entry or made entry into someone else’s vehicle. It wasn’t immediately apparent if anything was missing, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving with suspended license, driving without required interlock device; responses for alarm, dispute, civil issue, hit and run, third-degree theft, vehicle collision, suspicious circumstances … and more among 183 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 24-hour period ending about 7 a.m.

Police: Armed bicyclists rob male in Centralia of ‘large sum of cash’

Wednesday, August 9th, 2017
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By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Police say a person reported he was robbed at knife point of a wallet and a large amount of money in Centralia yesterday afternoon.

The victim whose age and hometown were not revealed received a minor cut to his arm and was treated at the scene, according to the Centralia Police Department.

Officers were called at 2:19 p.m. yesterday to to the 1100 block of View Avenue about the robbery.

Police say two suspects rode away from the scene on black BMX-style bicycles.

They were described as two white males in their early twenties; one had curly blond hair and the other was wearing a black baseball cap, according to police.

The police department advises in a brief summary of the episode they will reveal nothing further about the encounter.

“No more information on this incident will be made available until the investigation has been completed,” states an email to the news media this morning from the department.

News brief: Chehalis prohibits campfires too

Wednesday, August 9th, 2017

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The city of Chehalis has joined in banning all types of outdoor burning due to risk of rapid fire development from dry seasonal conditions and the absence of rain in the long-range weather forecasts.

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No recreational campfires are allowed until further notice from authorities.

Chehalis Fire Department Chief Ken Cardinale indicates the restrictions went into place at 12:01 a.m. on Monday.

Residents may still cook outdoors only if they use a propane or liquid gas barbecuer or camp stove that has an on-off switch, according to the chief. No charcoal briquettes.

The city of Centralia and Lewis County officials announced similar measures last Friday, that also went into effect at 12:01 a.m. Monday.
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For background, read “News brief: Total burn ban starts at the end of the weekend” from Friday August 4, 2017, here

Centralia man undergoing multiple surgeries after industrial accident

Tuesday, August 8th, 2017
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Leõn Esparza shared a photo on his Facebook page from the hospital in Vancouver. / Courtesy photo

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The National Frozen Foods employee who was severely injured this weekend when he was struck by a large forklift remains hospitalized in the intensive care unit today.

Leõn Esparza was airlifted to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver after police, firefighters and medics responded to an approximately 3:15 a.m. call Saturday to the plant at Northwest State Avenue and West Street in Chehalis. Initial information indicated he was flown to Seattle, but he wasn’t.

His left leg was, as he described this morning, crushed and shattered. A police officer who was first getting to the scene applied a tourniquet.

The 31-year-old Centralia man said he has undergone three surgeries and was awaiting another surgery today, on his right hip which is or may be broken. He said he was medicated, when he spoke briefly on the phone this morning, and in lots of pain, but very lucky to be alive.

The fire department said this weekend Esparza had just gotten off shift and was leaving when he was hit, apparently by the back wheel of a forklift.

Esparza said he has no idea how long the hospital plans to keep him. He still doesn’t know if they can save his leg, he said.

“It’s going to be awhile,” he said. “Don’t sugar coat it, I’m in a lot of pain and I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

He said he had family with him at the hospital. He also said he just started working for the vegetable processor a few weeks ago.
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For background, read “News brief: Employee airlifted after tangling with large forklift” from Saturday August 5, 2017, here

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Tuesday, August 8th, 2017
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BELONGINGS TAKEN WHILE PERSON SLEEPS

• A suitcase filled with a variety of personal items was stolen as an individual slept outside on a patch of grass off the 300 block of North Gold Street, according to a report made to police about 4:15 a.m. today.

• A female called 911 just before 9 a.m. yesterday and said someone stole her cell phone from her car while she was sleeping in it at the 1600 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue. The iPhone 7 had a rose-gold case, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

LAWNMOWER MISSING

• Police were called about 10:50 a.m. yesterday when an individual reported that sometime during the night someone stole her Craftsman push lawnmower from her yard at the 2500 block of Borst Avenue in Centralia.

BURGLARY

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reports this morning a 68-year-old Randle man’s home was burglarized by someone climbing a ladder and entering through an unlocked second-story window. It happened at the 11000 block of U.S. Highway 12 between July 31 and Sunday, according to the sheriff’s office. Missing are a television, a VCR, a laptop and two computer towers, Chief Deputy Dusty Breen said.

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reports this morning that someone broke into a detached garage at the 100 block of Sareault Road in Toledo and stole a tool set, a Ryobi palm sander and a cordless drill its battery and charger. The word “enjoy” was written on a work bench, according to the sheriff’s office. It happened between 10:30 p.m. on Friday and 6 p.m. on Saturday, according to Chief Deputy Dusty Breen.

FRAUD

• Centralia police were called just after 3 p.m. yesterday when it was discovered that a person’s check that had been made out to the City of Centralia Utilities had been stolen, altered and then cashed.  This case associated with the 200 block of West Main Street is under investigation, according to the Centralia Police Department.

OTHER THEFT

• Chehalis police were called about 12:15 p.m. yesterday to the 100 block of Northeast Hampe Way on a report someone had stolen a phone and wallet from a purse in an office.

VEHICLE PROWL

• Centralia police were called just before 4 p.m. yesterday to the 1600 block of South Gold Street where an individual reported someone had cut the fuel lines on two of his vehicles and stole the gas out of the tanks, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Centralia police were called about 8:30 a.m. yesterday when an individual reported that sometime during the night, someone stole gasoline from their vehicle at the 1000 block of South Gold Street.

• Centralia police were called just before 10 o’clock yesterday morning for a vehicle prowl at the 100 block of South Washington Avenue. A pair of prescription sun glasses and a cell phone charger were taken, according to the Centralia Police Department.

FIGHT

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reports this morning a deputy went to Providence Centralia Hospital about 8:50 p.m. on Friday to conduct an interview about a fight that had occurred at Alexander Park off the 1100 block of Riverside Road West in which a pair of former roommates ended up in the river with one of them holding the other’s head under water, impeding his breathing. According to the sheriff’s office, a 19-year-old threw sand and rocks towards his friend’s children and got verbally aggressive with his friend’s wife. The two men exchanged words, the 19-year-old made a charging motion towards the 40-year-old and the 40-year-old punched him in the head, the sheriff’s office said. A scuffle ensued. At one point, the 19-year-old held the 40-year-old under the water, Chief Deputy Dusty Breen said. Friends separated them and the 19-year-old was at the hospital with a minor laceration on his head, Breen said. Both men are from Chehalis. The sheriff’s office is sending the case to prosecutors for review for second-degree assault and disorderly conduct, against the younger man, Breen said.

ON THE ROAD, OFF THE ROAD

• Police were called just before 10:30 p.m. yesterday to the 1200 block of Mellen Street in Centralia where a vehicle had collided with a house. Responders found the car up against the two-story house and indicate the structure sustained a moderate amount of damage. The driver sustained injuries described by police as non-life-threatening and by the fire department as appearing to be minor. He was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital for further evaluation, according to Riverside Fire Authority. Neither speed nor impairment appear to be a factor, but driver inattention seemed to be the cause, according to the Centralia Police Department. The collision is under investigation.

• A 20-year-old Toledo resident was arrested for taking a motor vehicle without permission and reckless endangerment after a collision last night at Roe Road and Winlock-Vader Road, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The 2004 Ford Expedition taken from the 900 block of Main Street in Vader sustained severe damage, according to the sheriff’s office. Chief Deputy Dusty Breen said Gregory S. Dadda had three juveniles in the vehicle when it wrecked and a 15-year-old boy may have assisted him in initially taking the vehicle.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving under the influence, driving with no license, protection order violation, possession of stolen property; responses for alarm, dispute, civil issue, hit and run, third-degree theft, vehicle collision, suspicious circumstances, dogs alone in parked vehicle … and more among 171 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 24-hour period ending about 7 a.m.