By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – The Lewis County coroner’s year-end report shows roughly the same number of suicides here during 2011 as the year before.
The number of homicides dropped however, from what many called an extraordinarily high number in 2010 of seven, down to four last year.
Lewis County Coroner Warren McLeod
Coroner Warren McLeod after his first year in the elected office made public this week his annual report, which primarily describes his office’s purpose, mission and accomplishments.
His staff has strengthened “chain of custody” procedures, acquired a response vehicle and developed a policy and procedure manual, among other changes.
They are in the midst of becoming an accredited facility.
McLeod noted the October coroner’s inquest into the 1998 death of Ronda Reynolds in Toledo cost $35,000.
During 2011, there were 767 deaths in Lewis County, although the coroner’s office also handled two out-of-county deaths as a courtesy for Mason and Yakima counties, according to McLeod.
The vast majority of those deaths were due to natural disease processes, while 29 were accidental and three are undetermined, according to his statistics.
Nine were suicide; while the year before eight deaths in the county were suicide, according to the state Department of Health data.
No details were provided about more specifics in any of the categories.
The coroner’s office has yet to determine the cause and manner of death of three sets of remains found during last year.
McLeod said the remains are still in King County with a forensic anthropologist who specializes in figuring out those types of cases.
One of them is a partial skull found in March in a wooded area north of Mineral, determined to be Michael Lloyd Riemer, who was 36 years old when he went missing from Pierce County in 1985.
The two others remain unidentified, according to McLeod.
Skeletal remains found off the side of a logging road near Morton in April are believed to belong to a small woman between 20 and 35 years old when she died.
Authorities have said they don’t know how long ago she died, but doubted the remains had been there very long, because it was a well-used logging road.
Human remains found in September in a field on Joerk Road in Randle could possibly belong to Trisha McKenzie-Fire, 57 years old when she vanished from her home about a mile and a half away in April, but positive identification has not been made, according to authorities.
McLeod’s office operated with a budget last year of about $296,000. Forty autopsies were conducted during 2011.
His position is half-time, but he has a full time chief deputy coroner and four deputy coroners.
He currently has five individuals in training to become deputy coroners as well as four reserve (volunteer) deputies in training.
The coroner is also advertising for two or three others who live within 35 miles of Packwood so he can cut down on the mileage reimbursements paid out to deputy coroners.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter