Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The individual found dead yesterday behind a business in downtown Centralia has been identified as 49-year-old Johnny A. Wright of Centralia.

Centralia police said there were no obvious injuries and nothing to suggest how he may have died. Officers were called just before 8 a.m. by a person who found the man laying on the ground off the 500 block of South Tower Avenue near the railroad tracks.

Lewis County Coroner Warren McLeod expects an autopsy will be conducted next week.

The preliminary investigation determined there were no signs of foul play apparent, according to Centralia Police Department detective John Panco.
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For background, read “News brief: Person found dead near Centralia railroad tracks” from Friday May 5, 2017, here

The scene at North Tower Avenue in Centralia. / Courtesy photo by Riverside Fire Authority

Updated at 10 a.m.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The driver of a car that struck a building in downtown Centralia overnight was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with multiple traumatic injuries.

Firefighters responding to a 1:30 a.m. call to 505 North Tower Avenue found a man in the driver’s seat who had to be extricated from the vehicle, according to Riverside Fire Authority.

The collision caused extensive damage to the storefront and a sidewall, Fire Capt. Scott Weinert stated.

The brick building which houses the specialty shop Hub Bub was occupied by its owner who was uninjured, according to Weinert.

The driver was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital in serious condition and then transferred to the Seattle hospital. He is estimated to be in his late 20s or early 30s, Weinert said.

Centralia police are investigating and indicate alcohol may have been a factor in the collision.

Warren Neal

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Deputies are looking for an 87-year-old rural Chehalis man who was last seen around 10 p.m. on Wednesday at his home south of Chehalis and east of Napavine.

Warren Neal possibly suffers from dementia and may not be able to provide his personal information if contacted, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

The family vehicles are accounted for and Neal is known for often taking walks in the wooded areas around his home, but it is unknown if he may have been picked up or given a ride, according to the sheriff’s office.

His residence is on the 100 block of Fircrest Road, just northwest of the intersection of Coulson and Koontz roads.

Chief Deputy Dusty Breen said deputies were notified by family members of Neal’s disappearance early yesterday morning.

He was thought to last be wearing khaki pants and new balance running shoes.

Anyone with information that can help locate Neal is asked to contact sheriff’s detective Jeff Humphrey at 360-880-2910.

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.