Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A jury took less than a half hour today to find an Onalaska woman guilty of nine counts of  animal cruelty in connection with horses seized from her this past spring.

Jennifer Jenkins will be sentenced at a date yet to be scheduled, according to the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office.

Tuesday April 5, 2016

Lewis County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher said Jenkins testified on her own behalf during the two-day trial in Lewis County District Court, but the six-person jury didn’t “buy it.”

Back in April responders were called to Jenkins’ home on the 2500 block of state Route 508 because a small horse had fallen onto its side into a mud hole in her pen. Two and a half hours later it was finally lifted out, but the next day, Jenkins was arrested.

A Lewis County Sheriff’s Office report said the state veterinarian noted deplorable living conditions and said the animals were in serious need of medical attention.

Meagher said the issue was about inadequate shelter, food or water.

A veterinarian testified the horses had very low body condition scores, Meagher said. The hay they were being fed was not of good quality and while there was a barn on the property, it was filled with wood, he said.

Jenkins was represented by Centralia attorney David Brown.

Jenkins this afternoon said the proceedings were confusing and not what she expected.

“I thought we’d be able to put on my side of the evidence, but we didn’t,” she said.

The 45-year-old woman said she began showing horses when she was small and grew up with them.

She said she’d arranged for a friend to feed and take care of the animals while she and her son were away for four days, but when she got back, the field was muddy and animal feed had been stolen. She disputes the body condition scores.

“I was using portable shelters, but they’re always being torn down,” she said.

Jenkins said she is disabled from the effects of a traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury.

“It is what is is,” she said. “I don’t know what it’s all about; it’s just confusing.”

The offenses are violations of Lewis County code and are gross misdemeanors with maximum penalties of 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine.

Meagher said Judge R.W. Buzzard ordered a pre-sentencing investigation to be conducted and will set a date for sentencing.
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For background, read “Onalaska horse owner pleads not guilty, vet notes ‘deplorable’ conditions” from Friday April 8, 2016, here

Anyone who has seen Kris Fowler is asked to phone Yakima County Sheriff’s Office at 509-574-2535.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Searchers are on the ground looking for a Pacific Crest Trail hiker who hasn’t checked in or been heard from in almost three weeks, when he left a convenience store near White Pass.

Kris Fowler began his trek five and a half months ago in Mexico and is heading north to Snoqualmie Pass, according to the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office. His trail name is “Sherpa”.

Search and Rescue Coordinator Sgt. Randy Briscoe said he’s got teams out on the trail today.

Yesterday he had help from citizens in Packwood who made the 26-mile hike from White Pass to Chinook Pass,” he said.

“Folks in Packwood are organizing another search from Snoqualmie to Chinook Pass, I’m told,” Briscoe said this morning.

Fowler, who is 34 years old according to his step mother, lives near her in the Dayton, Ohio area. He started his travels with a college friend but they agreed they may or may not stick together the entire way, Sally Guyton Fowler said.

“He and I had a deal we’d keep in touch,” Guyton Fowler said. “I talked to him the end of September and he texted a friend on Oct. 12.”

By the end of last week she and his father began to get worried, she said.

The family reached out to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office on Friday and a deputy checked the area and then learned Fowler had been at the Cracker Barrel store on U.S. Highway 12 near White Pass on Oct. 12, according to the sheriff’s office.

The minimart is on the east side of the county line, so they notified the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office of the information they had, as well as Pierce County.

Sgt. Briscoe said he was notified on Sunday of the possibly missing hiker.

Briscoe said he learned Fowler had been to the store on Oct. 10, asked for a ride into Packwood to get supplies and then returned to the store two days later. He was last seen walking out of the Cracker Barrel at 3 p.m. on Oct. 12, he said.

“He told the clerk he was going to proceed to Snoqualmie Pass,” Briscoe said.

Briscoe said he has aircraft ready to go, but yesterday and this morning, they were grounded because of the weather.

There’s been no activity on Fowler’s cell phone, he said.

Briscoe said the trail from White Pass to Snoqualmie Pass is 102 miles, he’s told. His step mother said he’d previously been moving 20 to 25 miles each day.

There was a terrible storm on Oct. 14, so Fowler could have decided to hunker down, Briscoe said.

“Maybe he’s not overdue, maybe he’s just trudging through and we’ll see him come out,” Briscoe said.

Meanwhile, sheriff’s office’s in Pierce and Kittitas counties have been notified and Briscoe is trying to get as many people and agencies along the route involved as he can.

Fowler is 6-foot 2-inches tall and 150 pounds, with blond hair and a modest beard.

Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Bruce Kimsey said this morning that one of his sergeants learned from the Cracker Barrel clerk that Fowler also made a comment about maybe going to Naches to get work at a winery.

“She felt he headed north though,” Kimsey said.

Guyton Fowler was getting on a plane today and plans to stay at the Packwood Inn.

“They want me there in support, in case he needs medical attention,” she said.

A Facebook page has been set up to share information about Fowler. It is called “Bring Kris Fowler/Sherpa Home“