Lewis County Sirens.com

GRISLY FIND IN MINERAL ISN’T HUMAN

• A deputy driving down Front Street in Mineral about 1 a.m. on Saturday came across what appeared to be a human hand, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The find was taken into evidence and turned out to be a bear paw, the sheriff’s office said today. Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said it’s something that happens on occasion, apparently some people’s idea of a joke. “When you take the fur and hair off, it looks like a human hand,” Brown said. “And there’s no reason for it to have been skinned the way it was.” It’ not funny, Brown said, it’s a very time intensive investigation that has to take place following this kind of occurrence. She said its hard enough to tell the difference, it has to be treated as though it might be human. The extremity was inspected at the coroner’s office this morning. It’s happened often enough, perhaps three times in the past five years, that a forensic anthropologist at the King County Medical Examiner’s Office taught a sheriff’s detective how to do an examination of the bone structure so deputies wouldn’t have to transport paws to Seattle so often, she said.

BURGLARY

• A deputy took a report on Saturday that someone broke into a home on the 100 block of Cottonwood Lane in Packwood stealing a 36-inch Sanyo flat screen television, three cordless drills, a DVD player, and a comforter. The break-in happened sometime during the previous two weeks, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

• Centralia police responded about 3:30 a.m. yesterday to a report of a burglary at the 1300 block of Lum Road. The case remains under investigation, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Police were called just before 6 a.m. yesterday to a report of a burglary at the 100 block of West High Street in Centralia. The case remains under investigation, according to the Centralia Police Department.

AUTO THEFT

• A red 1999 Chrysler 300 was stolen about 11 p.m. on Friday when its owner left it running while going into a residence on the 1000 block of Mellen Street in Centralia.

DOG SNIFFS OUT TEEN IN BRUSH

• A 16-year-old boy found hiding in some bushes by a police dog about three blocks away from an incident at the 1500 block of Windsor Avenue in Centralia on Friday evening was arrested for trespassing and booked into the Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center. Officers called about 7:40 p.m. initially were told it was an interrupted burglary, according to the Centralia Police Department.

VEHICLE PROWL

• A 69-year-old Packwood man fishing on Riffe Lake on Saturday reported someone prowled his truck while it was parked at the Taidnapam Park north boat launch. It happened between 10:30 a.m. and noon, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. items taken from the unlocked toolbox in the bed of the pickup included tire chains, a shovel, two quarts of motor oil and a small toolbox, according to the sheriff’s office.

WRECKS

• A 24-year-old Ethel man escaped serious injury when he took a corner too fast, hit a ditch and rolled his 2004 Acura RSX onto its top south of Chehalis over the weekend. A deputy called to the 600 block of Tauscher Road after the approximately 3 a.m. crash on Saturday was told by the driver he was in a hurry to get home and it was foggy, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The car was described as a total loss. The driver declined aid but was cited for driving too fast for conditions, according to the sheriff’s office.

• A 76-year-old Ethel woman backing out of a church parking lot yesterday morning was cited for failure to yield the right of way following a collision at the 4200 block of Jackson Highway south of Chehalis. Her Chrysler PT Cruiser and the Geo prism that she hit both sustained major damage, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The 39-year-old woman in the Prism was hospitalized with neck and back pain and then cited for driving with a suspended license and not having insurance, according to the sheriff’s office.

• Two were injured, including the 18-year-old driver from Chehalis, when a car carrying four teenagers struck a tree after running off U.S. Highway 12 just east of Montesano on Saturday morning. Jessica A. Westcott, 18, from Chehalis, was transported to Summit Pacific Medical Center with unspecified injuries, according to the Washington State Patrol. Troopers called about 10:30 a.m. determined the Honda Civic had been eastbound when a passenger in the front seat grabbed the steering wheel, jerking the car off the roadway to the right and into the tree. Also injured was Caleb L. Hall, 19, from Hoquiam, who was taken to Community Hospital, according to the state patrol. Hospitalized for precautionary measures were Brandon J. Lynch, 19, of Montesano and Shawn M. Anderson, 17, of Hoquiam. The collision is under investigation.

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving under the influence, misdemeanor domestic assault, misdemeanor theft, a 53-year-old man arrested after his wife told police he accused her of cheating, checked inside her for sperm and punched her more than 20 times; responses for alarms, violation of protection order, vehicle versus pole, single-vehicle wreck into a guard rail when an animal crossed a county road in front of a car … and more.

Updated at 4:06 p.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Centralia police called early this morning to a report of a body lying on the side of a Centralia street are just now wrapping up their scene investigation.

Officers responded about 6:20 a.m. to the 100 block of East Third Street, just off North Tower Avenue, according to Officer John Panco.

The preliminary investigation concluded he did not die from natural causes, Panco said.

There were signs of some trauma to the body. It’s a suspicious death, he said.

“I know detectives are doing the best they can, everybody wants to find out what happened,” Panco said.

The man appears to be older than 60, and is believed to be a person who lives in the vicinity, according to Panco.

“We have an idea, but I’m unaware if it’s been confirmed,” he said.

The coroner took custody of the body for further examination at their office.