Posts Tagged ‘By Sharyn L. Decker’

Search continues for missing man in Mineral Lake

Friday, July 7th, 2017

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Mineral Lake is being checked today with sonar devices in an attempt to find a 54-year-old boater who vanished on Wednesday.

Investigators are still working on learning the specifics of what occurred, but have been searching since that afternoon for Gerald L. Harris, a Mineral resident.

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Gerald L. Harris

Deputies were dispatched about 4 p.m. on Wednesday to a report of a  female in a boat along the shoreline, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

The 49-year-old Mineral woman said her significant other had been on the boat and was believed to be in the water, sheriff’s Chief Deputy Dusty Breen wrote in a press release this afternoon.

Deputies gained the assistance of other boaters on the lake and began to check the area, Breen stated. They checked Harris’s residence and other locations in the community but could not find him, according to Breen. They “entered” Harris as a missing person.

Yesterday, members of the sheriff’s office boating unit conducted additional searches with no results. Today, they are being helped by the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team, according to Breen.

Breen indicated the woman was unable to provide very specific information, but didn’t elaborate on why that was.

Anyone who may have observed Harris or his significant other on Wednesday, or who has additional information on the incident, is asked to please call 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 “News brief: Authorities investigate possible drowning in Mineral” from Thursday July 6, 2017, here

Randle homicide: Glenoma man says he fired one round after camper shot into his vehicle

Friday, July 7th, 2017

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Initial evidence and an autopsy appear consistent with a Glenoma man’s account of shooting in self defense in the woods south of Randle, but the case will be forwarded to prosecutors for review, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office said today.

Deputies were dispatched on Tuesday evening to a campsite along on Forest Service Road 2801, after a 63-year-old Glenoma man called 911 to report he’d fatally shot someone.

The dead man is tentatively identified as a 51-year-old with no fixed address. An autopsy was performed today.

Detectives processed the scene on Wednesday and have conducted additional follow up investigation, according to sheriff’s Chief Deputy Dusty Breen.

Breen related today the Glenoma man, whose name has not been released, told authorities he and his wife drove into the 51-year-old’s camp site to contact him about discharging firearms in an unsafe manner.

He further advised “the decedent approached the driver side door of their vehicle and produced a firearm, firing multiple shots, to include one round into their interior of the vehicle,” Breen wrote in a press release.

The Glenoma man said he had a firearm in his vehicle, and he fired one round, striking the man and killing him, according to Breen.

Breen said the Glenoma couple were not camping, but were out on a drive and heard gunshots going through the trees.

Based on information found at the scene, the sheriff’s office believes the deceased is the 51-year-old and his next-of-kin have been contacted, but a confirmation of his identity will be done by the Lewis County Corner’s Office, Breen said.

Once the investigation is completed, it will be turned over to the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office, according to the sheriff’s office.

Breen asked once again for anyone with information on the incident to please call 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 “One dead after shooting in forest near Randle” from Wednesday July 5, 2017, here

News brief: Barn near Logan Hill Road burns

Friday, July 7th, 2017
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Pollman Road off Logan Hill Road. / Courtesy photo by Lewis County Fire District 6

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Smoke and flames were visible by residents more than five miles away from a fire that broke out this morning southeast of Chehalis.

Firefighters were called just after 4 a.m. to the 200 block of Pollman Road where a large metal-sided barn building was burning, according to authorities.

Lewis County Fire District 6 was joined by firefighters from Chehalis, Napavine, Winlock and Onalaska, according to District 6’s DJ Hammer.

Hammer reported just before 6:30 a.m. the fire was knocked down.

“Tyler Rentals has been called upon for assistance in using an excavator to move debris around so crews can finish extinguishing hot spots,” Hammer stated in a Facebook post.

The structure and its contents are a total loss, but nobody was injured, according to Hammer. The cause is under investigation.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Thursday, July 6th, 2017
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WANTED MAN CHASED IN RANDLE

• A 51-year-old Morton man allegedly twice prompted police pursuits yesterday in the Randle area, both times with stolen vehicles and ended up being “contacted” by a police dog. Tony L. Eastman who was wanted on felony warrants, was arrested for numerous offenses and booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. It began just before 11:30 a.m. when a deputy tried to pull over a stolen red Geo Metro, but the driver headed up Forest Service Road 75, left the car and ran off, according to the sheriff’s office. Chief Deputy Dusty Breen said other law enforcement arrived to set up containment but Eastman allegedly walked out onto Silverbrook Road and stole a pickup truck. A second pursuit ensued and eventually Eastman was caught running through a field where a K-9 was deployed, according to Breen.

VIOLENCE IN THE WOODS

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning they responded to a possible domestic dispute at a camp site about seven miles up Forest Service Road 52 near Packwood where a 52-year-old woman from Morton said her significant other had struck her loosening her teeth, thrown her to the ground and kicked her in the stomach and shot her in the foot with a BB gun. The suspect had also allegedly broke out all the windows of the motorhome with a frying pan and ripped the wiring out of its engine compartment and other areas of the vehicle, Chief Deputy Dusty Breen said. Shawn L. Poupart, 45, was arrested for third-degree assault and first-degree malicious mischief and booked into the Lewis County Jail. It happened on Tuesday, Breen said. Prosecutors yesterday declined to file the felony charges, but evaluated the case for Lewis County District Court.

BURGLARY, THEFT AND FRAUD CENTRALIA

• Centralia police were called about 7:10 p.m. yesterday to take a report of tools stolen from a garage on the 500 block of West Fourth Street sometime during the previous week.

• Paving stones are missing from the 1400 block of Logan Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police about 8:20 p.m. yesterday. They were taken during the previous week, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• A victim reported that an unknown person wrote several checks on her account without permission in a case associated with the 1100 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia, according to a report made to police about 11:45 a.m. yesterday. The case is under investigation, according to the Centralia Police Department.

INVESTIGATION

• Chehalis police were called to the 1200 block of Bishop Road just after 11 a.m. yesterday regarding the possibility of an altered prescription.

DRUGS

• A 40-year-old Winlock resident was arrested for possession of methamphetamine when he was apprehended after getting pulled over for allegedly speeding and jumping out and running off into the woods about 7:20 p.m. yesterday at the 900 block of North Military Road in Winlock. Aaron T. Sjoblom was  booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, misdemeanor assault, driving with suspended license; responses for alarm, dispute, civil issue, vehicle collision, suspicious circumstances … and more among 190 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 24-hour period ending about 7 a.m. today.

News brief: Fatal crash victim was from Tenino

Thursday, July 6th, 2017

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The driver who died when his car crossed the centerline and struck an oncoming pickup truck west of Tenino on Tuesday morning has been identified as a Tenino resident.

Robert J. Hughes, Jr., 37, from Tenino, had been traveling northbound on Old Highway 99 near Tilley Road just before 8 a.m., according to authorities.

The driver of the 2007 Chevrolet pickup, a man in his 60s, was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office was investigating the collision.
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For background, read “News brief: Head-on crash west of Tenino leaves one dead” from Wednesday July 5, 2017, here

News brief: Authorities investigate possible drowning in Mineral

Thursday, July 6th, 2017

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Sheriff’s deputies are checking in and around Mineral Lake looking for signs of a resident said to have gone into the water from a boat yesterday.

Deputies were dispatched just before 4 p.m. yesterday to the north Lewis County community along state Route 7 where they contacted a woman who was adrift in a boat.

She said her significant other had gone into the water and was believed to have drowned, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

The missing man is a 54-year-old who resides in Mineral, Chief Deputy Dusty Breen said.

The sheriff’s office is investigating the circumstances of what occurred, according to Breen.

The plan this morning is to check the area by boat and by foot, according to Breen.

News brief: WSP looking for travelers who saw I-5 wreck

Wednesday, July 5th, 2017

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The Washington State Patrol is seeking assistance from anyone who may have witnessed the fatal crash late Sunday night on Interstate 5 just north of Centralia or who observed the Subaru’s driving prior to the collision.

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“The Subaru was likely experiencing some mechanical problems and may have been traveling at slow speeds when struck by the tractor-trailer,” Lt. Randy Hullinger stated in a press release today.

It happened about 11:46 p.m. in the northbound lanes, near milepost 86, approaching the Southwest 216th Avenue overpass in south Thurston County.

The vehicles were a gray 1993 Subaru Legacy and a 2017 Peterbilt with double trailer.

The driver of the Subaru, Edward P. Chambers, 80, of Beaverton, Oregon died, according to the state patrol. His 19-year-old passenger, Scott R. Anderson, of Hillsboro, Oregon, reportedly sustained minor injuries.

They were traveling from Oregon and headed to Rochester, according to Hullinger.

The driver of the semi, 36-year-old Michael L. Buterbaugh of Yelm was unhurt.

Anyone with information is asked to contact detective Jim Meldrum at 253-538-3174 or James.Meldrum@wsp.wa.gov

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For background, read “News brief: Fatal wreck on I-5 north of Centralia under investigation” from Monday July 3, 2017, here