You may have heard the news already that DNA evidence cleared Luis Diaz, 67, center, of two rapes for which he was dubbed the "Bird Road Rapist" and resulted in him spending the last 26 years in prison here. But do you know the local angle to this story? While working as a free-lance writer in Billings, Mont., years ago, ex-Silver Valley weekly publisher Paul Friend agreed to help a private investigator review the cases that sent Diaz away. Their work was instrumental in getting the case reviewed and Diaz ultimately released. In a phone call from his home in Mullen, Idaho, Paul was excited about the Diaz's long-overdue release.

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