Victim identified from sunken van

A man found dead Sunday in a van submerged under 12 feet of water in Hayden Lake has been identified as Gary W. Tharp, 46, of Coeur d’Alene, according to a news release Monday from the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department.

Tharp is believed to have driven past barricades at Honeysuckle Beach and down a boat ramp and into the lake late Saturday or early Sunday, deputies said.

Emergency personnel responded to a call reporting a vehicle in the water shortly after 10 a.m. on Sunday.

When police and firefighters arrived, they found a white 1990 Ford Econoline van in 12 feet of water.

Tharp was the only occupant of the vehicle, and alcohol is believed to have played a part in the accident.

An autopsy was scheduled for Monday afternoon.

Toxicology reports, which will include blood-alcohol levels, are expected to take several weeks, the release said.

Othello man, 19, arrested in rape

Deputies arrested an Othello man hours after a woman was raped early Saturday.

Hugo Alvarez-Aguilar, 19, is suspected of slipping into a married couple’s home in the 600 block of Wagon Road in the Othello area and attacking the woman while she slept. Her husband was not home.

The victim, also 19, called police at 1:34 a.m. immediately after her assailant fled.

She identified him as Alvarez-Aguilar.

Deputies arrested him at an apartment complex roughly a mile from the victim’s home.

“She knew him,” said Douglas Barger, Adams County sheriff, “but my take on it is (Alvarez-Aguilar) was a friend of the husband.”

Investigators said Alvarez-Aguilar knew when the victim’s husband wouldn’t be home.

The assailant entered through an unlocked door and attacked the victim in the couple’s bed.

Alvarez-Aguilar was booked into Adams County Jail on suspicion of third-degree rape and a charge of first-degree burglary. He is expected to appear in court this morning, Barger said.

Fires damage two homes in CdA

The Coeur d’Alene Fire Department responded to two house fires over the weekend.

A fire early Christmas morning damaged a home in the 1600 block of Pennsylvania Avenue, but the two residents escaped safely after a smoke alarm woke them, a department news release said.

Twenty-four firefighters from three fire departments spent two hours battling the blaze, the release said.

The two-story house was damaged from the first floor to the roof, but the firefighters were able to save most of the family’s Christmas presents.

The family’s cats also escaped unharmed.

The fire started in the floor directly above the fireplace that was used most of the evening before the fire.

A damage estimate was unavailable late Monday.

Firefighters said smoke detectors saved the residents’ lives.

On Saturday afternoon, the department fought a house fire at a single-story home in the 1400 block of Windsor Avenue, a separate release said.

Firefighters from Coeur d’Alene, Northern Lakes and Kootenai fire departments kept the blaze confined to the rooms of origin and saved valuables.

The homeowner was treated for smoke inhalation.

The home sustained more than $50,000 in damage, the release said, and the Red Cross helped the resident find temporary housing.