Slaying suspect found dead on Tubbs Hill

The body of a man suspected of killing his stepfather was found Saturday afternoon atop Tubbs Hill, a 120-acre preserve in Coeur d’Alene, police said after a two-day manhunt.

Bryan Lee Doss, 29, apparently took his own life with the same semiautomatic pistol that he used to shoot his 55-year-old stepfather, Tim Grosch, about 1 p.m. Friday, said Coeur d’Alene police Capt. Ron Clark.

The suspect “was found deceased near the top of Tubbs Hill,” Clark told a press briefing outside Coeur d’Alene City Hall, near the base of Tubbs Hill, which borders Lake Coeur d’Alene.

The investigation is continuing.

“We have no motive at this time,” Clark said.

Neighbors who live near the Grosch home at 312 S. 14th St., about six blocks from Tubbs Hill, said the suspect and the victim lived together and frequently were heard arguing.

The victim’s wife, who was the suspect’s mother, apparently was in the home at the time of the shooting but wasn’t injured. Police wouldn’t release the name of the woman, who works in a local supermarket bakery.

Before Doss left the home about 1:30 p.m. Friday, “he inferred he may commit suicide on Tubbs Hill,” Clark told reporters.

On Friday afternoon, police used a helicopter, search dogs and officers on foot to scour the heavily wooded hilly park but found no trace of Doss. The search was called off for officers’ safety when darkness set in, but the manhunt resumed early Saturday.

Detectives, meanwhile, continued looking for evidence in the residence, located on the corner of a quiet, tree-lined neighborhood of modest homes.

Neighbors were told to stay indoors by police, who said they considered Doss armed and dangerous.

Ruth Lohr lives across the street from the shooting scene. She and her two teenage children were so frightened, she said, they left their home and stayed elsewhere Friday night.

As the manhunt resumed at daybreak Saturday, Coeur d’Alene police equipped a leased helicopter with heat-detection equipment. But Clark said Doss’ body was visually spotted from the air. No suicide note was found, the police captain said.

Asked if the same handgun was used for both the slaying and the suicide, Clark responded, “We believe it is.”

Tubbs Hill is within the city limits of Coeur d’Alene, bordered by Lake Coeur d’Alene on the west, south and east sides.

Several miles of hiking trails, including a 2.2-mile interpretive trail, wind around the hill’s perimeter.

The main trail begins on the west side at the south end of Third Street. The east side entrance is at the south end of 11th Street.