Missing girl, 15, may be in area

Authorities are looking for a missing 15-year-old Boise girl who is believed to be in the Spokane area.

Molly Hannah Brown is described as 5-feet-6 and 120 pounds with brown shoulder-length hair and brown eyes, said Spokane Police Cpl. Tom Lee.

“Her family believes she may be in danger,” Lee said.

Brown was last seen in Spokane on Jan. 28, police said. Brown spoke with her mother by telephone on Feb. 3 but did not say where she was.

“It’s possible she is still in Spokane … however, she is unfamiliar with the area,” Lee said in a press release.

Anyone who sees Brown should call 911, Lee said.

Cheney

Dog departs for Down Under

Duncan is on his way to Australia.

The neglected black Russian terrier arrived in Cheney last summer when Lisa Rosier adopted him through a national rescue group. About the same time, Rosier’s ailing father visited Cheney from Australia, and man and dog formed a friendship.

When his vacation was over, 69-year-old Kevin Greer didn’t have the $4,000 needed to meet all the requirements for taking Duncan to Brisbane. Volunteers, including Rosier’s colleagues at the Cheney Police Department, raised the needed money after Greer left through community events, such as Cheneyfest 2006.

Rosier said Duncan left Monday morning for Los Angeles and was expected to fly today to Australia, where the dog will be quarantined until March 11. She and her husband plan to surprise her dad by flying down to see the reunion.

“I’ve had calls all day, people saying, ‘We think it’s wonderful, we think it’s great, we’re going to miss him,’ ” Rosier said Monday night.

Spokane

$63,000 fine for clearing U.S. land

A Snohomish man was ordered Monday to pay $63,000 after admitting he illegally bulldozed nearly eight acres in the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area.

Gary L. Brown, 56, pleaded guilty in October to causing the damage to U.S. property, James McDevitt, U.S. attorney for Eastern Washington, said in a news release.

Brown admitted clearing the land while developing a 66-lot subdivision overlooking Lake Roosevelt near Keller Ferry, upstream from Grand Coulee Dam. The restitution will pay the National Park Service for restoring the land, which was covered mainly in bitterbrush as tall as 10 feet.

Compiled from staff and wire reports