In brief: Son suspects father a victim of foul play

A 52-year-old Coeur d’Alene man reported missing Dec. 7 may have met with foul play, his son told Coeur d’Alene police.

Police are looking for Robert Milton Putnam. His son, Travis Harken, told investigators he last saw his father in September and a “reliable source” told him Putnam is dead and may have been killed, police spokeswoman Sgt. Christie Wood said Monday.

Wood said detectives have interviewed acquaintances of Putnam and are pursuing leads.

Harken said Monday he suspects his father may have been using methamphetamine.

He said his father is “never out of contact with family” for this long.

Putnam’s last known address was 319 E. Lake Coeur d’Alene Drive.

Police say he may be driving a late-1970s model black pickup truck with a camper shell, or a tan or brown Mazda pickup.

Wood said no vehicles are registered in his name.

He is described as 5-foot-11, 180 pounds, with blond hair, blue eyes, a mustache and a scar on his abdomen.

Anyone with information on Putnam is asked to contact Coeur d’Alene police at (208) 769-2291 or the police Tip Line at (208) 769-2296.

– Taryn Brodwater

The Dalles, Ore.

Man missing after stopping to help

A Moscow, Idaho, official who stopped to help at a traffic accident scene was missing Monday, and he may have fallen or jumped into the John Day River to avoid a second accident, the Oregon State Police said.

John Dickinson, 62, of Moscow stopped his car Sunday evening behind another car that had swerved to avoid debris on an Interstate 84 bridge east of The Dalles, struck a center divider and come to rest in the driving lane, police said.

Dickinson got out of his car, which a third car then struck from behind, the police said.

Troopers said Dickinson couldn’t be found at the scene, and said he may have fallen off the bridge or jumped the railing.

Search crews on Monday failed to find Dickinson.

The river is more than 80 feet deep there; the surface water temperature is about 40 degrees, police said.

Dickinson is a City Council member in Moscow and was recently named its president.

Two other people involved in the accident suffered minor injuries, police said.

If Dickinson did jump over the guardrail, it would be the second such case on I-84 in less than two weeks.

On Dec. 29, Brian Bernier, 37, of Vancouver, Wash., stopped to help a crash victim about five miles east of Multnomah Falls.

A passing truck forced him over the guardrail, where there was a 50-foot drop, according to an Oregon State Police report.

Bernier died at the scene.

– Associated Press