Man’s body found in Pend Oreille River

The Bonner County Sherriff’s Office and emergency personnel found the body of an adult male in the Pend Oreille River near Johnson Creek on Friday.

Lt. Doug Harris said the body was spotted about 9:15 a.m. just off the north shore of the river at milepost 19 on U.S. Highway 2. An employee with the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad spotted the body and called dispatchers.

“We don’t yet have identification. The subject had been in the water for an extended period of time,” Harris said. “We do have a couple missing persons reports. We just have to see if we can match them up with the person we found today.”

An autopsy has been scheduled for Monday to identify the man and try to determine cause of death. The man was clothed but had no identification.

Harris said authorities believe the body is that of an adult but could not speculate about age because of the condition of the body.

Thomas Clouse

Spokane Valley

Hico theft suspect arrested in Colville

A newspaper reader helped nab a Montana Department of Corrections escapee accused of a Spokane Valley burglary, according to Crime Stoppers.

James R. Clemons, 62, was arrested at a Colville coffee shop Friday after a patron matched him with a mug shot in a newspaper article, a news release said.

Surveillance video caught a man police say is Clemons stealing money last month from an office at Hico convenience store, 1201 N. Barker Road. Clemons, who was born in Spokane, faces 10 years in prison for walking away from a private release center in Butte last September, according to Montana corrections officials. He also is wanted on a first-degree theft charge in Snohomish County.

He has a 40-year criminal history that includes convictions for theft in Stevens County and grand larceny in Spokane County, records show.

He was first imprisoned in Montana in 1990 for forgery and bail jumping.

Meghann M. Cuniff