Girl found near Cusick; uncle arrested

A 14-year-old Spokane girl missing since Friday was rescued today near Cusick, Wash., and her uncle was arrested. Police had been looking for Carrie Lane and her uncle, Steven Tofte, 53, since the girl’s family reported Friday that he’d kidnapped her from Glover Middle School. The girl told a friend she was running away with her uncle to Blanchard, Idaho, according to court documents. U.S. marshals, Spokane police and deputies with the Pend Oreille and Stevens County sheriff’s offices located the two about 6:30 p.m. today in a parking lot in the Colville National Forest, police say. Both were standing outside the vehicle; Tofte was armed with a shotgun but was arrested without incident. Detectives are working to reunite the girl with her family. Tofte was arrested for being a felon in possession of a firearm. He could face other charges. Tofte has at least 15 felony convictions dating back to 1980, including a first-degree robbery conviction in 2003 for robbing a Spokane Valley porn store at gunpoint. He also robbed a north Spokane gas station at gunpoint in 1995.