Spokane woman dies in Okanogan jail

OKANOGAN - Authorities say a Spokane woman used her bed sheets to hang herself in her cell at the Okanogan County Corrections Center Tuesday night. A jail officer found Sophia A. Stewart, 32, at 7:14 p.m., said Undersheriff Joe Somday. He said CPR was attempted but unsuccessful. She was taken to Mid-Valley Hospital in Omak, where she was pronounced dead. Somday said Stewart was placed in a cell by herself Tuesday afternoon and locked down after an altercation with another inmate. Jail administrator Noah Stewart said officers had been in her cell several times and hadn’t seen anything unusual. He said they check every cell hourly, and had last checked on her at 6:47 p.m. She was found dead less than a half-hour later. Somday said jail staff had contact with her most of the day, and saw no signs that she was suicidal. She was an inmate since March, and was awaiting trial on charges of first-degree burglary, theft of a firearm and unlawful possession of a firearm. —-