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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

In brief: Missing climber’s body recovered

From Wire Reports

PORTLAND – Searchers said they have recovered the body of a climber who fell from a mountain last week.

Benjamin Newkirk’s body was discovered Sunday, after a multiday search complicated by extreme weather. The 39-year-old from Bend was on Middle Sister, a 10,052-foot volcanic peak in the central Oregon’s Three Sisters Wilderness, with another climber Wednesday night when he fell about 900 feet off the mountain’s southeast ridge.

The search team Sunday included 15 volunteers. Once they found the body, they used ropes to recover it and bring it to a spot where it could be transported to the medical examiner’s office in Eugene.

Newkirk is reported to have been an experienced climber.

1 teen dead, 1 injured in Missoula crash

MISSOULA – An accident has left one Missoula teenager dead and another in critical condition.

The Montana Highway Patrol said the accident occurred shortly after 8:15 a.m. Saturday when a Subaru station wagon driven by a 16-year-old male was traveling at a high speed. The car passed another vehicle in a no-passing area.

When the driver came back into his lane, he struck the back end of another vehicle in front of him. The Subaru went off the right side of the road and crashed into a bridge rail.

The Missoulian reported that both the 16-year-old driver and his 17-year-old male passenger were taken to the hospital in critical condition.

A deputy with the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office confirmed late Saturday that one of the teens had died.

MSU launches road condition site

BOZEMAN – Montana State University has developed a website to make it easier for people traveling in the winter to know road and weather conditions.

The website provides motorists with up-to-the-minute information on weather and road conditions in multiple Western states, including Washington.

The One-Stop Shop for Traveler Information was developed at MSU’s Western Transportation Institute and sponsored by Caltrans.

Unlike websites for state transportation departments, the MSU website provides travelers with current road information that does not stop at jurisdictional boundaries.

Two save man, dog from burning van

EUGENE – A pair of passers-by helped rescue a Eugene man from a burning minivan that crashed on Friday with a load of ammunition inside.

The Eugene Register-Guard reported Rick Wetzel and Josh Stevens happened upon the accident Friday afternoon, just before flames spread across the van.

The ammunition began heating up and discharging, sending rounds through the van. The occupant was pulled from the van with non-life-threatening injuries.

Wetzel and Stevens went back for the man’s black poodle, which survived.