Briefly
Missing man found safe in North Idaho
A 23-year-old Spokane man missing since Dec. 26 has been located by his family and apparently is safe in North Idaho.
Alexander H. Maier’s father dropped him off near Mount Spokane to go camping for a couple of days. However, Maier didn’t return home and Spokane County Search and Rescue initiated a search, sheriff’s spokesman Cpl. Dave Reagan said.
Maier is schizophrenic and was not on his medication at the time. However, he has called his grandmother and told her he was hitchhiking to Canada, Reagan said.
Maier declined to specify his location.
Man accused of molesting 9-year-old boy
A Spokane Valley man was arrested after a female acquaintance told a Spokane County Sheriff’s deputy that she found the man fondling her 9-year-old son.
William Brad Davis was booked in into jail Saturday on a felony count of first-degree rape of a child, sheriff’s spokesman Cpl. Dave Reagan said.
The mother told Deputy David Westlake that she came home Friday and found Davis seated on a chair engaging in a sex act with her son, Reagan said.
During the ensuing confrontation, the mother told Westlake that Davis admitted prior sexual acts with the boy over a period of six months, Reagan said.
Westlake found Davis at Spokane Veteran’s Hospital and arrested him there just after midnight Saturday, Reagan said.
Pierce County residents can hail buses
Tacoma Catching a bus for folks in the city’s northeast area is about to become as easy as hailing a cab.
In February, Pierce Transit will offer “Bus PLUS” service that allows people to call and make appointments for a bus to pick them up at a designated location.
It’s part of the local transit authority’s route redesign to improve service to hard-to-reach neighborhoods and increase ridership.
Fixed locations will remain part of a bus’ normal route, but it will also divert to pick up people who’ve made reservations in advance.
The new service will feature a smaller bus, and operate hourly every weekday between Northeast Tacoma, Twin Lakes Park & Ride in Federal Way, and downtown Tacoma.
The service also will connect local transit riders with King County Metro buses. The route will no longer serve segments along Marine View Drive, north of Norpoint Way.
The Board of Commissioners adopted the changes Dec. 13, and they’re effective Feb. 13.
The authority serves more than 450 square miles of urban and rural Pierce County, carrying more than 38,000 riders each weekday.
Teenager dies of alcohol poisoning
Baker City, Ore. A 16-year-old Ontario boy died of apparent alcohol poisoning on New Year’s Day at a foster home where he had been living for the past month, authorities said.
Thomas Colbert, who was on probation through the Oregon Youth Authority, was found dead in his bed Jan. 1 at the Baker City home of his foster parents, E.G. Woody and Debbie Kellogg.
Baker County District Attorney Matt Shirtcliff said Colbert and another 16-year-old boy, who also was in foster care with the Kelloggs, broke into a locked liquor cabinet.
Colbert’s preliminary blood-alcohol content was in excess of .50, Shirtcliff said – six times the legal driving limit of .08.
Shirtcliff said the other boy was very sick the following morning.
The Kellogg family had been at church until midnight New Year’s Eve, Shirtcliff said; Colbert and the other boy waited until the others had gone to sleep before opening the cabinet.
The Baker County Major Crime Team is investigating the incident, as is the Oregon Youth Authority and Baker County’s child fatality team.
Fund set up for family burned out of home
Post Falls Firefighters helped set up a fund for a young family that lost all of its possessions in a New Year’s Day fire that consumed a double-wide trailer they had recently begun renting.
Kootenai County Fire and Rescue crews said the trailer at 1405 S. Tanglewood, Post Falls, was fully involved by the time they reached the scene at 6 p.m. Saturday. The fire, which investigators said was caused by an improperly installed wood stove, was difficult to extinguish because the trailer had a double roof, fire officials said in a news release.
Residents Konan and Rebekah Thornblade, along with a 5-year-old daughter and a 3-year-old son, got out of the trailer safely, as did their pets. The family had recently moved to the area, and had no renter’s insurance. Their trailer had no smoke alarms, fire officials said.
The family lost all its clothing and personal effects. An account for the Thornblades has been established at Washington Mutual Bank. Donations can be made at any branch.
In addition, Kootenai County Fire and Rescue is accepting donations of winter coats, boots, books, toys and school supplies for the Thornblade children. Coats in sizes 5 and 6 can be dropped off at the district’s Station 1, 404 N. Idaho St., in Post Falls. Or call 676-8739 and ask for Jim Lyon.
Seattle police chief’s pistol stolen
Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske’s service pistol was stolen from his unmarked police car in downtown Seattle, police confirm.
The Crown Victoria was parked at Sixth Avenue and Olive Way when someone broke in and took the Glock 26.
The loaded gun was in a holster, hidden from view, when it was taken between 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 26, police spokesman Sean Whitcomb said.
Whitcomb said there is no policy against an officer keeping a gun in the car and the crime can happen to anyone.
“There are a lot of car prowls that do happen in the city of Seattle, and not even the chief of police is immune to them,” Whitcomb said.