In brief: Teen unhurt after bridge jump

A teen who jumped off the T.J. Meenach Bridge on Tuesday afternoon sustained no serious injuries, Spokane police said.

Police arrived just after the girl let go, and onlookers directed them to where she was in the river.

Witness Geoff Bracken said the teen immediately surfaced, and onlookers began yelling for her to swim to shore.

She floated about 50 yards, drifting to the west bank, where she clung to a rock until a man waded out to pull her in.

Spokane police wrapped her in blankets until firefighters could get a gurney to her, said Cpl. Brad Hallock.

He said she is in stable condition. An ambulance took her to the hospital.

The rescue disrupted traffic for about 45 minutes as police and fire vehicles took up bridge lanes and people slowed to see what was happening.

Man dozed off, crashed into pole

A Spokane man crashed into a power pole Tuesday, blocking traffic for several hours and trapping himself and two daughters in a vehicle.

All three suffered only minor injuries, authorities said.

David L. Workman told sheriff’s deputies he dozed off before hitting the Avista pole on Hawthorne Road near Market Street, said Sgt. Dave Reagan, a sheriff’s office spokesman. Workman will likely be cited for negligent driving.

Workman was eastbound about 11:20 a.m. when he fell asleep and hit the power pole, Reagan said. It snapped and a large section landed on the Yukon, draping it with live power lines and trapping Workman and his two daughters, 5 and 3 years old.

The power was shut off and firefighters extricated the trio from the GMC, Reagan said. Both children had been buckled in child restraint seats.

Coeur d’Alene

Police locate missing teenager

Police found a missing 14-year-old girl Monday evening. She hadn’t been seen since Sunday night.

The teen had been dropped off at the Coeur d’Alene Public Library, 702 E. Front Ave., about 7 p.m. Sunday but didn’t take the bus home as expected. She was found safe a day later.

Spokane County

Classified ad scam targets elderly

Spokane County sheriff’s deputies are warning about a scam targeting elderly people selling items through classified advertising.

The man and woman are accused of determining whether classified advertisers are elderly and then going to the advertisers’ homes where one distracts the seller while the other asks to use the bathroom, according to a Spokane County Sheriff’s Office news release.

Instead of using the bathroom, however, the “buyer” rummages through bedrooms or the kitchen to steal purses, jewelry and other items.

At least four people have fallen victim.

Sheriff’s officials advise people selling items through classified ads never to allow buyers into their home if they are home alone and that requests to use the bathroom should be refused.

WENATCHEE

North Cascades closed for winter

The Washington Department of Transportation has closed the North Cascades Highway for the season because of overwhelming snow accumulations on the roadway.

The road, State Highway 20, was temporarily closed on Nov. 30 due to heavy snow, high winds and rain that created unsafe avalanche conditions.

DOT Twisp Maintenance Supervisor Don Becker says the snow was 40 inches deep at the Silver Star Gate on Monday. Rain turned that into 27 inches of heavy wet snow by Tuesday morning.

Becker said clearing the roadway now would take an effort on par with the annual spring reopening, which typically takes several weeks of plowing.

The highway is closed from seven miles east of Diablo Dam on the west side and nine miles west of Mazama on the east side.

The highway usually closes between Thanksgiving week and mid-December, reopening in late April or early May.

YAKIMA

Two searchers found dead

Searchers in Yakima County have found two missing Selah men dead at Cleman Mountain near the central Washington city of Naches.

The men had gone out in search of one of the men’s sons and a friend who had gotten stuck in the snow while bow hunting Saturday night.

Dave Lynch of Yakima County Search and Rescue says it appears their car went off a road and rolled down a slope.

The two bow hunters, one in his 20s and the other in his 30s, were safely rescued Sunday night by a snowmobile team.

But the search for the father and friend who had attempted to rescue them was hampered by bad weather.

From staff and wire reports