Thousands mourn slain Tacoma girl

Thousands of people gathered Sunday for the funeral of Zina Linnik – the 12-year-old Tacoma girl who was kidnapped on the Fourth of July, then killed.

The funeral was held at the Slavic Christian Church in Tacoma, with an interpreter translating parts of the service from Russian.

Zina was abducted from an alley outside her home on July 4, then found dead near Eatonville in rural southern Pierce County on July 12.

Terapon Adhahn, a 42-year-old convicted sex offender from Thailand, is being held as a person of interest in the case and is expected to be charged in her death.

During the service, Katie Thaut, one of Zina’s teachers, told of the list of 10 memories she had made with Zina’s sisters.

She said at the top of the list was Zina’s love of her family and Jesus.

“Her sister said Zina’s idea of a fun party would be to go swimming in the summer,” she said. “She was my favorite student.”

Among the mourners were police officers and FBI agents who had participated in the search for Zina.

“Sometimes these stars become very heavy, and I can’t think of another time that they’ve felt the heaviest,” Tacoma Police Chief Don Ramsdell said.

The Linnik family came to the United States 10 years ago from the Ukraine.

Columbia City, Ore.

Seattle to Portland bicyclist hit by car

A Portland motorist was arrested for investigation of felony hit and run Sunday after striking a bicyclist participating in a Seattle to Portland ride on Highway 30 northwest of Portland, the Oregon State Police said.

Daniel B. Whittlinger, 40, who was driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee, hit the back of a bicycle ridden by Gerald Marvin, 24, of Seattle, said Lt. Gregg Hastings, a state police spokesman.

Two cyclists then struck either Marvin or his bicycle.

Hastings said Marvin had serious injuries and the other cyclists had minor injuries. All were taken to a Portland hospital.

Witnesses told police that Whittlinger initially stopped but then sped away, Hastings said. A St. Helens police officer detained Whittlinger about eight miles east of the crash scene.

Besides hit and run, Whittlinger was arrested for investigation of driving under the influence of intoxicants and a parole violation.

The 200-mile Seattle to Portland ride is organized by the Cascade Bicycle Club. According to the group’s Web site, the ride is the largest multiday bicycle event in the Northwest, with up to 9,000 participants riding from Seattle to Portland in one or two days.

Sandpoint

Three charged in prostitution case

A man and two women accused of selling sex by using the Internet site Craigslist have been charged with participating in a joint venture to accept prostitution earnings, a felony.

Lavelle Necoy Baudin, 23, Randi Jo Friss, 24, and Selene Ann Mende, 29, were charged Friday in 1st District Court. They were held in the Bonner County Jail on $25,000 bail apiece. If convicted, they could be fined up to $50,000 and face up to 20 years in prison.

The three were arrested during a sting operation Thursday at a motel here, Police Chief Mark Lockwood said. Baudin allegedly brought the two women to the motel, where an undercover officer gave them $350.

“It’s probably the first prostitution arrest in Sandpoint since the Second World War,” he said, adding the suspects were advertising on Craigslist.

Bonner County Prosecutor Phil Robinson reviewed an audio tape of the sting and said the three admitted having previous customers.

Bremerton, Wash.

Watercraft, boat collision kills one

One person was killed and another injured Sunday when a boat and a personal watercraft collided near Brownsville, a community on Puget Sound north of Bremerton.

The injured person was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Kitsap County sheriff’s spokesman Scott Wilson says rescuers were called to the Brownsville marina after 911 dispatchers received reports about 5:30 p.m. of the collision between a Sea Ray boat and the personal watercraft.

It’s not immediately clear whether the victims were on the personal watercraft or in the boat.

Estacada, Ore.

Man dies in fall off 500-foot cliff

An Oregon man died Sunday when he stepped into the darkness and fell off a cliff, the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office said.

Travis Jay Kuykendall, 24, of Troutdale, and three friends drove to the top of Goat Mountain shortly after midnight. After reaching their destination, the men left the vehicle.

Detective Jim Strovink, a Sheriff’s Office spokesman, said the men apparently didn’t realize they were near an edge, and Kuykendall almost immediately vanished over the 500-foot cliff.

Emergency personnel found Kuykendall’s body at 4 a.m.

From wire reports