In brief: 16-year-old missing since April found
A 16-year-old was located Wednesday after being reported missing on April 5, police said.
Dwayne J. Tolbert, was found safe and in good health, said Spokane Police spokeswoman Officer Jennifer DeRuwe. Tolbert, who was reported missing after he ran away from his family, has agreed to stay with a guardian.
Child Protective Services was involved in placing Tolbert with a guardian, but no further details were available, DeRuwe said.
Body recovered from river
Rescue personnel pulled the body of 44-year-old Jesse L. Smith from the Spokane River near the Post Street Bridge on Thursday morning.
Smith jumped in the river June 21 while running from Riverfront Park security, officials said. Smith was contacted by security due to a report of suspicious activity inside the park.
Smith, who was reportedly naked from the waist down, was uncooperative and ran, said Spokane Police spokeswoman Jennifer DeRuwe. Park security saw Smith attempt to cross the river and be swept away.
Firefighters attempted to rescue Smith but were unsuccessful, DeRuwe said.
When Smith didn’t show up to work the next day and his truck was found parked at Post Street and Mallon Avenue, co-workers filed a missing person’s report.
On Thursday, Avista lowered the river level to aid in finding Smith’s body, and authorities had planned to send divers into the river to search.
Before divers arrived, a fisherman saw a body about 7 a.m. near the turbines by the YMCA. He reported it to a passerby who called 911.
Fire destoys vacant house
A fire consumed a home in the West Central neighborhood shortly before 1 a.m. Thursday and temporarily knocked out power to some nearby homes.
Spokane Fire Department investigators are working to determine the cause of the fire at the vacant house at 915 N. Cannon St.
The fire was burning so intensely when firefighters arrived that they could only battle it from outside the two-story building. According to a Spokane Fire Department press release, floors inside had already collapsed.
The fire caused a nearby transformer to explode, causing the power outage.
According to a release, the home – valued at approximately $140,000 – is a complete loss.
Rider injured in motorcycle crash
A 65-year-old man took a curve too fast, crashed his motorcycle on state Highway 20 and was airlifted to a Spokane hospital Wednesday afternoon, according to the Washington State Patrol.
Gunter Keess, of Hondo, Alberta, may have broken both his legs, said Trooper Mark Baker.
Keess was listed in satisfactory condition at Deaconess Medical Center late Thursday.
Keess was driving his 2002 BMW motorcycle east on Highway 20 when he failed to negotiate a left-hand turn, according to a WSP report.
He veered off the highway and totaled the motorcycle.
He was wearing a helmet.
Hope, Idaho
Man on tracks killed by train
A man was killed early Thursday morning when a train struck him near Hope, Idaho.
Jeffrey W. Kiebert, 49, of Hope, was sitting on the track of the Montana Link Railroad near Highway 200 when he was hit by a train about 2 a.m., according to Idaho State Police.
According to an Idaho State Police release on the crash, Kiebert had been drinking, and the death may have been suicide.
SEATTLE
Body found in home of radio host
A decomposed body has been found at the rental home of a former Seattle radio talk-show host who has been missing since April.
Police say a property manager found the body Thursday. Seattle police spokesman Jeff Kappel says the body was so decomposed that investigators were unable to immediately determine its sex or age.
Mike Webb worked for KIRO-AM Radio for 10 years and hosted a liberal late-night show before he lost his job after being charged with insurance fraud in December 2005 in a case that stemmed from a traffic accident. In February, Webb was found guilty and sentenced to 240 hours of community service.
CASHMERE, Wash.
Pilot dead in plane crash
A single-engine plane has crashed and burned in the north-central Washington town of Cashmere, killing one man.
Federal Aviation Administration Duty Officer Michael O’Connor says the Cessna 182 crashed while attempting to land about 7 p.m. Thursday and then burned.
Chelan County sheriff’s Chief Criminal Deputy Jeff Middleton says the male pilot was dead at the scene. The man was alone in the plane.
Middleton says the plane actually crashed into a high school parking lot near the small airport, hitting a parked flatbed truck and a tree and coming to rest within a few feet of a house. No one on the ground was injured.
The pilot has not been identified.