In brief: Missing woman committed suicide

An autopsy concluded that a woman whose disappearance sparked a weeklong search in north Spokane County committed suicide, officials confirmed.

On Saturday, a hunter found a body under a tree near Highway 395 and Wild Rose Road. Officials confirmed 26-year-old Amy Wheelock’s cause of death on Monday, said Sgt. Dave Reagan of the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.

Wheelock left her apartment in the 300 block of East Wedgewood Avenue on Sept. 22, leaving behind her car, purse and cell phone.

Family members, friends, area residents and law enforcement joined a search for Wheelock late last week. Her body was found near the search area.

Schools chief to host online chat today

Spokane Public Schools Superintendent Nancy Stowell will host her monthly online chat from noon to 1 p.m. today.

The public is invited to submit questions for Stowell by visiting the district’s Web site at www.spokaneschools.org and clicking on “Chat with the Superintendent.”

Transcripts from previous chats – held the first Wednesday of each month – are available on the Web site.

Lewiston

Air Force rescues injured hiker, 77

An Air Force helicopter on Tuesday rescued a 77-year-old man who was critically injured near the Bitterroot Mountains and had to spend a snowy night there.

Two other men called authorities on a satellite phone – which transmitted coordinates – about 5 p.m. Monday from the Selway Wilderness near Mink Peak in Idaho. The 36th Rescue Flight dispatched a four-man helicopter crew from Fairchild Air Force Base to rescue the man, according to an Air Force news release.

Because of bad weather and dangerous terrain, the Huey crew could not locate the injured man Monday evening. The crew stayed the night in Lewiston and resumed the mission at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, flying to an area at 7,300 feet that received snow during the night, the release states.

Tech. Sgt. Patrick Hunt was lowered 170 feet to the injured man and stabilized him before he was hoisted up on a stretcher. The crew flew to Lewiston Air Field, and the man was taken to St. Joseph Regional Medical Center, according to the release.

Neither the injured man’s name nor his condition was available late Tuesday. His companions were not injured.

Suspect in killing arrested after chase

A man was killed Monday night in a Lewiston shooting, and the accused gunman was arrested after a high-speed chase through Clarkston and Lewiston.

Lewiston police were called to Cedar Avenue and 11th Street about 10:30 p.m. when people reported hearing shots. According to a Lewiston police news release, officers found a man with multiple gunshot wounds.

Michael S. Johnston, 32, of Lewiston, was taken to a hospital, where he later died, police said.

Police had a description of the suspect’s vehicle, and Clarkston police and Asotin County sheriff’s deputies spotted it in Washington about midnight. The driver fled back over the state line into Lewiston, where Nez Perce County deputies and Lewiston police took up the pursuit.

Officers caught the driver, 31-year-old Leotis B. Branigh III, in the 1800 block of Powers Avenue. He was arrested on suspicion of homicide and booked into the Nez Perce County Jail.

Colfax

Man accused of kidnap, rape surrenders

A Farmington, Wash., man has surrendered to the FBI on allegations he kidnapped a teen from the side of the highway in Tensed, Idaho, on Friday and raped her.

Patrick H. Stiller, 32, turned himself in to FBI agents in Colfax on Tuesday. Stiller surrendered because of publicity surrounding the case, FBI Supervisory Senior Resident Agent Don Robinson said.

The FBI is leading the investigation because the girl is a member of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe. The FBI investigates felonies on the reservation.

The girl did not know Stiller, identified as a suspect following numerous interviews, Robinson said.

“She was basically walking down the road and got dragged into the truck,” he said. “It’s very troubling.”

Coeur d’Alene Tribe Spokesman Quanah Spencer said tribal members were concerned about the crime.

Spencer said Coeur d’Alene Tribal Police worked with the FBI during the investigation, and the tribe is providing services to the teen.

Grant County

Child rapist mistakenly freed, recaptured

A man convicted of child rape was mistakenly released from jail Thursday then picked back up Monday near Othello.

After completing his prison sentence for first-degree rape of a child, 28-year-old Ramon Flores Murillo, a Mexican national, was transferred to Grant County Jail and was being temporarily held there on an immigration detainer, according to a Grant County Sheriff’s Office news release.

Agent Larry Dye, with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, sent the jail an order to release Murillo. Within hours of the release, Dye contacted the jail and said it was a mistake, the release states.

Authorities found Murillo on Monday afternoon working near Othello. He was taken back to Grant County Jail to be held on the immigration detainer, according to the release.