Region in brief: Two armed men rob cash advance store

Two masked gunmen robbed a cash advance store Tuesday, forcing a customer to the ground as her daughter screamed and pounded on the window outside.

An employee at an adjacent business called 911 after hearing the girl’s screams outside Advance America at 4011 N. Market St., Spokane police said.

One of the men pulled the cashier to the back of the store and fled out the back door with cash. The other forced the customer to the ground, then ran out the front door. A police dog tracked the men to apartments west of the store but lost the scent.

The same store was robbed earlier this month. Anyone with information can call 911 or Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.

Meghann M. Cuniff

Colton science teacher died of brain injury

A Colton, Wash., high school teacher died of massive brain injury after falling down a cliff while hunting Saturday, the Whitman County Coroner’s Office said Tuesday.

The body of Glenn D. Voshell, 45, was found Monday in a canyon near Snake River. He went missing Saturday while bird hunting, officials said.

Voshell is believed to have slipped on ice covered by snow and then fallen down a cliff to his death. The Whitman County coroner listed the cause of his injuries as blunt trauma from a fall.

Difficult terrain hindered search efforts on the ground and snow covered tracks left behind by Voshell on Saturday, the Associated Press reported.

Voshell, a resident of Pullman, was a Colton High School science teacher for 16 years and a former high school basketball coach at the school.

Sara Leaming

Gunshots kill three in Grant County

Three men were shot to death in Mattawa near the Columbia River late Monday, the Grant County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday.

Deputies responded to a report of gunshots about 9:15 p.m. Monday at a residence in the 21000 block of Road 24.7 SW, about two miles outside of Mattawa.

One man was found dead at the scene.

A second man died in an ambulance shortly after emergency crews arrived, Undersheriff John Turley reported.

A third victim was found on a nearby roadway, Turley said.

The names of the victims were not initially known. Turley said detectives are looking into possible drug or gang connections.

Mattawa is about 16 miles south of the Interstate 90 bridge at Vantage.

Staff reports