In brief: Washington Guard gets new leader
OLYMPIA – Brig. Gen. Bret Daugherty will take over this week as adjutant general of the Washington National Guard. He replaces Maj. Gen. Timothy Lowenberg, who is retiring after 13 years in the organization’s top spot.
Gov. Chris Gregoire named Daugherty, who is now in charge of the state’s Army Guard, to take over the post that commands both Army and Air Guard units. Daugherty, 53, is a helicopter pilot. He entered the military in 1980 and joined the Guard in 1990. He has been the Washington Guard’s assistant adjutant general since 2009.
Lowenberg, 65, is retiring after 44 years in the military. He served as adjutant general for Govs. Gary Locke and Gregoire, and held that post for the second-longest tenure in state history.
Fourth suspect in robbery arrested
A fourth suspect has been arrested for a home-invasion robbery in the Indian Trail area that ended with a resident confronting his attackers with a sword.
Erik J. Zacher, 26, is accused of robbing residents in the 9600 block of North Alpine Court in May.
Suspects Nathan W. Day, 21, and Nathan T. McDaniels, 28, were arrested a day after the robbery. McDaniels remains in jail; Day is out on $25,000 bond. Joshua Clint Epperson, 32, a level 3 sex offender, was arrested later in May and remains in jail.
The men are accused of entering the home about 2:45 a.m. on May 2, binding residents with zip ties and pistol-whipping them. Police found a stolen Wii console and bags of methamphetamine when they arrested Day. They say he had a stolen handgun with him that may have been used in the robberies.
Student from Nepal dies in raft accident
MOSCOW, Idaho – A University of Idaho student from Nepal died in a rafting accident on the Selway River over the weekend.
Idaho County officials say 22-year-old Bishal Shrestha, of Kathmandu, Nepal, drowned Saturday evening after the raft he was in got stuck, popped and spilled all five occupants into the North Idaho river.
Shrestha had been rafting with other University of Idaho students from Nepal, including his brother. The other four occupants were able to get to shore and were later transported back across the river.
Shrestha was not wearing a life jacket. His body was recovered at about 10 a.m. Sunday.
The university’s online student directory says Shrestha was a senior majoring in materials science and engineering.
Rescuers aiding hiker and his dog
PORTLAND – Rescue teams on Oregon’s Mount Hood were working to help a man and his injured dog Monday.
The Clackamas County sheriff’s office said the man in his 60s was hiking with his dog Monday on the Timberline Trail when the dog fell down a slope and injured itself.
Sheriff’s spokesman Adam Phillips said the dog’s owner went down the cliff to try to retrieve the animal and got stuck himself.
Both county search and rescue teams and Oregon Humane Society volunteers have responded.
The trail is about three miles from Timberline Lodge.
Injured veteran getting Idaho home
KUNA, Idaho – An Idaho veteran who lost three limbs while serving in Afghanistan is gaining a new measure of independence thanks to a national organization that is building him a handicap-accessible home in Kuna.
Lance Cpl. Randal Wright stepped on an improvised explosive device in 2010 and uses a wheelchair. He said the road to recovery was hard, but he’s looking forward to moving out of his mother’s house and into his own.
Local contractor John Cotner is building the 2,700-square-foot home, and it’s being funded by the national organization Homes for Our Troops. More than 300 volunteers are assisting in the effort.
Wright said the home will help him feel more normal, giving him greater freedom and independence.
Fleeing suspects injured in fall
EVERETT – Police in Everett say two burglary suspects fell down a ravine while they were running from officers.
Sgt. Ryan Dalberg said that police responding early Monday morning to a burglary report found two men at the scene. They ran and police gave chase. Dalberg said the men apparently then jumped into an overgrown area and fell about 75 feet down a ravine. A police dog found them and police and firefighters worked together to pull them out.
They were hospitalized but their injuries weren’t thought to be life-threatening.
Dalberg said the two were expected to be booked into jail for investigation of residential burglary.
Police recovered property believed stolen from the home.
Community frees horse from well
SHELTON, Wash. – Rescuing a horse that got trapped in a shallow well in rural Mason County became a community affair.
KIRO-TV reported that firefighters pumped some water out of the well and neighbors dug by hand Monday until someone arrived with a backhoe.
The horse was stuck in muddy water up to its belly on property near Shelton.
For hours, the backhoe widened the hole as neighbors with tractors moved away the excess dirt. Bystanders helped clear away debris and keep the horse calm.
In all, KIRO said about 15 to 20 people aided in the rescue. The horse appeared unperturbed by all the activity and ate some hay its rescuers provided.
The horse was finally able to scramble free – up a ramp of dirt and mud – and the crowd cheered.