Deputies shoot armed man after he walked away from car fire with body in trunk in Tonasket

Okanogan County Sheriff’s deputies shot an armed suspect on Monday after he allegedly aimed a gun at them. Hours earlier, the suspect was reportedly seen walking away from a car fire, where firefighters found a burned body in the trunk.

The suspect, Lance R. Bowers, 37, was sent to the hospital and released. He was booked Monday into Okanogan County Jail and faces charges for trespassing and resisting arrest.

The investigation into the burned corpse is ongoing.

Aeneas Valley firefighters responded to the car fire at about 4:30 p.m. Monday in a remote area along Frosty Creek Road about 23 miles east of Okanogan, Okanogan County Undersheriff Aaron Culp said.

After firefighters contacted the sheriff’s office about the burned body, deputies investigated the fire and reports of a manwalking away from the fire, a news release says.

Deputies tracked down Bowers at the Aeneas Valley General Store about 2 miles away and confronted him. He did not obey orders and displayed a handgun, Culp said.

Deputies then shot Bowers. He was taken by helicopter to Central Washington Hospital in Wenatchee, according to the news release.

“With regard to car fire and body found, there is a potential for other charges,” Culp said.

It’s not clear who owns the burned car, Culp said. The identification of the body has not been released.