Local News

Sanderson Field / Google Maps An experienced skydiver with a fully functional parachute died Sunday afternoon after an “extremely hard landing,” according to a spokesman for Kapowsin Air Sports at Sanderson Field in Shelton. The Mason County Sheriff’s Office identified the victim as Ryan Erickson, who was an experienced skydiver. Erickson had completed nearly 1,000 successful jumps in…

The weirdest stories on seattletimes.com this week ran the gamut from mythical creatures up for debate to actual creatures out for a stroll. It was also a week of extremes: record heat, record rainfall (thanks, nature!), and what are likely some of the highest Web traffic numbers a year-old Times story has ever gotten (thanks, Facebook!). Read…

Wildlife agents believe they’ve found the otter that attacked a woman and her grandson at a swimming hole on the Pilchuck River. Last Thursday, Bryce Moser was swimming in the river with his grandma, Lelani Grove, when he apparently got too close to the otter. The animal attacked Moser, and when Grove attempted to save her grandson, it…

Bats? Spiders? Giant snails? Mysterious human skulls? No, it’s not Halloween. But it is a different kind of holiday, if you will: the triumphant return of the offbeat-news roundup, after a week’s hiatus. To celebrate, I give you The Weird News Double-Week Double Whammy! Two weeks’ worth of weirdness, jam-packed into one easy-to-digest list.

Don’t worry: This Independence Day, the flying saucers are coming from Earth.

My my, there was a whole lot of inappropriate (or perceived-to-be-inappropriate) behavior around town this week: bears crashing parties, creepy people who aren’t really creepy, and creepy people who truly are. On the more tasteful side of things, there’s Seahawks superstar Marshawn Lynch, who’s planning to bare more to the media than ever before. Read on for…

Sometimes it seems the weird news of the week has a theme. Music, pot and nudity came up a lot during the week of the Folklife and Sasquatch! festivals. Last week, for some reason, it was all about raw meat. But this week had no rhyme or reason. Well, OK. With Sir…