Local News

Arlington man’s death after fight prompts investigation

Snohomish County sheriff’s detectives are investigating the death of an Arlington man Wednesday, several hours after he was involved in a fight.

John L. Oster, 57, was driven from his home to Cascade Valley Hospital in Arlington early Wednesday morning. He told hospital personnel that he had been involved in a fight several hours earlier, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Oster was later taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he died before deputies had a chance to interview him, the Sheriff’s Office said. 

Despite an autopsy, the cause and manner of John L. Oster’s death have yet to be determined, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

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UPDATE: ‘Dummy’ hand grenade seized from Gold Bar student

Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies confiscated an inert grenade from a student who planned to bring the device to Gold Bar Elementary School this morning.

Deputies were summoned just before 9 a.m. by school officials who had taken the grenade from a student, according to the Sheriff’s Office.  The grenade was described as a  “dummy inert” grenade and did not contain explosives.

It was turned over to the State Patrol Interagency Explosives Unit for disposal, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Sultan School District Superintendent Dan Chaplik said the student purchased the realistic-looking grenade over the weekend at some sort of show at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe.  The child, whose age and grade were not disclosed, reportedly intended to bring the device the school to show friends or for show and tell, Chaplik said.

However, a school bus driver saw the grenade in the student’s hand while en route to school and contacted the school’s principal, he said. The driver stopped at a location off school grounds and students were evacuated from the bus. The grenade was then taken from the child, he said.

Chaplik said the district is weighing the appropriate discipline. He said the school principal and the district’s resource officer — a Snohomish County deputy — went to the child’s home today and “walked away feeling there was no mal-intent, no effort to scare anyone or hurt anyone.”

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Man shot at bus stop this morning in Lynnwood

Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies are investigating a shooting in unincorporated Lynnwood this morning.

Authorities say a 20-year-old man was standing at a bus stop in the 2200 block of 148^th Street Southwest around 7:45 a.m. when he was shot in the back by someone who stopped a car nearby.

Sheriff’s office Bureau Chief Kevin Prentiss said it’s unknown if the victim knew the shooter. After being shot, the man walked to his home nearby and collapsed; his mother called for help.

No arrests have been made.

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Driver bails from disabled car during Snohomish Co. chase

Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies are searching for a reckless driver who took off on foot after his car was disabled this morning using a spike strip.

Just before 10 a.m., a deputy tried to stop a 2000 Honda Civic for reckless driving near Highway 99 and Airport Road in South Everett. The driver sped south on Highway 99, reaching speeds of 80 mph, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies deployed a spike strip near Highway 99 and 188th Street Southwest, deflating the passenger-side tires. The pursuit continued to 196th Street Southwest and Highway 99 in Lynnwood, where the  driver bailed out of the car and took off on foot.

Sheriff’s deputies are currently using a K9 unit to track the driver.

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3 lost hikers airlifted off Mount Pilchuck

Three hikers were rescued by helicopter last night after they became lost on Mount Pilchuck in Snohomish County.

The hikers had camped out on the mountain Saturday night, but became lost when they tried to hike down yesterday, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. Search and rescue personnel were alerted to the situation at about 4:15 p.m. and 911 dispatchers “pinged” the cell phone of one of the hikers to get their exact location.

A Sheriff’s Office helicopter located the three hikers shortly after 6 p.m. They were airlifted off the mountain and dropped off in Verlot. No injuries were reported.

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No arrests after explosive materials reportedly found near Mill Creek

The FBI this morning released additional information after explosive materials were reportedly found yesterday in a Snohomish County home.

Bomb units were summoned yesterday afternoon after the FBI and representatives from another police agency spotted an explosive device in a neighborhood near Mill Creek. A Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office spokesman said authorities had been visiting a home in the area as part of an existing investigation when the FBI spotted a suspected explosive device and called in bomb experts to dismantle it.

Neighbors told KOMO-TV they had heard several explosions, and that before each blast, a warning alarm sounded for several seconds.

The FBI this morning said materials were completely removed from the home on 130^th Street Southeast and 26th Avenue Southeast with the owner’s cooperation. The FBI says the public was in no danger. 

No arrests are planned, the FBI says.

Spokeswoman Ayn Sandalo Dietrich says the FBI won’t describe the materials

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Explosive device found at Mill Creek-area home

Authorities called bomb units Monday afternoon to Snohomish County after the FBI and representatives from another police agency spotted an explosive device in a suburban neighborhood near Mill Creek.

Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Kevin Prentiss said authorities had been visiting a home in the area as part of an existing investigation when the FBI spotted an explosive device and called in bomb experts to dismantle it.

He said he’d heard no reports of injuries and was unaware of whether there had been any arrests.

KOMO 4 News was reporting that a number of homeowners near 130th Street Southeast and 26th Avenue Southeast were evacuated sometime after 4:30 p.m.

The FBI’s Ayn Dietrich told the station that agency bomb techs were at the home, but wouldn’t say whether they discovered any explosives.

However, witnesses told the station they heard several explosions, and that before each blast, a warning alarm sounded for several seconds.

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UPDATE: Bomb threat forces evacuation of Tulalip Walmart

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A bomb threat last night forced the evacuation of the Walmart store on the Tulalip Tribes reservation.

Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies responded to the store at 8924 Quilceda Blvd. just after 8 p.m.  after someone called the store and said a bomb had been placed in the building. The State Patrol and Tulalip police also responded.

No explosive devices were found in the store.

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Baby, sitter abducted over debt dispute, then found

A 4-month-old baby and the child’s baby-sitter were apparently abducted Thursday afternoon by a woman engaged in a dispute over a debt with the baby’s mother, according to the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.

Both the child and baby-sitter were later found unharmed at a residence in Everett, but the suspected abductor has not been located, sheriff’s Lt. Rob Palmer said in a news release issued Thursday night.

Around 4:30 p.m., sheriff’s deputies received a report about the abduction and initially thought the suspect had taken the child and the baby-sitter to a motel in the 200 block of 128th Street Southwest in unincorporated Snohomish County, according to Palmer. When deputies arrived, they learned the woman had left the motel, apparently with the child and possibly the baby-sitter, he wrote.

As police were preparing to issue an Amber Alert, the baby’s mother received a phone call from the suspect around 6:25 p.m., who provided information that led deputies to a house in the 200 block of 107th Street Southwest in Everett, according to Palmer. There, deputies found both the child and baby-sitter safe and unharmed, but the suspect was not there, he said.

Palmer said in the news release that it is not yet known whether the suspect will face criminal charges.

“There are many facts that still need to be sorted out and confirmed before that occurs,” he wrote.

0 comments | More in General news, The Blotter | Topics: abduction, Snohomish County Sheriff's Office

4 children in car when girl fatally shot by sibling

There were four children under the age of 8 inside the vehicle where the daughter of a Marysville police officer was fatally shot by a sibling earlier this month, according to information released today by the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.

Jenna Carlile, 7, of Camano Island, was inside the vehicle with her three younger siblings on March 10 when one of the children apparently got ahold of their father’s handgun and shot Jenna, authorities said. Jenna was hospitalized after the shooting; she later died at Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center.

Though early reports indicated that Jenna’s younger brother had been handling the gun when it went off, sheriff’s investigators will not say which child is responsible for the death that’s been ruled a homicide. Officer Derek Carlile and his wife were outside of the vehicle, which was parked in Stanwood, when the shooting occurred.

Investigators say that the handgun used in the shooting was a personal firearm owned by  Carlile, not his department-assigned gun.

“Once detectives have finished their investigative efforts, the case packet will be forwarded to the Snohomish County Prosecutor’s Office for review to determine if any criminal charges are warranted,” sheriff’s Bureau Chief Kevin Prentiss wrote in a news release.

Snohomish County Prosecutor Mark Roe has declined to comment on the case.

0 comments | More in The Blotter | Topics: Camano Island, Fatal shooting, Marysville