Local News

A woman described by police as suicidal was arrested last night for investigation of DUI after she crashed her car in Snoqualmie, according to Issaquah police.

Police responded to a business in the 22500 block of Southeast 64th Place in Issaquah just after 7:30 p.m. after the 31-year-old woman made suicidal threats to her therapist. When officers tried to talk to the woman she refused to cooperate and drove off recklessly east on Interstate 90, police said.

The woman struck a guardrail as she exited I-90 in Snoqualmie and her car ended up in a wooded area, police said.

The woman was arrested for investigation of DUI by the State Patrol. Issaquah police will also seek charges of reckless driving and failure to obey a police officer.

The “s” word – snow – has crept into the forecast again, but not in a huge way.

A cold front moving in Wednesday evening could drop the snow level well below 1,000 feet, producing a dusting or more around Puget Sound.

“Maybe the tops of the higher hills could get an inch or two,” said Danny Mercer of the  Weather Service, “places like the Cascade foothills, the Issaquah Highlands or the top of Queen Anne.”

In the meantime, snow is staying where it belongs – in the mountains.  Heavy snow, as much as 18 inches, could fall in the passes today and tonight. Traffic on Interstate 90 across Snoqualmie Pass could be particularly difficult during the day today, as a coat of ice forms on top of compact snow.

Today and Tuesday are forecast to be wet all around Western Washington, with an 80 percent chance of rain in the Seattle area today (make that 100 percent if you’re already wet) and a 90 percent chance Tuesday.

A 61-year-old Snoqualmie woman was arrested last night after she inexplicably fired numerous gunshots from her driveway, police said.

Snoqualmie police received several 911 calls reporting gunshots from the 8500 block of Falls Avenue Southeast just after 11 p.m.  With King County sheriff’s deputies assisting by blocking off surrounding streets, Snoqualmie police responded to the home where the gunshots were being fired and found an armed woman in her driveway, police said.

After several attempts, officers convinced the woman to drop her handgun. She was arrested and booked into the King County Jail on several charges, police said.

No one was injured by the gunplay.

The woman’s home has been secured and police are seeking a search warrant to have a look inside.

The Associated Press

NORTH BEND – A North Bend-area burglary that netted a .357 magnum handgun and a checkbook led to one quick arrest in Snoqualmie and a high-speed escape attempt along Interstate 90 before a second person surrendered.

King County sheriff’s Sgt. Cindi West says the elderly victims reported Tuesday’s burglary to officers and quickly alerted their bank. While a sergeant was still at the home, the bank advised that someone was trying to cash a stolen check at a Snoqualmie grocery store. Police there quickly arrested a woman with the stolen checkbook but a male accomplice took off in a car when officers tried to stop him.

The fleeing driver avoided spike strips and raced west along I-90 at speeds of 90 mph before finally pulling over on Interstate 405. The sheriff’s helicopter helped track the speeding car.

West says two Renton residents were booked into jail for investigation of burglary, theft, forgery and gun theft.

Six boys serving time a state juvenile detention center in Snoqualmie were arrested this morning after authorities say they planned a violent escape that left a staff member at the facility injured and police searching for them in the woods.

A female staff member at Echo Glen Children’s Center was found unconscious around 11:30 p.m. last night, said sheriff’s spokeswoman Sgt. Cindi West. Witnesses told investigators that the staff member was beaten with a bottle filled with frozen water, West added.

After the assault, the suspected attackers, ages 14 and 15, took the staff member’s keys and radio. The staff member was found unconscious in a locked room, authorities said.

“She was unconscious and some other kids [at the facility] found her. They called for help,” West said. “It definitely appears this was planned. The detective on the scene said when they found the boys they had their packed bags with them.”

The sheriff’s office, the Washington State Patrol and Snoqualmie  police were brought in to search for the boys and investigate, West said. The sheriff’s office helicopter searched the area near the facility, 33010 SE 99th Street in Snoqualmie, and located the six boys.

West said that when the boys were spotted by authorities in a wooded area they broke into three groups of two and ran in different directions.  Deputies from the sheriff’s K-9 unit used their dogs to find the boys in the woods; several of the teenagers were bitten, West added.

One of the boys is at Harborview Medical Center, in Seattle, being treated for dog bites. He is expected to join the other five at the King County Youth Service Center. The six will be held at the Seattle juvenile jail for investigation of second-degree assault, unlawful imprisonment and escape, West said.

Three of the youths are 14, the other three are 15.  The majority of them were at Echo Glen for assault and firearms convictions, West said.

The staff member who was hurt in the assault is expected to recover, West said.

According to the Department of Social and Health Services, Echo Glen is a medium/maximum security facility that is not fenced, but bordered by natural wetlands. The facility houses younger male offenders and juvenile female offenders.

Echo Glen is part of the state’s Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration, which is part of the Department of Social and Health Services.

"Trina," a 3-year-old Finnsheep, stands with her unusually large brood of seven lambs in a field at the home of their owner Colleen Peck. (AP Photo / Elaine Thompson)

The Associated Press

SNOQUALMIE — A 3-year-old ewe in Snoqualmie has done something that rarely happens: she gave birth to a litter of seven lambs.

 Colleen Peck’s Finnsheep ewe, Trina, gave birth to the unusually large brood at the end of March. Trina and the four little males and three females are healthy.

American Finnsheep Breeders’ Association acting secretary Herb Tucker says such a feat has only been recorded twice in the United States. He says the all-time record is nine, but that happened in Finland, where the Finnsheep originate.

Peck says Finnsheep are known for having three or four lambs at a time, but she was surprised when the lambs kept popping out of Trina.

Peck keeps her as pets but sells their wool occasionally.

The Associated Press

Forecasters have issued a winter storm warning for the Cascades for today and tomorrow that could bring a lot of snow to the mountains.

Snoqualmie and Stevens passes could see 1 to 2 feet of fresh snow by Thursday evening, according to the National Weather Service.

Accumulations of 2 to 3 feet are expected above 4,500 feet in the Cascades.

Forecasters also expect snow Wednesday along the Hood Canal, the east slopes of the Cascades and the mountains of Eastern Washington.

The Weather Service says the pattern of cool showery weather is likely to continue in Washington for the rest of winter, at least.

Spring starts on Tuesday — on the calendar, anyway.

Weather: Did you have to scrape ice off your windshield this morning? Some of us did. We said yesterday it was going to be sunny today, and we’re sticking by that. But, uh, there’s still a chance of light rain around 4 p.m. The details.

Traffic: The maps and the cams.

We’d sure like to know more about the woman who was shot 15 years ago and just died of her injuries last week.

You know the season has changed when Snoqualmie, Chinook and Cayuse passes are all closed at the same time, as they were yesterday. Though Snoqualmie Pass was closed only briefly.

Even the tiny town of Forks got into the Occupy movement. (The Peninsula Daily News)

International students make up nearly 1 in 5 freshman at the University of Washington, according to the story by higher-ed reporter Katherine Long.

Gov. Chris Gregoire is expected to appoint a new Supreme Court justice today to replace Gerry Alexander, who retires at year’s end.

This story on the missing Bellevue boy, Sky Metalwala, has a new and certainly curious element. Police say their investigation includes looking at social-media websites for clues. From our story today:

Among them is a dating website on which (the boy’s mother, Julia) Biryukova reportedly created an account. The site,SeekingArrangement.com, bills itself as “the largest dating website for those seeking mutually beneficial arrangements — i.e., a relationship between a Sugar Daddy or Sugar Mommy, and a Sugar Baby.”

A sign of economic times or just some real jerks: Brass plaques stolen from graves of veterans (King 5)

Most-read stories on seattletimes.com this morning:

1. Police may try different tactic in case of missing boy
2. Foreign enrollment skyrockets for UW
3. Nick Montana prepares to start for Huskies if Keith Price can’t
4. Missing 2-year-old’s dad grieves as hope dims
5. Could Mariners fit free-agent slugger Prince Fielder into their budget?

Yikes!  Snowflakes are already piling up.  Not on the ground so much, but on the Weather Service forecasts for the Cascade and Olympic Mountains.

By Wednesday evening, snow may be falling over much of the Cascades north of Interstate 90, as a front moves through and pass temperatures dip into the 20s.

Stevens Pass  could get one to three inches of snow Wednesday night while Snoqualmie Pass  gets less than an inch, with those totals increasing by the day through the weekend.

Heavier snowfall, three to six inches Wednesday night,  is expected on some high  mountain routes, including the highways to Mount Baker and the Paradise area on Mount Rainier.

By Saturday, snow could spread over much of Eastern Washington, from Wenatchee to Spokane, says the Weather Service.

Down in the Puget Sound lowlands, drivers are warned to watch out for freezing fog Tuesday night that could create hazardous conditions in some areas.  That’s particularly likely in the South Sound, where temps around Olympia and Shelton could dip below freezing.