Missing hunter found dead
Metaline Falls, Wash.
Missing hunter found dead
A hunter missing near Metaline Falls was found dead over the weekend, but officials said they’ll have to wait for an autopsy to determine the Spokane man’s cause of death.
Officials speculated Monday that 49-year-old Nate Swagel was a victim of near-freezing temperatures. There were no obvious signs of injury, said Pend Oreille County sheriff’s Sgt. Alan Botzheim.
Swagel was spotted in a remote area on Monumental Mountain at 4:50 p.m. Sunday by a helicopter pilot, Botzheim said.
His body was about seven miles from his truck, which was parked at milepost 13 on Forest Service Road 1935.
The experienced hunter was reported missing a week ago.
Searchers from Pend Oreille County and surrounding areas scoured the mountainous terrain looking for Swagel for five days. At one point, there were as many as 125 volunteers looking for him.
– Jody Lawrence-Turner
North bend, Wash.
Couple win $55 million
An immigrant couple from Laos claimed a $55 million Mega Millions jackpot on Monday.
Sommay and Xia Rattanakone, of North Bend, won the prize last week. As part of their weekly ritual, the couple bought the winning ticket at a Safeway in the east King County community.
The couple said they plan an early retirement and a return trip to their native country.
Sommay Rattanakone works for the Seattle Public Schools and Xia works at Nintendo. They have two children.
They also plan to donate some of the money to a Catholic orphanage in Laos where Xia was raised before being adopted and brought to the United States.
– Associated Press
Portland
Man sought in conspiracy
A Silver Valley man has been indicted in a scheme to fake his own death in a surfing accident.
Jesse Murphy, 25, of Osburn, Idaho, is charged with conspiracy and causing a false distress message to be sent to the U.S. Coast Guard.
Federal agents say Murphy, a transient facing criminal charges in California, apparently planned to stage a nighttime surfing incident at Ecola State Park near Cannon Beach in April of 2004 in an attempt to have himself declared dead.
They say he left his clothing, his wallet, a surfboard, and his girlfriend at the beach and returned to the Portland area.
His girlfriend then called 911 and reported him missing.
The Coast Guard, Cannon Beach Fire and Police departments and the Oregon State Police searched for more than eight hours and declared him missing.
He was arrested later in Bellingham on a California warrant but released. His whereabouts are unknown.
– Associated Press