Man wanted in Stevens County found dead in Spokane Valley standoff with police

A man accused of sexually assaulting a child in Stevens County was found dead late Thursday after he was confronted by officers and ran into a home in Spokane Valley, police said in a news release.

Spokane Valley deputies arrived at a home in the 2000 block of North Long Road at about 7:10 p.m. to look for the suspect, according to the news release. Deputies saw a man they believed was the suspect run into the home.

Soon after the man went inside, deputies heard a gunshot, according to the news release. Deputies called the SWAT team, crisis negotiators and a law enforcement helicopter but were unable to contact the man.

Deputies sent a drone into the house after obtaining a search warrant and found the man’s body. SWAT members examined him and determined he likely died from a single gunshot, the news release said.

The Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office will release the name of the man and officially determine his cause of death, according to the news release.