More human bones found in creek bed

AUBURN – Police found three human vertebrae Thursday while sifting through dirt dredged from a creek where a skull was found the day before.

Investigators had not determined whether the bones and skull belonged to the same person, Auburn police Cmdr. Bob Karnofski said.

The skull was believed to be that of a person 25 to 30 years old, but investigators had not determined the person’s gender.

Based on findings from the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, Karnofski said the remains had likely been in the area for one to two years.

The skull was found Wednesday near a site where the remains of a Green River serial killer victim were found years ago. Detectives said there was no apparent link with the serial murder case, which claimed 49 female victims in the early ’80s. A man was recently charged in four of those deaths.

Yakima

Man sought in fatal shooting: A man running away after a fight shot another man to death and was being sought by Yakima County sheriff’s deputies. Richard C. Smith, 36, died of multiple gunshot wounds Wednesday night while undergoing surgery at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital, deputy Dan Garcia said. The suspect, who remained at large late Wednesday night, was described as 5 feet 9 inches and 160 pounds, with long red hair and green eyes, although law enforcement records list him with brown hair, the deputy added. “He’s considered armed and dangerous at this point,” Garcia said.

Seattle

Ressam prosecutor named as judge: Steven Gonzalez, a federal prosecutor who helped convict Ahmed Ressam of plotting to blow up Los Angeles International Airport, has been named a King County Superior Court judge. Gov. Gary Locke made the appointment. He said Thursday that Gonzalez has the legal talent and life skills to do the job well. As an assistant U.S. attorney since 1997, Gonzalez has worked in the major crimes unit and focused on hate crimes. Last year, he and colleagues Jerry Diskin and Andrew Hamilton won a conviction of Ahmed Ressam on terrorism charges. Ressam, who is to be sentenced next month, was arrested in Port Angeles in December 1999 when he drove an explosives-laden car off a ferry from British Columbia. He has been cooperating with investigators since his conviction, giving them detailed information about what went on at Osama bin Laden-backed training camps in Afghanistan.

Grandview

Farmer killed in tractor accident: A 91-year-old farmer was crushed when his tractor-mounted tiller fell on top of him, the Yakima County sheriff’s office said. Ernest Dietrich apparently crawled under the tiller while the tractor was idling in his driveway. He may have been stuck underneath for as long as 30 minutes, said Capt. Pat Mason of Yakima County Fire District 5. Dietrich was dead by the time emergency crews arrived at the scene Wednesday afternoon, Mason said.

Point No Point

Landmark boathouse closed: A landmark boathouse dating to the 1920s has been closed indefinitely because of safety concerns. The launching area at the Point No Point Boathouse on the northeastern tip of the Kitsap Peninsula was built years before safety codes were in place and is no longer structurally sound, said Pete Dietrichson, a state Fish and Wildlife regional lands manager. Whether the rail-type launch and retrieve ramp can be restored or replaced and at what cost remains to be seen. The boathouse is one of the few remaining on Puget Sound, and the closure means anglers will have to go someplace else to rent boats when the chinook salmon season opens Feb. 16.

British Columbia