OKANAGON — A Mercer Island woman under investigation in a fire that burned two Winthrop hotels could be charged with arson, an Okanogan County prosecutor said.
Sheriff Mike Murray said there was evidence that an accelerant was used in the fire, and Deputy Prosecutor Aaron Walls said sheriff’s detectives told him the same thing.
Lohr, 35, is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail at the Okanogan County jail for investigation of first-degree reckless burning, first-degree malicious mischief and third-degree assault.
Her father, Ralph Lohr of Mercer Island, said his daughter claimed she left one candle burning on her bedside table in her room at the Riverside Lodge when she went into the bathroom last Friday night. When she came out, the room was on fire, he said.
"An accident is an accident, and it was a total accident," said Lohr’s boyfriend, Brett Galloway of Everett.
He said Lohr was in Winthrop for two days, and like other guests at the two hotels, she lost everything she brought with her in the fire, including her car and her clothes. "She didn’t even have her shoes," Galloway said.
Walls said Lohr "jokingly stated the candle had been highly flammable," and had made a previous threat to burn down her boyfriend’s house. Galloway said Lohr never threatened to burn down his house.
Walls said Lohr attempted to run when officers were placing her under arrest, and kicked one officer in the knee and tried to flee again after she was handcuffed. He said Lohr appeared intoxicated or under the influence of drugs.
Spokane
Police arrest great-aunt in death of 4-year-old boy: Police have arrested the great-aunt of a 4-year-old boy found dead in his home Wednesday. They were treating the death as a possible homicide. Shirley Lynne Anderson, 38, was booked into the Spokane County Jail for investigation of first-degree manslaughter. An autopsy was planned on Alexander Wallace, whose body was found at the foot of the home’s basement stairs, police said. Anderson and another woman lived at the home with the 4-year-old and his 5-year-old brother. The 5-year-old was not injured and is now in state custody, officers said.
Landmark Spokane restaurant closes: Patsy Clark’s, the landmark restaurant where former President George Bush dined and where decades of Spokane residents celebrated major events in their lives, has closed. Owner Monty Danner said the 1898 mansion, the former home of mining magnate Patsy Clark, is for sale. Danner, who bought the restaurant in November 1999, has not set a sale price. The property is valued at nearly $1.1 million by the Spokane County assessor’s office.
Wenatchee
Chelan PUD board approves state parks bailout plan: The Chelan County Public Utility District will pay the state as much as $300,000 to keep three Columbia River state parks open until June 2003. The Wenatchee Confluence, Lincoln Rock and Daroga state parks are owned by the PUD and leased by the state Parks and Recreation Commission. They are three of 13 leased parks the state has threatened to close at the end of summer, saying there isn’t sufficient money to keep them open. "We are willing to help this time," said PUD commissioner Barbara Tilly. "But we are hoping it’s a very short-term arrangement."
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