By Wade W. Magers
Lincoln County Sheriff
Marine One detains fire suspects on Lk. Roosevelt
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July 19, 2018
On July 12, 2018, at about 1:20 hours the Lincoln County Dispatch Center received a 911 call from an alert Lincoln County citizen reporting they had observed a boat with several occupants lighting fireworks across from Lincoln.
The reporting party observed the occupants lighting fireworks, and a period of time later, the hillside became engulfed in flames. The caller also observed the occupants return to shore and place an item in an area below the fire as if to conceal something.
The Lincoln County Dispatch crew quickly advised Marine One, a recently purchased patrol boat which was operating on Lake Roosevelt with a two-man team in the Seven Bays area. The caller had very specific details on the fleeing vessel. Marine One was able to rapidly cover the distance and check the Lincoln, Seven Bays and Fort Spokane boat-launch areas.
Deputies were able to quickly locate and detain four suspects. The marine deputy also had the National Park Service stay with the suspect boat and return to the Lincoln boat launch where the witness was picked up and taken to the suspect boat, which was positively identified. The witness was then taken to the Colville Indian Reservation located in Ferry County on the north shore where numerous fireworks and evidence was collected.
Marine One then took the witness back to Lincoln and headed to the Keller Ferry Marina where they were able to pick up two fire investigators on behalf of the Colville Tribe. The above information and more has been passed onto the tribal authorities, and reports and evidence will be shared with our Tribal Law Enforcement partners.
We are grateful for the great witness and the teamwork that ensued. Although the fire is substantial and a lot of resources are involved in combating the raging fire, we are proud of our witness, deputies, National Park Rangers and our new addition in Marine One that brought this case together for a successful conclusion. Any charges and compensation will be directly the decision of the Colville Tribe and federal agencies.
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