Briefs April 3, 2010
Glacier Park investigates death; Meridian woman surrenders in crash; Missing Idaho boy found in Nicaragua; Fire destroys Pocatello bar; LCSC debates replacing provost
Glacier Park investigates death
KALISPELL, Mont. - Authorities said a Whitefish man apparently died in an avalanche while skiing in Glacier National Park.
Flathead County Sheriff Mike Meehan identified the victim as 37-year-old Brian C. Wright.
Glacier officials said Wright's body was found Thursday near the bottom of the slide at the base of Mt. Shields in the southeastern part of the park.
Glacier spokesman Wade Muehlhof said Wright was in the area by himself. When he did not meet a friend as planned, the friend reported him missing. Muehlhof said there's no reason to believe the avalanche claimed any other victims.
Wright's was the fourth avalanche death reported in Montana and Idaho this week. On Saturday, a snowmobiler from Idaho died in the Lolo National Forest while highmarking. On Tuesday, two snowmobilers from Washington State died near McCall, Idaho.
Meridian woman surrenders in crash
BOISE - A 19-year-old Meridian woman was booked at the Ada County jail and released on bond after being charged with vehicular manslaughter for a traffic crash last September that killed her two passengers.
Idaho State Police said Lacy Christine Fine ran a red light, causing a crash that killed 20-year-old Carlos Murray of Caldwell and 19-year-old Brittani Runnels of Boise.
Fine was seriously injured while the driver of the other vehicle was wearing a seat belt and sustained what the ISP officials said were minor injuries.
Fine surrendered Thursday and was released, the Idaho Statesman reported. Her initial court appearance in Payette County has not been scheduled.
Missing Idaho boy found in Nicaragua
BOISE - Officials with the FBI said a child reported missing from Idaho in 2008 has been found with his non-custodial mother in Nicaragua.
Max Gian Alcade was 7 when he was reported missing by his father in December 2008. His father told police that his ex-wife - the child's mother - had picked the boy up at school and then didn't return him after the holiday as planned.
The FBI said agents worked with the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Diplomatic Security in Managua, Nicaragua to find the boy and his mother, Margaret Sanchez Mejia Dunbar Alcade, late last month. Max Gian Alcade has since been reunited with his dad, and officials say his mother has returned to the United States under the custody of law enforcement agents. She is charged in Idaho with second-degree kidnapping.
Fire destroys Pocatello bar
POCATELLO - Pocatello officials say a fire has destroyed a popular dance bar in the city.
Fire chief Mike Irwin said the Lazy Lizard Bar was a total loss. The fire was reported at about 3 a.m. Thursday and burned for about seven hours. No injuries were reported, but an adjacent building had some water damage.
Irwin said it appears the fire was caused by the motor in an ice machine, but no official cause has been determined.
Bar owner Caleb Corona declined comment.
LCSC debates replacing provost
BOISE - Several faculty members at Lewis-Clark State College said Idaho education officials shouldn't spend money on a search to replace outgoing president Dene Thomas.
Joni Mina chairs the North Idaho college's faculty senate and said support is growing for the appointment of provost Tony Fernandez to the position.
Mina said Fernandez is already familiar with the college and would make the most cost-effective choice, given the financial constraints on campus.
The Lewiston Tribune reports the state Board of Education will ultimately decide on a replacement for Thomas, who is leaving Idaho to become the next president of Fort Lewis College in Colorado on July 1.
- The Associated Press