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Northwest Briefs

| August 20, 2014 9:00 PM

• Great Falls-bound megaload moves into Montana

KALISPELL, Mont. - A massive piece of refinery equipment bound for Great Falls crossed into Montana from Idaho early Tuesday, state Department of Transportation officials said.

The load, which is 21 feet wide and nearly 17 feet tall, stopped about three-tenths of a mile from the Idaho border on Montana Highway 200, said Duane Williams, administrator of the Motor Carrier Services Division.

The load will travel north nearly to Troy and then through Libby, Kalispell, north to Whitefish, west to Columbia Falls and south to Bigfork. The load will continue south through the Swan Valley and return to Montana 200, where it will continue through Lincoln to the Calumet Refinery in Great Falls.

The load's maximum weight, including up to two pull trucks and three push trucks, is 1.08 million pounds and its maximum length is just over 400 feet, Williams said.

The hydrocracker is the first of three large loads destined for the Calumet Refinery. It is being moved by Bigge Crane & Rigging Co., which picked up the load at the Port of Lewiston in Idaho last week.

Protesters met the load in Moscow and Sandpoint, but Williams said he had hadn't heard any talk of protests in Montana.

The load can only travel at night. Motorists can expect delays of up to 10 minutes, Williams said.

• Nampa woman missing, police seek boyfriend

NAMPA - A southwestern Idaho woman is missing under suspicious circumstances and police want to question her boyfriend.

Nampa Police Sgt. Joe Ramirez says 36-year-old Selena Dawn Thomas was reported missing on Monday and was last seen four days earlier. Officers checking Thomas' residence found her car was still there along with other personal items she'd normally take with her.

Police want to talk with her boyfriend, 39-year-old Alfredo Martin Martinez. He was last seen driving a white Dodge pickup, but also owns a white Honda Accord with Idaho license plate 2CLY849. He is 5 feet, 9 inches tall and about 190 pounds with brown hair.

Thomas is 5-7 and about 150 pounds with brown hair and eyes.