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The Chronicle - Centralia
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Canadian police link killings of four young women in 1970s to Idaho sex offender who died in prison
A serial sexual offender from Plummer, Idaho, who died while serving a rape sentence in an Idaho prison was behind four killings of young women in Alberta in the 1970s, Canadian police announced Friday. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Alberta believe Gary Allen Srery was responsible for the killings of Eva Dvorak and Patricia McQueen, both 14, Melissa Rehorek, 20, and Barbara MacLean, 19, according to a news release from the law enforcement agency . All four were found dead in a one-year span in the Calgary area. "For over forty years, investigators did not give up in their pursuit to identify those responsible for these murders," said Superintendent David Hall, officer in charge of the Alberta RCMP's Serious Crimes branch. "Identifying the perpetrator does not bring Eva, Patsy, Melissa or Barbara back. It is our hope however, that the families are finally able to have some answers as to what happened to their loved ones all of those years ago." Dvorak and McQueen, who were friends, were last seen walking together the evening of Feb. 14, 1976, in downtown Calgary. They were found dead the next morning under the Happy Valley Overpass on Highway 1 west of Calgary. Rehorek, who lived in downtown Calgary, was last seen by a roommate the evening of Sept. 15, 1976. Her body was also found the next morning in a ditch west of the city. MacLean was with friends Feb. 25, 1977, at the Highlander Hotel bar and was last seen walking alone from the hotel in the early hours the next morning. A dog walker found her body in Calgary later that day, the release said. A medical examiner ruled Rehorek and MacLean were strangled. The deaths of Dvorak and McQueen were undetermined at the time and were investigated as "sudden deaths," police said. Semen was discovered at all three crime scenes, but technology did not exist to develop a DNA profile at the time. Police worked for decades to solve the case. Police confirmed through DNA in 2003 the same suspect was linked to the deaths of Rehorek and MacLean. The suspect's DNA was uploaded to a Canadian DNA database and went without a match for years. Genetic genealogy was used in 2021 to identify the suspect in the killings of Rehorek and MacLean. Srery's connection to Canada was eventually established, and that he had a criminal record of committing violent acts against women. During this time, crime scene evidence was resubmitted to the lab from the Dvorak and McQueen investigation. The same DNA profile identified on both victims matched the DNA from the Rehorek and MacLean killings. Police believed that the same male was responsible for the deaths of all four victims. Using the information provided through genetic genealogy, police began an investigation into Srery, who died of natural causes in prison in 2011. He was serving an eight -years-to-life sentence for raping a woman in 2008 after driving her home from a Coeur d'Alene bar, according to previous S-R reporting. With assistance from Interpol and Idaho State Police, Srery's DNA matched the male DNA profile present on all four Calgary victims. Srery was residing illegally in Canada at the time of the killings, police said. Srery had an extensive criminal record in the U.S. for sex offenses, including rape, kidnapping, burglary and sexual perversion. He appeared to flee the U.S. sometime during 1974 after posting bail for a rape charge in California. He lived under aliases, including Willy Blackman and Rex Long, in 1976 and 1977 in Calgary. Srery lived a transient lifestyle and worked occasionally under the table as a cook. He was adept at frequently changing his appearance, place of residence and vehicles, police said. He lived in Alberta and British Columbia from the 1970s to 2003 when he was deported. Alberta police believe there may be more victims, including unsolved homicides, and asked the public to assist in further establishing Srery's timeline in Canada. Those who recognize Srery or knew him by one of his aliases are asked to call the Alberta RCMP Historical Crime Unit at (780) 509-3306. Those who believe Srery may be responsible for a crime in their jurisdiction should call their local law enforcement. ___ (c)2024 The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.) Visit The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.) at www.spokesman.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. |
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Mount St. Helens struggles to draw tourists 44 years after 1980 eruption
More than four decades after the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption, area tourism — like the mountain’s landscape — is still struggling to return to pre-blast norms. The number of visits to private tourist locations near the volcano have plummeted since that May 18, 1980, morning when a column of ash burst out of Mount St. Helens, eventually killing 57 people, as well as destroying 200 homes, and land used for fishing, hunting and timber harvests. Last year, there was another blow. A landslide took out a portion of the Spirit Lake Memorial Highway and the only access to the U.S. Forest Service’s Johnston Ridge Observatory — the main tourism center on the north side of the mountain, where the eruption’s crater is located. The site is still blocked today. The Mount St. Helens Institute has opened the former Coldwater Ridge Visitor Center as a main stop inside the national volcanic monument. Now renamed the Science and Learning Center, the U.S. Forest Service operates the site on weekends from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. up until May 25, when it will be open daily. The nonprofit institute is still planning for the center’s $35 million redesign to bring indoor lodging back to the mountain, as well as expanding trails and adding more educational classes to the site.
Declining tourism Eco Park Resort is the closest private campground to the volcano. It has six cabins and 10 tent sites, and a network of trails on about 90 acres of wilderness just outside of the national monument. Mark Smith, Eco Park’s owner, said the resort used to average 38 bus tours a day at its peak in 1995, with about 3.4 million visitors staying at the resort per year at that time. But in the past two decades, Eco Park is only doing a fraction of the tourism numbers that it used to. “Now we get about 220,000, 200,000 visitors,” Smith said. Smith’s family has been in the Mount St. Helens tourism business since before the 1980 blast. Their history started with the Spirit Lake Lodge, located at the base of the volcano, which was run as a family business by his parents, Dave and Mariam Smith, in 1970. When the eruption destroyed the lodge, the federal government bought the Smith’s parcel, and the family put the breaks on the tourism industry until 1992, when they began offering off-road access tours to the blast zone. The Smiths bought the property that is now Eco Park Lodge, near Hoffstadt Creek and about 25 minutes away of the blast zone, in 1993. Since then, the Smiths built the resort’s stables and cafe, as well as over 12 miles of trails. For a while, tourism was back on the mountain, Smith said. At its peak in the mid-1990s, he said Eco Park had nine employees and a handful of step-on bus guides, averaged 40 guests a night at their campground and averaged 50-55 guests at their nightly dinner shows. Now, Smith said Eco Park is down to two employees: himself and someone he hired to do lawn maintenance. He estimates he would need about 150 overnight accommodation spots with 500 heads in beds per season to break even. He said tourism options, including lodging, around the mountain are minimal today. The peak of the north side’s mountain is an hour from the few hotels in Castle Rock; if someone wanted to stay overnight indoors near the volcano, the closest options are Smith’s Eco Park and the Mount St. Helens Institute’s Science and Learning Center, the latter of which just started offering overnight stays, making it the only indoor overnight option inside the national monument.
A nonprofit’s plan Despite Smith’s view on tourism declines, Mount St. Helens Institute staff are raising millions of dollars to bring indoor lodging closer to the blast zone, as well to update nearby trails with access to fishing and boating. The first step of the center’s planned multimillion dollar expansion is to add more student accommodations and staff housing so thousands of additional youth can sleep on the mountain. Pilot kayak rentals and camping are also included in this phase. Students participating in one of the institute’s overnight adventures can stay at the center today, in bunk beds that line the wall of the V-shaped building’s large conference room. “It’s kind of like ‘Night at the Museum,’” said Mount St. Helens Institute acting Executive Director Alyssa Hoyt. While the novelty of sleeping in the visitor center is sure to be exciting, Hoyt said the space wasn’t designed for sleeping when first built in 1992. The U.S. Forest Service visitor center closed to the public in 2007, and the institute started partnering with the agency to offer education programs and public events at the site in 2011. In 2022, the Forest Service gave the institute a 30-year permit, offering time to gather funding and build the expansion. With the first phase of the renovation, Hoyt said the goal is to have accommodations for students to stay in groups and in individual cabins. She said the plan is to house 120 participants at a time, increasing the institute’s yearly outdoor school from 500 students to 6,000. The institute also wants to offer overnight stay options in the off-season for nonstudent visitors, said Hoyt, and having those cabins available will offer more options for people who don't want to camp. The second phase of the expansion includes 40 RV/tent sites, expected to serve 5,000 visitors a year, in addition to updating area hiking and mountain biking trails, which would also let people reach spots for fishing and boating. The last phase includes updating the actual center to be more sustainable and better designed for the nonprofit’s outdoor education programs. The nonprofit has raised $1.7 million of its $6.1 million goal for phase one through sources including the Cowlitz Tribal Foundation, the Murdock Foundation, the Washington State Conservation and Recreation Office and individual donations. Hoyt said the institute is looking to raise the rest of the money through private donations, government funding requests and foundations. Next, the institute plans to work with the Forest Service and Cowlitz Public Utilities District to determine what power infrastructure the center will need going forward, and what is allowed inside national monuments. |
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Prep girls track and field: Rainier shows out at district meet, claims team title
Ignited by six event wins and qualifying in 15 of 18 events for state, the Mountaineers piled up 156 points to secure the Class 2B District 4 team championship on Friday at W.F. West High School. It puts Rainier in prime position to make noise at the state meet next week at Zaepfel Stadium in Yakima. Madison Ingram won the 800 and 3,200-meter runs and took second in the 1,600 while Jazzlyn Shumate triumphed in the open 400 in a new PR of 1 minute, 2.34 seconds Acacia Murphy and Anika Plowman teamed with Ingram and Shumate to claim the 1,600 relay in 4:23.12. Murphy picked up two top-three finishes in the 100 and high jump while Plowman won the long jump on a leap of 15 feet, one-half inch and took fourth in the 300 hurdles. Those two joined Shumate and Emma Mathson to take fourth in the 400 relay for Rainier. Haleigh Hanson finished third in the shot put and discus, Angelica Askey placed top-three in the 800 and 1,600 plus Kinsley Barlow was the runner-up in the 3,200. Janess Blackburn took fifth in the shot put and discus plus Zaylee Bravo finished fourth in the discus. Adna qualified 12 events for state and Karsyn Freeman had a hand in three victories. The junior picked up victories in the 100 hurdles and discus, the latter ended with a lifetime best of 126-02, plus ran the second leg in the victorious 400 relay. Freeman was also second in the shot put. Megan Price won the 200 in 27.15 seconds, placed second in the 100 and ran on the Pirates’ third place 800 relay. Sorena Neilson claimed two runner-up finishes in the hurdles and was the third leg in the 1,600 relay that took third. Lillian Boyd (discus) and Lydia Tobin (javelin) finished second while Lillian Wellander (100 hurdles, long jump) and Ava Humphrey (800) picked up top-five finishes to qualify for state. Winlock’s Victoria Sancho won two district individual events with a pair of PR performances. The sophomore won the 100 in 12.92 seconds and jumped over 33 feet to claim the triple jump. She also was second in the 200. Cali Scofield registered top-three finishes in the long jump and 300 hurdles while Kendyl Guenther (high jump) and Natalie Cardenas Hernandez (3,200) placed third and fourth, respectively. Napavine’s Keira O’Neill triumphed in the high jump, tying her PR with a clearance of 5-2 and she was the runner-up in the triple jump. Maddie Dickinson placed top-four in the open 100 and 200 while Haley Gallagher finished fourth in the pole vault. Dickinson and O’Neill teamed with Emily Kang and Jessie McCoy to finish fifth in the 400 relay, snaring the last automatic spot in state. Morton-White Pass and Toledo each sent five events through to next week. Charlarin Madison, McKenzie Hope, Amy Martinez and Madyson Bryant grouped up to win the 800 relay and the same four placed second in the 400 relay. Bryant finished fourth and fifth in the 400 and 200, respectively for the Timberwolves. Karah Fairhart took fifth in the javelin. The Riverhawks’ Haylee Wolfe and Onica Chase will run three events at state. Wolfe won the 1,600 in a new PR of 5:32.80 and placed third in the 800 while Chase finished second in the 400 and fourth in the 200. The freshmen duo also were on the second-place 1,600 relay. Onalaska’s Kiley Talley secured the shot put with a toss of 33-07.75 and Hannah Wilson cleared 8-6 in the pole vault for second place. Sommer Zurinskas took fourth in the high jump. |
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Prep boys track and field: Adna wins district title, sends area-best 10 events to state
Fueled by sprinting star Tyler Price and distance standout Jordan Stout, the Pirates accumulated 101 points – the only team from Friday’s Class 2B District 4 championships – to hit triple digits at W.F. West High School. They qualified 10 events for the state meet next week at Zaepfel Stadium in Yakima. Price swept the 100 and 200-meter dashes while Stout secured the 800 and 1,600. Those two plus Kolton Moon and Cohen Hartley ran on Adna’s runner-up 1,600 relay. Price anchored its fourth place 400 relay. Moon triumphed in the 300 hurdles in a new PR of 41.35 and took third in the 110 hurdles. Gavan Muller placed second in the 110s while Cohen Hartley (800), Bailey Davis (3,200) and Jens Neilson (triple jump) finished in the top-five to qualify for state. Morton-White Pass, Toledo and Onalaska each sent at least eight events through to Yakima. Riverhawks sophomore Trevin Gale and senior Jordan Mckenzie qualified in the 100 and 400 plus joined forces with Treyton Marty and Bryson Trosper to post a victory in the 1,600 relay. Gale will also head to state in the open 200. Marty won the 3,200 and placed second in the 1,600. Adam Kruger leaped 40-01 to set a new PR in the triple jump, good for second place. Cooper Fallon placed fifth in the javelin for Toledo. Clark Henderson (110 hurdles) and Tony Belgiorno (long jump) picked up individual district titles for the Timberwolves. Henderson placed second in the 300 hurdles and Noah Troy was third in the 200. They had two relays and three individuals placed fifth to snare the last automatic state qualifying spot. Loggers sprinter Isaac Fitch ran a new PR of 51.45 seconds to win the open 400 as their only event win. The senior took fourth in the 200 and anchored their 1,600 relay to a third place finish. Justice Miller finished top-four in the discus and shot put plus ran under the automatic time in the 100 to qualify for state. Luke Barrick cleared the pole vault bar at 11 feet even for a new lifetime best and its 400 relay placed second. Ethan Thayer advanced to state in the discus with a throw of 138-10 for Onalaska. Rainier’s Zander Peck (javelin), Zach Hamilton (3200) and Josh Meldrum (100) led its contingent of seven events qualified for state with runner-up finishes. Meldrum placed third in the long jump, Hamilton took fourth in the 1,600 as did Matthew Kenney in the discus. The Mountaineers also sent through their 400 relay. Napavine’s Colin Shields unleashed a throw of 159-04 to win the javelin and set a new PR in the shot put to place fifth. Shields, Austin Lyons (110 hurdles, 300 hurdles and triple jump) plus Case Van Kooten (100, 110 hurdles) all were multi-event state qualifiers. Winlock’s Chase Trodahl will do the distance triple (800, 1,600, 3,200) at state while Ricky Thompson finished fourth in the 400 and kicked off the Cardinals’ fourth place 1,600 relay. |
Washington State News
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Orioles juggle pitchers ahead of rematch vs. Mariners
(Photo credit: Reggie Hildred-USA TODAY Sports)
The Baltimore Orioles will need lots of pitching in an upcoming part of their schedule.
They're just not sure when they might need which pitchers.
But holding the second-best record in the American League allows for some flexibility. That's the approach Orioles manager Brandon Hyde is takinginto the weekend as a series with the visiting Seattle Mariners continues Saturday
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Orioles activate RHP Grayson Rodriguez to start vs. Mariners
(Photo credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports)
The Baltimore Orioles activated right-hander Grayson Rodriguez from the 15-day injured list to start Saturday's game against the visiting Seattle Mariners.
Rodriguez, 24, had been sidelined by shoulder inflammation. He last pitched for the Orioles on April 29.
He is 4-1 with a 3.71 ERA through six starts this season, striking out 37 batters in 34 innings. He has yet to fac
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Columbian Newspaper
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Washington is 2nd in the U.S. for missing and murdered Indigenous women; have recent efforts made headway?
Julian C. Ankney of the Nez Perce Tribe heard stories since she was a child that Indigenous people go missing at higher rates. The statistics showed Indigenous people go missing at a rate 10 times the national average. In 2018, Ankney’s then-26-year-old brother vanished from an Idaho mall. |
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Summer on the Mountain: Mount St. Helens pinnacle of recreation, science and learning
MOUNT ST. HELENS NATIONAL VOLCANIC MONUMENT — The fact that unpredictably moving rock has blocked the road to its prime visitor center says a lot about Mount St. Helens. Much of the landscape around this active volcano is literally new, making it one of the most uniquely beautiful and educational sites to explore in the whole Pacific Northwest. And it’s practically in our backyard. |
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Washougal plans to build new veterans memorial, including space to properly dispose of flags
WASHOUGAL — The city of Washougal has launched an effort to construct a new veterans memorial at Washougal Cemetery. |
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Top Stories: I-5 bridge tolls; cougar caught on camera; serial burglar
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