Tag: washington

  • Jamie Lynn Drake’s body found

    Missing woman’s body believed found:

    Jamie Lynn Drake, who I told you about here, has been found but sadly not alive…

    ADDY, Wash. — The search for a 19-year-old Mead woman ended Friday in rural Stevens County, where detectives apparently located the body of Jamie Lynn Drake under the floorboards of a tiny cabin.

    The suspect, 20-year-old Kevin Wayne Newland, allegedly led detectives to the site in a late-night drive through the forested back roads northwest of Addy, Wash.

    “They said, ‘OK, why are we here?’ He walked over and pulled open the hatch and walked away,’” said Sgt. Dave Reagan of the Spokane County Sheriff’s Department.

    The discovery of the body, wrapped in a blue plastic tarp, ended the statewide search for Drake, who disappeared on June 23. Reagan said detectives believe that Drake was killed at her apartment and her body moved to the cabin.

    Drake’s family released a statement on Friday thanking law enforcement for their work and urging families “to celebrate what they have.”

    “We should all be reminded that life is very precious and we should let all of those around us know how special they are to us,” the family said.

    After a statewide alert, Newland was arrested Tuesday in King County when he was found driving the Mustang.

    According to a search warrant filed in Spokane County District Court, Newland told one acquaintance that he bought the car in Kennewick, Wash., for $3,200 from someone a guy who just got out of prison; he told a second friend that he bought it in a bar.

    The court documents said Newland later told a detective that he bought the car from a man male in Spokane named Jamie, who did not have the car’s title.

    Arrested on suspicion of possessing stolen property, Newland was transferred to Spokane on Thursday afternoon. Within hours, he led detectives to the cabin, Reagan said.

    “They just kept talking to him and chipping away,” Reagan said.

    Stevens County sheriff’s personnel guarded the cabin overnight, as Spokane County officers worked to secure a search warrant.

    “We had great teamwork throughout the state,” said Spokane Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich, who traveled to the site himself. “It brought this to a very, very short resolution.”

    By mid-afternoon on Friday, sheriff’s deputies had finished the recovery at the cabin, which they believe is owned by Newland’s mother. The small red cabin, ringed with white Christmas lights, is on Marble Valley Basin Road.

    In Stevens County, Newland has prior convictions for second-degree theft, vehicle prowling and theft of a firearm, according a bench warrant issued on Thursday.

    Reagan declined to discuss a possible motive or the cause of death, pending an autopsy.

    The Sheriff’s Office said additional charges are expected to be filed against Newland in the coming days.

    On Friday, about 70 friends gathered at MEAD Alternative High School, where Drake had graduated in the spring.

    “There are a lot of people who were touched by Jamie,” said Dave Vaughn, a counselor at Mead High School. “One person said, ‘If you met Jamie once, you were impacted for life.’ “

    After graduation, Drake moved in with her friend Jordan Sheffield at Deer Run Apartments and was looking toward the future.

    Newland can now be added to the MySpace Rogues Gallery.

    My thoughts and prayers go out to the Drake family.

  • MISSING: Jamie Lynn Drake

    Spokane Teen Jamie Lynn Drake, Missing Since June 23rd:

    Another fine article at Crime Library from crime blogging’s godfather Steve Huff. The article is about Jamie Lynn Drake of Spokane, Washington, who went missing recently. Her car was found being driven by a former male roommate…

    Spokane, Wash. (Crime Library) The last time anyone saw Jamie Lynn Drake, age 19, she was at a friend’s apartment in Spokane, Washington (WA). That was on Friday morning, June 23, 2006.

    Jamie’s car, a 1993 Ford Mustang, was found on Tuesday night, June 27, 2006. Spokane police arrested a 20-year-old acquaintance of Jamie Lynn Drake’s named Kevin Wayne Newland (Spokane press reports spell Kevin’s last name ‘Newlund’), who was driving the car. At one time Newland roomed with Jamie and a female roommate.

    Kevin Newland was charged with possession of stolen property.

    Jamie Lynn Drake is still missing.

    According to articles published in the Spokane Spokesman-Review published on June 28, 2006, Jamie left work at 11:30 on Thursday the 22nd. She was going to visit a man she’d recently met.

    Her makeup bag was later found in the man’s apartment. His name is being withheld, but authorities in Spokane indicate that he is cooperating with the investigation.

    Here is the MySpace of Jamie Lynn Drake. And here is the MySpace of the man arrested for driving her car, Kevin Wayne Newland.

  • Creeper busted by 12-year-old girl

    Creeper busted by 12-year-old girl

    Man Allegedly Lures Girl For Sex Through MySpace:

    Here’s another story of a creeper who thought he was meeting a 12-year-old girl but is instead met by law enforcement…

    VANCOUVER, Wash. — A 26-year-old man is behind bars after allegedly making a date with a 12-year-old girl he met online.

    Jeramie Eidem is behind bars in Clark County. He will be back in court Friday.

    Detectives say he carried on a sexually explicit cyber conversation with a 12-year-old on the popular Web site MySpace and tried to meet with her.

    Detectives say the girl did the right thing. She called her mom into the situation when she realized what was happening on the MySpace Web site. The mom called the sheriff’s office. A meeting was set up, and deputies arrested Eidem, who they say drove up from Columbia City, Ore., with plans to have sex with the girl.

    “An arrangement was made for them to meet him at a place in Hazel Dell, and he came over there, and instead he met us,” Sgt. Craig Hogman said.

    Detectives say Eidem knew the girl was 12, but that didn’t matter to him. In fact, the meeting was set up in a phone conversation after the Internet chat ended.

    Detectives have seized Eidem’s computer from his home to investigate this case. They say it’s possible that he’ll also face federal charges because he crossed state lines in the commission of the crimes.

    Luckily, in this case, the girl and her mom had enough sense to realize what was going on, and this scumbag will hopefully go away for a long time,