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| Litchman, Robert, 9-12-2015 CA; Fire victims | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Sep 26 2015, 07:19 AM (251 Views) | |
| Ell | Sep 26 2015, 07:19 AM Post #1 |
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Heart of Gold
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Authorities are continuing their efforts to locate residents of the Valley fire area that have been reported missing. Sheriff Brian Martin said Tuesday that a total of 15 people have been reported missing to the Lake County Sheriff's Office since the fire began Sept. 12. Since then, authorities have slowly worked through the list, he said. Three of the 15 who were reported missing were confirmed to have died during the fire. Lt. Steve Brooks said they include Leonard Neft of Anderson Springs and Bruce Burns of Hidden Valley Lake. Brooks said they have not officially confirmed the identity of a third victim, a 72-year-old woman whose body was found in her home in Anderson Springs. Martin said eight people had still not been located as of early Tuesday morning. However, during the course of the morning, Martin said his staff located six individuals who he said were safe, and had been staying either at shelters or with friends and family. They included Jarad Hotchkiss, 72, of Cobb; Martha Hotchkiss, 66, of Cobb; Lincoln Schumann, 48, of Hidden Valley Lake; Joyana Brookmeyer, 80, of Hidden Valley Lake; Ivan Wright, 83, of Loch Lomond; and Gehlen Palmer, 68, of Middletown, Martin said. Still missing are Robert Taylor Fletcher, 66, of Cobb, and Robert Litchman, 61, of Lower Lake, Martin said. Brooks said that on Sept. 16 a deputy sheriff was asked to conduct a welfare check on Fletcher, who was last heard from by a family member on Sept. 10. The deputy responded to the residence and was unable to locate Fletcher, and reported that the residence was gone and appeared to have burned, Brooks said. Brooks said sheriff’s detectives responded to the residence and conducted a search with two human remains detection dogs and their handlers, which were provided by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. The search provided negative results, as they were unable to locate any remains. Then, on Sept. 17, a deputy sheriff took a missing person's report for Litchman, who a friend reported missing after having not heard from Litchman since the fire broke out, Brooks said. Brooks said Litchman's friend told authorities that he did not believe Litchman had left his residence due to not having transportation. The friend also said Litchman had refused to leave when told to do so by law enforcement. During the evacuation he was seen standing in the driveway waving vehicles by as others were evacuating, Brooks said. Detectives who responded to Litchman's address also found his home had burned. In that case, as in Fletcher's, human remains detection dogs were used to search the home site, but did not locate any remains. Brooks said the sheriff's office is continuing the search for the men, and additional searches by dogs and an anthropologist have been scheduled. Anyone who has seen or knows the whereabouts of either Fletcher or Litchman is asked to contact the Lake County Sheriff’s Office at 707-263-2690 Fletcher on left, Litchman on right |
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Ell Only after the last tree has been cut down; Only after the last fish has been caught; Only after the last river has been poisoned; Only then will you realize that money cannot be eaten. | |
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| Begood | Oct 1 2015, 10:12 PM Post #2 |
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Advanced Member
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Suicide caused fire that destroyed 11 homes in Monterey County, officials say Tassajara Fire A helicopter makes a water drop on a wildfire hotspot on Sept. 20 in Carmel Valley, Calif. (Vern Fisher / Associated Press) Lee Romney and Frank ShyongContact Reporters A fire that destroyed 11 homes in Monterey County over the weekend was sparked by someone committing suicide, officials said Wednesday. The Monterey County Sheriff's Department said in a statement that a body was found at the site where the Tassajara fire began Saturday afternoon amid windy, hot conditions. Officials did not identify the person or give details on how the fire started. They said an investigation was ongoing. The fire burned more than 1,000 acres. Meanwhile, to the north, Lake County sheriff's officials said Wednesday that human remains thought to belong to 66-year-old Robert "Bob" Taylor Fletcher were found in the Cobb area, bringing the Valley fire's death toll to four. About 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, deputies and detectives searching the Valley fire burn area found the remains. While a positive identification has not been made, "based on the location and evidence found at the Cobb location," the remains are presumed to be Fletcher's. Robert Taylor Fletcher, 66, of Cobb was reported missing Sept. 16 in Lake County's Valley fire. Remains believed to be his were found Sept. 22, but no positive identification has been made. (Lake County Sheriff's Department) Human remains-detection dogs had earlier searched Fletcher's Cobb home, which was destroyed by the fire, without finding him, and an anthropologist had been called in to assist. See the most-read stories this hour >> Also missing is Robert Edward Litchman, 61, of Lower Lake, whose home was destroyed. Dogs searched that location but found nothing. Litchman was reported missing by a friend, who said that he had refused to evacuate and that he was last seen standing in his driveway waving vehicles by as others fled, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. Valley fire's unfolding nightmare revealed in emergency logs He did not have transportation, the friend reported. The remains of three other victims of the fast-moving blaze — two in Anderson Springs and one in Hidden Valley Lake — were found last week. The Sheriff's Department is encouraging anyone with missing loved ones to file a missing persons report by calling (707) 263-2690. |
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| Begood | Jan 9 2016, 07:02 AM Post #3 |
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Fourth body found in burned rubble of Valley Fire Cal Fire: Body presumed to be that of Robert Fletcher, 66 UPDATED 12:10 PM PDT Sep 23, 2015 Courtesy of Lake County Sheriff's Office LAKE COUNTY, Calif. (KCRA) —Another body was found in the burned rubble of Lake County after the Valley Fire tore through the area, officials said. FEDERAL MONEY WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR VALLEY FIRE VICTIMS Middletown fire destructon President Barack Obama signed a disaster declaration for the Valley Fire and ordered federal aid to help victims Tuesday. MORE VALLEY FIRE DESTROYS MORE THAN 1,780 STRUCTURES calaveras high school returns Fire officials announced that the Valley Fire has destroyed nearly 1,800 structures, making it California's third worst wildfire in history. MORE 2 MORE BODIES FOUND IN VALLEY FIRE, BRINGING DEATH TOLL TO 3 valley fire The Lake County Sheriff's Department said human remains of two men were found in the burn area of the Valley Fire, bringing the death toll to three people. MORE Cal Fire said the body is presumed to be that of Robert Taylor Fletcher, 66, who was reported missing Sept. 16. His home was destroyed in the fire. Fletcher's body was found Tuesday night in his burned down Cobb Mountain home. Robert Litchman, 61, of Lake County, was still missing as of Wednesday, according to officials. Fletcher is the fourth person to die in the Valley Fire. Three other people were found dead in the rubble of that blaze last week. They were Bruce Beven Burns, 65, Leonard Neft, 69, and Barbara McWilliams, 72. Cadaver dogs located the men in the Hidden Valley and Anderson Springs areas. Neft, a former newspaper reporter, was found dead near his burnt car after what might have been an attempt to escape, his daughter Joselyn Neft said. His wife had asked him to leave, but he said the fire looked far away. Burns' body was found in a building on the Lake County grounds of his brother's recycling business, where Burns also lived. McWilliams was found dead in her Anderson Springs home. A total of six people have died in the Valley and Butte wildfires that burned in Lake County and Calaveras and Amador counties http://www.kcra.com/california-wildfires/f...y-fire/35436802 |
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