Police reopen case in boy's creek drowning

Police reopen case in boy's creek drowning

The Associated Press

SHELTON, Mason County - Sheriff's deputies are investigating whether any foul play might have been involved in the October drowning of a 10-year-old boy.

Officials initially believed the boy accidentally drowned Oct. 9 in Brown's Creek near Shelton while on a fishing trip with his adoptive father and a friend.

But Mason County sheriff's deputies began investigating the death as suspicious about six weeks ago, Mason County Sheriff Steve Whybark said.

Whybark declined to discuss specifics of the case, which was reopened after an insurance company or companies contacted Mason County. But KING-TV reported the parents had taken out a $650,000 insurance policy on the boy.

Wednesday, six Mason and Thurston county officers searched the Lacey home of the boy's parents.

A family pickup was towed away, and a computer and other items were taken. No charges have been filed.

Neighbors said they were shocked when police arrived yesterday to search the family home. One neighbor, who asked not to be identified, said it's much too soon to know whether the father was responsible for his son's death.

The drowning was horrible, she said, "but it's much worse to suggest the parents had anything to do with."

"Believe me, they're not horrible people, they're not monsters," she said. She also wondered why police would suspect the father, when he invited a friend along on the fishing trip. "If you murdered your son that day, would you ask a witness to come along?"

She said the family also has a 12-year-old daughter.

Police, meanwhile, say they're looking for evidence to substantiate the suspicious death, said Mason County sheriff's Detective Mike Frank.

"There's lots of little flags," Whybark said. "It's pretty unusual for the insurance company to initiate the investigation."

The boy's father had told deputies that he slipped under the water while they were fishing, and that he had a hard time flagging down a driver with a cell phone after he pulled the boy out of the creek and tried to revive him.

The boy had a head injury, Whybark said. Forensic experts looked into how that was caused, but the county has not released the results.