Robert Charles Durfee, 79, of Fairhaven, passed away on January 16,
2021, surrounded by his family, after a valiant fight against
Alzheimer’s. He was born to Bradford and Agnes Durfee on June 9,
1941, in Fall River, Massachusetts.
Bob attended
school in Fall River, graduating from Durfee High School in 1959. He
had joined the Navy prior to his graduation and upon completion of
his basic training, became the sailor who never set foot on a ship,
working on heavy equipment as a “Sea-Bee” with duty stations in
Port Huaneme and Okinawa, before ending his Naval career at
Centerville Naval Base in Ferndale. Upon his discharge in 1963, he
remained in Fortuna, moving his heavy equipment experience to Pacific
Lumber Company. Shortly thereafter, he met the love of his life,
Ellen Hines, and they were married on December 20, 1964, at the
height of the 1964 Flood. The family at home were sure that the
newlyweds had been lost to the floodwaters, but instead they were
spending a memorable honeymoon bunking with other refugees near
Benbow.
Bob went to work
for the City of Fortuna in the Water Department and soon became a
volunteer firefighter, working his way to the rank of Captain. He
also took on the management of the Fire Department’s Roller Skating
rink, which he continued until 1986 when FFD Skating transitioned to
the management of the City.
Bob and Ellen’s
married life took a calmer turn after their exciting honeymoon, and
they welcomed two daughters to their family — Beth, in February
1966, and Wendy, in November 1968. Bob became an integral part of
Ellen’s large family, and they also traveled with the girls
frequently to the East Coast to visit Bob’s parents and extended
family in Massachusetts.
In September
1977, Bob entered professional fire service, as Assistant Fire Chief
for the Fairhaven Fire Department, serving the pulp mills on the
Samoa Peninsula. He served as an active member of the Humboldt County
Fire Prevention Officers and the Arson Task Force. He retired from
the then named Samoa Peninsula Fire in 1996, but continued as a
volunteer Chief for several more years. In 1999, he went to work for
Hydesville Water Department and re-joined the Fortuna Fire Department
as a volunteer.
In addition to
his time with his family and his dedication to his work, Bob spent
twenty years obtaining his Associates’ degree from College of the
Redwoods, usually one class at a time, graduating in June 1991. He
also continued his professional education with stints at the Fire
Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland and Asilomar in Monterey, California.
Bob was the
nicest, friendliest guy you could ever want to meet, and his
involvement in so many organizations made him many friends in his
community. He was a member of the Elks Lodge,
joining only after he could be a fully participating member; Humboldt
Ski Club’ and The Humboldt County Stamp Club. He was
regular donor to the Northern California Community Blood Bank, with
lifetime donations in excess of twenty gallons. Bob was also an
active participant in all of Ellen’s multiple Board organizations,
helping anywhere he could, be it setting up tables for meetings or
putting stamps on mailings.
In 2018, Bob
joined one more organization, Humboldt
Alzheimer’s Association. He was diagnosed with this insidious
disease in 2016 and, as always, stepped up to do what he could. Bob
became a spokesperson for Humboldt’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s. He
spoke up in hopes that others would as well; his message was
that the more people admitted their own diagnosis and acknowledged
the severity of this health crisis, the more likely that funding
could be made available to find a cure. He always understood that his
efforts were not going to help him, but were undertaken to help
others. To this end, he also testified before the State Assembly
Health Committee in support of a bill to finance more research into
finding a cure for Alzheimer’s. His perspective was always, ‘Why
not me?’, in a battle that so many others are also embroiled in
every day. Bob also attempted to participate in drug trials, but his
own disease process and his remote location in Humboldt County
ultimately made that impossible.
In the last
months of 2020, Bob’s condition had worsened to the point that
Hospice of Humboldt came into the picture. The Durfees had long had
an association with Hospice, as Ellen was on that Board of Directors
for 11 years. This organization soon
demonstrated why that had been a worthwhile choice in the amazing
care and assistance they provided in the last month of Bob’s life.
The nurses, aides, and counselors—both social and spiritual—were
a Godsend, to Bob, and to the rest of the family as well. They were
able to help keep him comfortable while also preparing the rest of
the family for the imminent. His nurse, Christy,
was able to identify that his days were drawing to a close, allowing
Beth and Wendy to be present with Ellen, and two of his
grandchildren, as he finally slipped to a more peaceful rest.
Bob
was preceded in death by his parents; his brother, Bradford Durfee,
father-in-law, Ernest Hines, brother-in-law, Randy Hines, and his
son-in-law, Tracy Collins. He leaves behind his wife and best friend
of 57 years, Ellen; his daughter and son-in-law, Beth Ellyn &
James Harville; his daughter, Wendy Sue Collins; grandchildren,
Nathaniel Grow, Ryan Truby & wife Kaylee, Hollyn Harville, and
Jackson Harville; great-grand daughters, Baylee Sue Grow and
(soon-to-arrive) baby girl Truby; mother-in-law, Vivienne Hines-Betz;
brothers-in-law, Ben Hines & wife Judy, Craig Hines & partner
Shelley, and Joe Hines; numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins, by
both blood and marriage; as well as many other family members and
dear friends.
At
this time, services will be deferred until the people who loved and
were loved by Bob can gather in a fitting fashion. In the meantime,
the family would be honored by donations in Bob’s name to the
Humboldt County Walk to End Alzheimer’s, Hospice of Humboldt,
Fortuna Fire Department or Samoa Peninsula Fire Department.
###
The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Bob Durfee’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.
John
Craig Wilson Sr, born January 6, 1946, went to have a Heavenly
reunion with his parents on December 31, 2020. Leave it to dad to
leave a crappy year with a bang. John was born in Quincy, California
to Forrest and Berniece Wilson. Born fourth
of five
children, his brothers and sister moved often as grandpa was a lumber
mill
foreman with a knack for bringing struggling mills back to life.
In
the fall of 1960, the family moved to Hoopa, where he attended and
graduated from Hoopa High School in 1964. In April of 1966 dad joined
the United States Air Force and was sent to Vietnam. He was honorably
discharged and returned to Hoopa in February of 1970 where he met and
married Mary Nelson. John attended trade school to learn to repair
appliances and worked at Montgomery Wards in Eureka from 1972 until
1999. He and his mom had a couple of kids in 1971 (John Wilson Jr)
and 1974 (Jana Wilson-Rainwater).
He
spent much of our childhood with my Uncle Frank building and racing
dragsters at Samoa Drag strip. He never met a machine he couldn’t
fix or a problem that he couldn’t build something to solve. You had a
need for something? No worries dad could build it for you. Probably
out of a bleach bottle, metal coffee can, and a vacuum cleaner
engine. It may not be pretty but it always worked. Tired of crushing
cans? No worries John’s got a can crusher that has a rack that will
hold a twelve-pack, made out of old washing machine parts. That thing
was built over 30 years ago, still works, and is used often.
Home
improvements were just reasons to call on my uncles and his lifelong
friend Rob Irwin, buy all the beer at the corner store, and
get-er-done. Not to say there were no issues. I mean you’re not going
to have that much alcohol and my family without someone falling off
the roof through a fiberglass awning right?
During
our teenage years, dad used to always joke that he would never know
who he would find asleep in the living room every morning. Our house
was a home for many more than the two kids my parents actually made.
Our friends always knew that if they needed a dad that we would share
ours. And we did, often. There are many kids in their 40s who call
him Dad to this day.
Mom
and Dad divorced in 2002 and Dad met and married his wife Patty in
2006. They spent their retirement in the yards gardening, dad
tinkering on whatever project he was currently working on and
spoiling their dogs more than he ever spoiled us as children. He and
mom were friends until the end and he would often drive over to bring
her to spend a weekend with him and Patty. Dad was a proud Veteran
and proud grandparent.
John
is survived by his wife Patrice Wilson, his children John Wilson Jr
(Peggy), Jana Rainwater, Billy Rainwater. His stepdaughter Renee
McCaghren (Ted). His siblings Clarence Wilson, Dan Wilson, Sandy
Trammel, and Chuck Wilson. Grandchildren Courtney Wilson, Jeremey
Wilson, Ryleigh Rainwater and Valya Rainwater-Schumacher (Martin),
Kenzie and Kole McCaghren. He loved his grandbabies more than
anything.
He
is also survived by his ex-wife Mary Wilson, and lifelong friends
Frank Mott, Rob Irwin, and Bob Nelson.
He
was preceded in death by his parents Forrest and Berniece Wilson.
A
celebration of life will be held at a later date.
###
The obituary above was submitted on behalf of John Wilson Sr.’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.
Marilyn “Mickie” Mckenzie Feb. 19, 1923 - Dec. 25, 2020
Mickie passed away in the early morning hours of December 25th, with
her daughter Darla by her side. Mickie was born in Eureka, attended
grammar school in Korbel and Crannell and graduated from Arcata High
in 1940. Following graduation, she attended French Hospital School
of Nursing, in San Francisco, where she earned her degree as a
Registered Nurse. Homer and Mickie were married January 27th, 1944.
Mickie worked in San Francisco and then moved to Norfolk, Virginia,
(where Homer was serving in the Navy), continuing her career in
nursing. After the war they moved and settled in Eureka where Mickie
worked as a nurse at St. Joseph Hospital. Mickie retired after 20
years as a medical transcriptionist at Mad River Hospital.
Homer
and Mickie had three children Mike, Diane, and Darla. Homer and
Mickie enjoyed spending time at Clear Lake and Trinity Lake, boating
and picnicking with their children and grandchildren. Her
grandchildren have many happy memories of stories she read to them
and cookies she baked. After Homer’s passing, Mickie joined High
Noon Lionesses and enjoyed travelling to events with her sister
Janie, brother-in-law Ralph and good friend Golden. She also loved
attending her grandchildren and great grandchildren’s sporting
events, whether at home or on the road. Mickie was a dedicated
Warriors fan and enjoyed watching games on TV, she also was a member
of the Karuk Tribe and enjoyed attending the Elder’s Event with her
grandson and his wife. When Mickie was 70, she attended an AC/DC
concert with her daughter and grandson commenting, she thought she
was the oldest person there. She may have been right! Prior to
passing, Mickie was looking forward to the birth of Eric’s daughter
Erika’s baby.
Mickie
is survived by daughters, Diane (Frank) Toste and Darla (Eric Foster)
McKenzie and sister-in-law, Jean McNeill, grandchildren Joseph (Jen)
McKenzie, Jeffrey (Angie) McKenzie, Rachel (Kevin) Ward, Tahnia
(Sean) Campbell, Ami (Jason) Cueto, Heather Bottino, Cody and Caitlin
Langlois, great grandchildren, Paul and Dellard McKenzie, Bryce Ward,
Colton and Kaylin Campbell, Anthony and Michael Toste, Alex Jimenez,
Samantha and Marcus McBride, Lacie and Mia Cueto, and numerous nieces
and nephews. Mickie was preceded in death by her parents Robert and
Maude McNeill, stepmother Lois McNeill, husband Homer, son Mike
McKenzie, brother Bob McNeill, sister Janie Moon, brother-in-law
Ralph Moon, grandson Frank D. Toste, great granddaughter Rhianna
McKenzie, son-in-law Paul Bottino, and several nieces and nephews.
Due to COVID, there will be a graveside service at a later date. In
lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the charity of your choice.
###
The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Mickie Mckenzie’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.
Yesterday, the state ordered a pause on a batch of Moderna vaccine that had caused a high number of adverse reactions at an event in Southern California; that batch happened to account for 90 percent of the vaccine that Humboldt County has on hand.
Today, Dr. Ian Hoffman, Humboldt County health officer, addressed the community about this, as well as what he knows about certain variants of the virus that have been identified, one of which has been found here in Humboldt. These two topics were the subject of most of today’s media questions, as well.
Video above, rough transcript below.
###
Good afternoon Dr. Hoffman, thank you for joining us for the January
19 media availability. Would you like to start by addressing the community?
Yes, thank you. It was a news-packed weekend. We heard of two things that will impact the
COVID response in Humboldt County, this weekend. First and foremost, over the weekend in San Diego
at a mass-vaccination event there were a higher number than expected adverse events. Upwards of
ten people had severe allergic reactions at that event. Due to that, the state has decided to pause
a large lot of Moderna vaccine which was 330,000 doses in the state of California. Locally, we’ve
been impacted by that as we had 4,100 of those doses in our freezers scheduled to go out in arms
this week, as well as next week. And some had already gone into arms here in Humboldt County.
We are trying our best to try to come up with solutions to have this not slow down the
effort. We worked with a lot of our partners over the weekend to make sure that all of our clinics
that are already scheduled can continue to go forward. There were some clinics that had not
been scheduled yet that will likely be cancelled due to this unless we hear of other news.
I think that this affects our 75 and older group the most because they were the next up to start
vaccinating this week. We are continuing to work through the remainder of the phase 1A
healthcare workers who are out there. And we have not had to cancel any of those appointments.
This also will affect some - many second doses of Moderna for people who got their first dose
four weeks ago.
The other news that we heard over the weekend was about the variant
that was found in multiple counties across the state of California. We know very little about this variant. We know that it was involved in one large cluster
in an emergency room at Kaiser in Santa Clara, California.
And we know that one person here in Humboldt County had that sequencing come back in a random
sequencing where they were doing surveillance for different types of variants. We know very little
other than that. We will continue to try and find out information in the coming days and update
the community when we know more on both of these things.
Lastly, I want to just make sure that we
put out some information about the 75 and older group that is going to be impacted the most.
We want to find out who these folks are who might not be able to get it from their
primary care doctor. We recognize that not every primary care doctor in Humboldt County
is authorized to give COVID vaccine. So, we will be putting out in the coming days an interest form
for anyone who is not being contacted by their primary care provider who is a
vaccinator so we can gather that information and get you information about how
we can get you into a vaccine in the coming weeks.
From the North Coast News: With a lot of the Moderna vaccine sitting on the shelf for the
time being, what does this mean for people who already got their first dose and are waiting
for another dose of the Moderna vaccine? Are you aware of anyone
in Humboldt County that will not get their second dose on time? How many?
As I mentioned, there were many of those who were scheduled for second doses - 1,900 of them of
the 4,100 were second doses. So I’ve asked all of those to be paused for now until we can figure out
what to do. We have instructed not to pause any first doses from other lots that were slated for
first doses. So those will continue this week.
From the Redwood News: With the County pausing
the administration of the single lot of Moderna vaccines, how will the County’s
vaccination plan be impacted? How is the pause going to impact the start of phase 1B?
Will the timeline for vaccinations locally be delayed or shifted back at all?
Yes. There will be delays due to this. It is a large majority of the vaccine
that was supposed to go out this week. We are trying to find local and state replacements,
but it’s going to delay specifically the rollout to the 75 year and older
that was planned to start this week.
From the Redwood News: You mentioned that
the lot of Moderna vaccines made up as much as 90-percent of the doses the County has on hand.
Exactly how many doses is that? How many of them were first doses? Second doses?
Is there any plan to receive replacement doses in the meantime? What’s the next step?
So, as I mentioned, about 4,100 of those doses are affected by the pause. 1,900
of them were second doses, slated to be second doses and 2,200 were slated to be first doses.
We had been instructed to use as many as 50% of our second doses as first doses. So that
also impacts the first doses we had planned to give out this week. The next steps,
again we’re working with our partners to try to see if there is any vaccine that we can use up
this week to make sure we don’t have to cancel any clinics. We’ve asked for help from the state,
but this is affecting a lot of counties across the state - it’s 330,000 doses statewide.
So, the next steps if we get approval to use the vaccine, we will immediately start using it again,
or if we get replacement, we can open up some appointments that we had planned on. We do
not plan to cancel any appointments that have already been scheduled for this week though.
From the Redwood News: Are you able to give us a number of how many people are
impacted by the pause this week? I.e., have any vaccination appointments been cancelled or
postponed this week? Are you planning on needing to cancel or reschedule anything?
Yeah, none cancelled. Probably a thousand or more delayed.
From the Lost Coast Outpost: Have public health officials identified
exactly what was in this particular lot that may have triggered the allergic reactions?
No, we do not know.
From the Lost Coast Outpost: Will the pause in administering shots from this lot cause
delays for local residents waiting to receive their second doses? If so,
will that affect the efficacy of the vaccine?
It will absolutely delay second doses and
that should not change the efficacy of the vaccine at all.
From the Times-Standard: Has Public Health effectively halted vaccine administration
or are the 10% of vaccines that are still considered viable being administered?
How long would it take to deplete that 10%?
So, we are using every available dose this week in Humboldt County. We will not have to cancel
any clinics, but expansion is greatly reduced and I expect that we will have very little
on hand at the end of this week. So next week’s plans are very much up in the air.
From the Times-Standard: When are the next batch of vaccines expected to be received?
We’re getting new vaccine today. Some of those are Moderna, we don’t know
what lot they are. They might be the same lot. We’re also getting second doses of Pfizer today,
which are already slated to go into arms for the match of people who got those three weeks ago.
From the Times-Standard: Did the state or CDC provide a timeline explaining when
they should wrap up their investigation of the potentially problematic Moderna batch?
I was just on a call this morning with the state and we did not hear anything about a timeline
for a resolution of this.
From the North Coast News:
Is it safe to assume that the outbreak of COVID-19 at the Granada Rehabilitation and
Wellness Center is over? Are there active cases of the virus within that center?
Yes, that case is closed and we are not seeing any new active cases there, thankfully.
From the Times-Standard: Can you reiterate how
people 75 and older who are interested in receiving the vaccine can get one?
Through their primary care provider or contacting Public Health?
Yes, so if you have a provider who is one of the approved COVID vaccine vaccinators,
you will be contacted by them on how you can schedule an appointment.
A lot of these - there is still a very limited number, so a lot of these providers who are
working through their list are trying to start with those at highest risk like the
oldest population, or people with high-risk conditions who are over 75. They are actively
working on that, but there is a small number of vaccines, and a small number of appointments.
Obviously, everyone in those practices will not be able to get immediate appointments,
so wait for outreach from them if your doctor is an approved vaccine provider.
As I mentioned in the upfront, Public Health we’re working on a way to gather
information on those who do not have a provider who is an approved vaccinator.
We recognize there are many smaller practices, there are people who don’t have insurance,
or maybe they have a doctor outside of Humboldt County. So that interest form is going to go live
in the coming days and we will put out media once that is up and running. So those are the
two primary ways that you are going to be able to get into an appointment if you are over 75.
From the Times-Standard: How is the virus spreading in the community right now
from Public Health’s perspective? Is the situation worsening, improving or stable?
So it continues to spread in the same way we’ve seen. It’s spreading through close contacts,
through gatherings and through travel.
From the North Coast News: The CDPH is saying that
a new variant of COVID-19 has been identified in Humboldt County. How serious of a development is
this for the community, and how long has Humboldt Public Health known about its prevalence here?
Is the county aware of other potentially more contagious variants in the county currently?
So we were alerted to this yesterday. We do not know the significance of this variant
and we do not know of any other highly contagious variants that have been found in Humboldt County.
From the Two Rivers Tribune: With Humboldt County at the highest level of the Blueprint for
a Safer Economy table, what more can be done to protect communities from the 452R variant strain,
as it is believed to be a super-spreader?
I think it’s a little early to make assumptions about the variant and what it means.
When evidence is there, if this is a more highly contagious variant, we will have to
have the discussion about what kinds of efforts need to be in place to slow the spread of this.
I will also add, nothing changes about the things that we have been asking. We continue to - even
with these highly contagious variants like the one from U.K. - things like masking, distancing,
avoiding gatherings, those are the things that will continue to slow the spread of that
virus, as well as the other variants that we’ve seen throughout this pandemic.
From Reporter Daniel Mintz: The CDC has announced a finding that the B.1.1.7.
or UK variant is growing exponentially and could be the predominant strain in the U.S.
By March. What are the implications of this for coronavirus spread and vaccine effectiveness,
and what kind of local planning is underway for response?
So we don’t know of any impact on vaccine efficacy, we have not heard that
there is an effect on the efficacy of the vaccine. So we continue to plan
vaccination events with that in mind. Other than that, nothing else changes about the
measures we take to slow the spread of this variant.
From Reporter Daniel Mintz: The CDPH has announced that the L452R variant, which has caused several
large outbreaks in Santa Clara county, is becoming more prevalent and has been identified in
Humboldt. At a January 17 CDPH press briefing, the virologist who conducted genome sequencing on the
strain expressed concerns about its potential for increased transmissibility and vaccine resistance.
What kind of information has county public health been given on this variant?
We know mostly what is out in the media. We were alerted to it yesterday.
I only know of one outbreak in Santa Clara at the Kaiser ER from the Christmas costume event,
otherwise, we have not heard of any other outbreaks with this. Info is coming out on it,
hopefully more today and we will continue to let people know whatever we know.
From Reporter Daniel Mintz: How long did it take between the time Humboldt’s L452R
samples were submitted for genome sequencing and the results?
Is there any indication of the degree to which L452R is present in the county?
These were from samples that were part of a surveillance project, so we’re not specifically
asking for this variant. The state virologist were searching to see how far back the variant went.
It’s my understanding they found these samples as far back as September, throughout the state.
And the one found in Humboldt County was from November and was only one
single sample that has been found so far. Others, many other samples have been looked at
and if we find out there are more of them, we’ll let you know. We have submitted samples
recently to the state to look for other variants and I assume they will also be
looking for this variant. So when we hear back from the state on those samples, we’ll update.
From the Redheaded Blackbelt: In regard to the variant from the UK (which is found in Southern
California currently), can you explain the reasons for it being more highly transmissible,
and exactly why it is capable of passing from person to person more easily?
I think that is still very much under study
and even the amount of transmissibility is still being debated. I think what we can say is it is
more contagious than other variants, but not sure yet exactly how much more or how that happens.
From the Redheaded Blackbelt: What do you know about the Covid-19 variant that has
been detected in Humboldt County, as far as symptomatology as well as transmissibility?
How does this compare to or differ from the COVID-19 that we have been experiencing so far?
So the new variant we know very little about. I think from just knowing about the other variants,
symptomatology should be the same. The UK variant doesn’t show any worse outcomes, it’s just more
transmissible. So I would expect that potentially, if this variant is found to be anything,
it might be more transmissible than others, but we don’t suspect that it’s causing any worse disease.
From the Times-Standard:
Can you provide some statistics about the L452R variant in Humboldt County:
Number of local cases found? The percentage found in local cases? Is it linked to any local deaths?
So, one case and no, there was no death involved in that case.
From the Times-Standard: Can you talk about how the L452R variant might impact vaccine efficacy
and whether the vaccine protects against the variant?
We have no evidence at this time that any variants are affecting vaccine efficacy.
In accordance with California Penal Code §832.7 (SB 1421, 2019) and in the interest of
public transparency, the Eureka Police Department (EPD) is releasing more records
associated with the fatal officer-involved shooting of John Karl Sieger (age 51) that
occurred on July 23, 2020 in the 2800 block of Lowell Street. This material can be
accessed through the Transparency Portal on the Eureka Police Department’s website under the
section “Officer Involved Shootings.”
(Warning: The video/audio material may contain graphic and disturbing images along with strong
language. Viewer discretion is advised.)
Records being released include:
All investigative reports
EPD internal shooting review
EPD criminal investigation
o Humboldt County Multi-Agency Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT)
investigative documentation
Photographic, audio and video evidence
Transcripts and recordings of interviews
Autopsy report
Please refer to the attached addendum [link] for additional details including material being
redacted/withheld, next steps, and further record releases expected in coming months.
The Eureka Police Department would also like to provide the following important
information for those who may be in crisis and need help:
If you or someone you know is experiencing a psychiatric emergency and needs
immediate help, please contact 911. Help is also available through our local 24-hour
crisis line (707-445-7715) or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
If you are a military veteran in crisis or concerned about one, connect with the Veterans
Crisis Line to reach caring, qualified responders with the Department of Veterans
Affairs. (https://www.veteranscrisisline.net/.) This support is free, confidential and
available everyday 24/7 to all veterans, their family members and friends. Call 1-800-
273-8255 (and press ‘1’) or text 838255.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline also provides 24/7 free and confidential support
for people in distress along with crisis resources for you or your loved ones: 1-800-
273-TALK (8255) or text the Crisis Text Line (text HELLO to 741741).
Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:
On Jan. 19, 2021, at about 12:01 a.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies conducted a vehicle investigation on a vehicle on Highway 169 near Hoopa.
Roman Jay Price
The driver of the vehicle, 28-year-old Roman Jay Price of Hoopa, was identified as being on active CDC Parole. Deputies searched the vehicle pursuant to the terms of Price’s parole and located drug paraphernalia. Upon further investigation, deputies learned that the vehicle Price had been driving was reported stolen out of Crescent City. As deputies attempted to take Price into custody, Price began resisting, knocking the arresting deputy to the ground. Price then fled on foot, jumping over a guard rail and down an embankment into a wooded area. Sheriff’s deputies pursued Price and conducted an extensive search of the area but were unable to locate Price.
Price is wanted on charges of possession of a stolen vehicle (PC496D(A)), obstructing a public officer (PC 148(a)(1)), petty theft (PC 488), possession of a controlled substance (HS 11377(A)) and violation of parole (PC 3056). Price is described as an American Indian male, approximately 5 feet 11 inches tall, 170 pounds with blond hair and blue eyes. Price may be in possession of handcuffs.
Anyone with information about Price’s whereabouts is encouraged to call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.
Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:
Downs
On Jan. 16, 2021, at about 9:41 p.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a residence on the 1900 block of Patterson Road in Willow Creek for the report of an altercation resulting in false imprisonment.
Deputies arrived on scene and located the suspect, 45-year-old Tammi Jane Downs outside of the residence. Deputies also observed a trailer on the property with a metal pipe fashioned to prevent the door from opening. Upon removing the pipe, deputies made contact with the 60-year-old male victim inside.
Deputies learned that Downs and the victim had been in a verbal altercation during which Downs reportedly trapped the victim inside the trailer using the metal pipe and threatened to set the trailer on fire.
Downs was arrested without further incident and booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on charges of false imprisonment (PC 236) and criminal threats (PC 422).
Anyone with information about this case or related criminal activity is encouraged to call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.
