(UPDATED) Search For Vincent Ortiz at Red Lion Called Off; While It Was Underway, the Suspect Became No Longer Wanted for Murder

UPDATE, 4:37 p.m.: At a small impromptu press conference outside the Red Lion, EPD Chief Andy Mills told the Outpost and others that the search for Vincent Ortiz inside the Red Lion was called off despite the fact that it was never ascertained whether or not Ortiz was in the building.

Mills said that while the search was underway, he got word that the Sheriff’s Office was no longer seeking Vincent Ortiz on murder charges. (His father was arrested in connection with the crime Sunday.) Ortiz is still wanted on several parole violations, but Mills said that police had determined that it was not worthwhile to detain him on those charges in such a high-tension atmosphere, even if he were there. Therefore the search was called off, and Ortiz was urged to speak his parole officer.

Full audio below:

Audio

Also while the search was happening, the Sheriff’s Office announced that one of the victims in Saturday’s shooting had died.

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UPDATE, 4:24 p.m.: The search has been called off. We will have a statement from Eureka Police Chief Andy Mills shortly.

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UPDATE, 3:58 p.m.: Still a lot of standing and waiting outside the Red Lion. A few moments ago, the Outpost’s reporter witnessed a man very persistently asking police on scene when he would be able to get into RJ Grin’s Lounge. An officer had to get stern with him, telling him to “find another bar.”

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UPDATE, 3:40 p.m.: The Outpost’s Andrew Goff, on the scene, reports that police are being very tight-lipped at the moment, apparently so as to not jeopardize the operation. There is no evident action at the site. Police continue to hold their position around the perimeter of the hotel; it is not clear whether any are inside the building.

The parking lot to the Red Lion has been taped off, and Third Street is currently closed behind the hotel.

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ORIGINALLY:

The Eureka Police Department and the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office are currently staged at the Red Lion Hotel, in response to a possible sighting of attempted murder suspect Vincent Ortiz.

Undersheriff Billy Honsal confirmed to the Outpost that his people are at the Red Lion. He said that Ortiz may have been located inside a room at the hotel, but information is still a bit fragmentary.

The Outpost has a reporter at the scene and will be updating shortly.