Written by Jan Brincat, Assistant to Sheriff Brian Burnett, CCSO

Published: 25 June 2020

Sheriff Brian Burnett advises on June 24, 2020, after receiving news of the Governor’s recent proclamation regarding face coverings, he has received many inquiries regarding wearing a mask while carrying a concealed firearm.

Carrying a concealed firearm while wearing a mask is authorized providing the carrier has a valid Concealed Pistol License, and follows RCW 9.41.050. Keeping that in mind, also be sure to review RCW 9.41.300 for information on areas where firearms are permitted.

Following is the link to the cited RCW’s: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=9.41

Written by Chief Jason Reinfeld, CCSO

Published: 17 May 2020

Sheriff Brian Burnett reports on Friday, May 15th, 2020 the body of Jed Thorp was located in the Wenatchee River near milepost 7 on Chiwawa Loop Road.

Mr. Thorp was reported missing to the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office on Monday, May 11th after wandering from his campsite Sunday evening. He had been camping with family over the weekend. Family members searched for him Monday until approximately 2:00 PM when they called for assistance.

A search was initiated by CCSO Deputies as well as Chelan County Volunteer Search and Rescue personnel. The search was suspended at dark.

On Tuesday the river was searched by Chelan County Swift Water Rescue personnel. This was followed up on Wednesday by a large search group who searched the area between Chiwawa Loop Road and the Wenatchee River.

On Friday, May 15th, a CCSO helicopter was deployed to search the river due to improved weather conditions. At about 3:00 PM approximately 1 mile downstream from the campsite a suspicious object was seen. Swiftwater and Marine patrol members responded and recovered Mr. Thorp’s body.

The circumstances surrounding Mr. Thorp’s death are under investigation.

Written by Sheriff Brian Burnett, CCSO

Published: 26 April 2020

Sheriff Brian Burnett proudly announces that Chelan County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Sergeant Adam Musgrove has been selected to be promoted to Chief of Patrol, tentatively scheduled for July 1, 2020. This is following the recent announcement of Chief of Patrol Rick Johnson being selected as the next Chief for East Wenatchee Police Department.

Sergeant Musgrove has been with the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office since March 1, 2012 when both he and his wife decided to move to East Wenatchee in order to be closer to family. He was born in Hawaii and grew up in Oak Harbor where he graduated high school in 1996. He served on active duty in the Navy from 1996-2006 and he continues to serve in the U.S. Navy Reserve, as he approaches 25 years of service and holds the rank of Senior Chief.  He spent a majority of his Navy career as a Patrol Leader in the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command community where he deployed several times overseas. Musgrove joined the Sedro Wooley Police Department in 2006 where he worked until being hired by Sheriff Burnett in 2012. Musgrove was promoted to Sergeant for the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office in September 2017, and is currently a nightshift supervisor for a patrol squad.  He runs the Reserve Program for CCSO and is a Domestic Violence instructor. He has organized two Reserve Academies and one Citizens Academy. He has served as a Field Training Officer and is close to becoming an FTO Instructor.  He created and runs the CCSO Santa’s Stars program every year. Sergeant Musgrove has completed a course in Police Leadership, “the West Point Model” and more recently a Senior Leadership Course at the Navy War College. He lives in East Wenatchee and is married with 2 daughters.

Sergeant Musgrove brings some great leadership qualities to the Sheriff’s Office and the Chief of Patrol position. Sheriff Burnett says that although he is sad to see his current Chief of Patrol Rick Johnson leave, he is equally excited about the future of the Sheriff’s leadership growth, both in the command level and first line supervisors who are such an essential part of our operations and leadership. Sheriff Burnett says, “This is an exciting time of growth for the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office and I’m personally excited and confident with the staff we have to lead us successfully into the future.”

Written by Jason Reinfeld, Chief of Special Operations, CCSO

Published: 26 April 2020

Sheriff Brian Burnett reports on April 20th, 2020 at approximately 7:45 am, a rollover collision was reported in the area of Swakane Canyon. The reporting party, who has now been determined to be the passenger said the vehicle, a Toyota Tacoma had rolled over and was on top of the driver. The driver has been identified as 18 year old Meghann Dodge of East Wenatchee. The passenger told RiverCom Ms. Dodge was not breathing and eventually said she was unable to perform CPR due to her position underneath the truck.

Chelan County Sheriff’s Office Deputies and a Department of Fish and Wildlife Officer responded to the scene. They found Ms. Dodge deceased when they arrived. A CCSO collision investigator is investigating the collision with the assistance of a Washington State Patrol Detective for scene diagramming. So far the investigator has determined Ms. Dodge and her passenger drove from Cashmere up Nahahum Canyon Road and started down Swakane Canyon. When they were approximately 7.3 miles from highway 97A, the vehicle left the roadway at a low speed and rolled over on it’s top. Ms. Dodge was partially ejected and the vehicle came to a rest on top of her.

The investigator has not yet determined the cause of the collision. There were no other vehicles involved. The passenger was transported to CWH with minor injuries.

Written by Chief Rick Johnson, CCSO

Published: 25 March 2020

Sheriff Brian Burnett reports on March 24th, 2020 at approximately 0720 hours an employee from Selland Construction reported batteries from their heavy equipment had been stolen overnight. At the time of the theft the equipment was parked on Raven Wing Ranch Property, 5814 Colockum Rd, Malaga WA. A week prior to this theft, five heavy equipment batteries had been stolen from this same location.

The first theft was not reported to CCSO and the batteries were replaced by the victim.

When the employee arrived on March 24th, they discovered nine heavy equipment batteries had been stolen overnight. The approximate value of all the batteries stolen in the past week is $2,720. The combined weight of all the stolen batteries is approximately 1,034 pounds.

On the evening of March 24th, one of our Deputies located a classified advertisement on the Wenatchee “Buy/Sell/Trade” Facebook page. A Facebook user had posted an advertisement on March 24th for two heavy equipment batteries. The advertised batteries were the same type and model as the stolen batteries. They were described as “Very nice batteries. In great shape. Will test as if new. Great deal on some practically new batteries.”

An Undercover Detective responded to the advertisement via Facebook Messenger. The suspect responded and advised the Detective he actually had four batteries available for sale. The suspect sent our Detective additional photographs of the batteries. In the photographs distinguishing markings matching the stolen batteries could be observed. The suspect agreed to meet with the Undercover Detective in Wenatchee to sell him four batteries.

On March 24th at approximately 2230 hours, the suspect met up with Undercover Detectives from the Columbia River Drug Task Force. The suspect sold the Detectives the four heavy equipment batteries for $200, and advised them he had 3 more heavy equipment batteries to sell them the following day. The suspect, a 28 year old male from the Malaga area, was arrested without incident. The suspect was identified as Wade Hawkins. Search warrants were obtained for the vehicle he was driving and his residence.

On March 25th at approximately 0120 hours a search warrant was served on Hawkins’ residence. Two batteries matching the description of the stolen batteries were located at the residence. A third battery matching the description of the stolen batteries was located in the trunk of Hawkins’ vehicle when it was searched.

In all, Selland Construction had fourteen heavy equipment batteries stolen. Seven of the batteries were recovered. Evidence showing three of the batteries were likely sold as scrap was recovered. Four of the stolen batteries remain unaccounted for at this time. Hawkins was arrested for trafficking stolen property 1st degree, possessing stolen property 2nd degree, vehicle prowl 2nd degree, and criminal trespass 2nd degree.

This was a coordinated effort from your Chelan County Sheriff’s Office among numerous deputies on three different patrol squads, and the Chelan County Regional Drug Task Force. The reality is those committing theft and other serious crimes are not taking any time off during this crisis, but your deputies will continue to work to keep our valley safe and secure.

Written by Sheriff Brian Burnett, CCSO

Published: 24 March 2020

Yesterday, Governor Jay Inslee issued a statewide Executive “Stay at Home Order”.

This order was put in place to protect the “whole community” of our State from the very contagious COVID-19 virus.

Anyone employed in essential services involving operation of critical infrastructure sectors and continuity of operations is allowed to continue to work.

Those persons who are not part of the essential services groups defined below should stay at home and only travel to grocery stores, doctor appointments, pharmacies and other locations offering essential services until the order is lifted.

People should continue to refrain from participating in any public gatherings and maintain social distancing of six feet or more throughout the duration of the order.

Law enforcement's primary role is to help educate people about how to comply with orders to stay at home. We are not being asked to detain, arrest, ticket or establish checkpoints for compliance. Rumors of strict law enforcement or "martial law" are not true.

Here are communication messages that may help you answer questions from your communities:

• We view our role more as one of education. Educating residents on how to keep themselves safe, how to keep their families safe and most importantly, to keep the rest of the community safe, especially our vulnerable populations.

• We understand some people need to carry out essential services such as:

 1. Safety and security

 2. Food, water, shelter

 3. Health and medical

 4. Energy (power and fuel)

 5. Communications

 6. Transportation

For information on the definition of essential critical infrastructure workers please, go to:https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6817901-FINAL-WA-Essential-Critical-Infrastructure.html

• Our communities have shown they understand the severity of the situation and are doing all they can already to keep themselves, their families and neighbors safe and healthy.

• When officers and deputies encounter people not complying with an order, we will remind them, as appropriate, of the recommendation and restrictions.

• No law enforcement agencies have any desire to make any arrests or take anybody to jail for violations.

• Rumors of individuals or businesses needing "passes" or "licenses" to conduct essential services are not true.

Rest assured we will continue to serve you every minute of every day and we will always enforce the laws that keep people safe.

Written by Chief Jason Reinfeld, CCSO

Published: 24 March 2020

Previous article from March 18, 2020: Human remains found in ravine near Horselake Road

On March 23rd, 2020 a medical examination was completed on the human remains found near Horselake Road last week. The body, discovered on March 17th, 2020 has now been positively identified as 18 year old Hannia “Paulina” Mosqueda Rodriguez of Waterville. She was originally reported missing to Douglas County Sheriff’s Office in October of 2019.

The circumstances surrounding the death of Ms. Mosqueda Rodriguez are suspicious in nature and are being investigated by Chelan County Sheriff’s Office, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, and Wenatchee Police Department.

If you have any information regarding this incident please call the CCSO Detective Tip-Line at 509-667-6845.

Written by Jason Reinfeld, Chief of Special Operations, Chelan County Sheriff’s Office

Published: 18 March 2020

Sheriff Brian Burnett reports on March 17th, 2020 at approximately 9:30 human remains were discovered in a ravine off of Horselake Road. A group was walking in the area when one of their dogs discovered part of the remains. They reported the discovery and Deputies responded. Soon after, the remainder of the body was located.

Chelan County Sheriff’s Office and Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Detectives responded to the scene to begin the investigation. Washington State Patrol’s Crime Scene Response Team were called in to assist and were processing the scene into the evening.

This morning, the Chelan County Volunteer Search and Rescue group and Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife Officers will be conducting an evidence search in the area coordinated by CCSO Detectives.

The identity and gender has not been confirmed yet. An autopsy will be conducted by the end of this week

Written by Carlye Baity, Clerk of the Board/Public Records Coordinator, Chelan County Commissioners

Published: 18 March 2020

The Chelan County Board of Commissioners are pleased to announce the appointment of a new Director for the Chelan County Regional Justice Center.

Chief Christopher Sharp has been selected to succeed Interim Director Bill Larson. Chief Sharp will officially take over the Director position on April 1, 2020.

Having served Chelan County citizens for 20 years, first as a Corrections Officer, then promoting to Corporal, Sergeant and finally Chief in January 2019, Sharp has all of the skills needed to successfully move into his new role. He possesses strong skills in communication, organizational development and leadership.

We are looking forward to a seamless transition.