On 3-13-23 at approximately 1340 hours Grays Harbor County deputies were dispatched to the 100 block of Otis Avenue in Moclips for the report of a shooting.

 Deputies arrived at the scene and located a 59-year-old male who was suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.  A deputy from the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office, an officer from the Quinault Police Department, and personnel from Fire District 8 began life saving efforts on the male victim but were unsuccessful and the man died shortly after being transported from the scene.

 Officers from the Hoquiam Police Department, Quinault Police Department, and the Aberdeen Police Department all arrived at the scene to assist in securing the scene, gathering statements, and attempting to locate the suspect. 

 Through interviews of neighbors and witnesses, deputies were able to identify the suspect as Rufas A. Phelps III DOB 4-7-60. Phelps fled the scene shortly after the incident. Investigators believe an argument started over a property dispute, which led to the shooting. 

Detectives finished searching the scene in the early morning hours of 3-14-23. The Sheriff’s Office is currently following up on leads, attempting to locate Phelps. Phelps should be considered armed and dangerous. Please do not attempt to approach him. If you see Phelps or know where he is located, please call 911. If you have information or leads on the case you can email detectives at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Searchers are still searching for a missing plane in rugged forest land near Queets that abruptly dropped off radar Monday evening March 6th 2023. Weather is preventing air search and rescue efforts from happening today Sunday, March 12th, but Crews will evaluate air search efforts again Monday, March 13th. Washington State’s Search and Rescue Planning Team continue to investigate last known primary radar returns of the plane.

Air Search and Rescue was notified of a missing 2006 Cessna T182 Turbo Skylane piloted by Rod Collen on Monday evening. Search efforts began that night and has included air searches on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday when the weather permitted safe flying conditions. Law enforcement and others have been patrolling roadways in the last known position area as well.

  Collen left the Tacoma Narrows Airport at 5:35 p.m. on Monday, and a few minutes into the flight the plane's Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) system was either turned off or malfunctioned and the plane was no longer visible on normal tracking systems in the air traffic controllers use. With the help of a specialized radar forensics team, primary radar returns were located that placed the aircraft near the coast between Lake Quinault and Queets. The final radar plots show the aircraft made a very rapid descent to the ground. Collen was the only one in the plane.

The Elma Police Department has released information on Social Media today, March 6th, 2023 regarding a bust that an Elma officer was involved in back on February 19, 2023.  They state that the subject that was contacted said that  identified himself as a transient Mexican immigrant with no known ties to Washington State and was currently in the United States on a Work Visa. However, the subject had no identification and his identity was unable to be verified.

Here is more on that story from The Elma Police Department.

The Mason County Sheriffs Office says they have an arson suspect in custody after he had barricaded himself in a hotel in downtown Shelton Friday. 

The first arson occurred on Wednesday, February 15th at about 2:43 AM, Central Mason Fire and Shelton PD responded to a fully engulfed residential building fire in downtown Shelton, that housed approximately 22 people from a local charitable organization, Gethsemane Ministries. All the residents escaped without injury and were accounted for. Fire investigators advised the cause to be suspicious. 

The second fire occured on February 17th at about 4:14 AM MACECOM received several calls reporting that a large 2-story building in Union, WA was fully engulfed, and its cause is believed to be suspicious as well. Approximately 20 males also housed by Gethsemane Ministries escaped uninjured and are currently working with the Red Cross for housing assistance.

 Friday morning, February 17th, MCSO Detectives began investigating and shortly found probable cause for the suspect, who was believed to be staying at the Shelton Inn, in downtown Shelton. As Detectives attempted to contact the suspect in the second-story room, the suspect began barricading himself by using, what sounded like, power tools to screw the door closed. MCSO negotiators contacted the suspect by phone, where he advised he was agitated and was armed with a firearm. Shelton Police and MCSO units blocked off the area as SWAT units arrived. Negotiators were able to de-escalate the situation and the suspect agreed to come out peacefully without incident. 

 The suspect was then transported to the Mason County Sheriff’s Office to be interviewed by Detectives and was later booked into the Mason County Jail.