Tacoma police were investigating a reported bomb threat at Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.

We’ll update this blog post when more details become available.

UPDATE: A man walked into the health department with a threatening note about 8 a.m. The department evacuated the building and called police.

Tacoma police and a bomb dog searched the building but found nothing suspicious, police spokesman Mark Fulghum said.

A Tacoma couple were killed in a car crash on Interstate 90 near North Bend Tuesday morning.

Sean P. Mitchell, 29, and Lindsey M. Mitchell, 26, were driving home with their son and two friends after a camping trip in Eastern Washington. Around 6:45 a.m., driver Sean Mitchell fell asleep at the wheel, and the 2005 Dodge Neon left the road, striking a guardrail and cement bridge railing.

The Mitchells were instantly killed in the crash; their 4-year-old son and a 22-year-old Spanaway man sustained minor injuries. A 15-year-old Spanaway boy received moderate to severe femur and internal injuries. The …

Read more »

The flags at all Washington state agency buildings will be lowered today in honor of a 23-year-old Marine from Spokane Valley who died last week while fighting in Afghanistan.

Cpl. Joshua R. Dumway died from an improvised explosive device in Nimruz Province.

Flags will remain at half-staff until the close of business today or first thing Wednesday.

The couple slain in the North End homicide-suicide Sunday morning have been identified.

Police say that Michael Erb, 43, of Tacoma shot his girlfriend, Annemarie Wargacki, 37, of Lakewood before turning the gun on himself. Both died of gunshot wounds to the head, according to the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Officers responded around 9:35 a.m. to Erb’s home in the 5000 block of North 18^th Street and found Wargacki dead at the scene. She was several months pregnant, according to Tacoma police spokesman Mark Fulghum.

Erb was taken to Tacoma General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Detectives believe …

Read more »

The body of a man was discovered floating in the Puyallup River near Tacoma this afternoon.

Firefighters responded to calls just before 4 p.m. reporting an apparent body in the water, according to Tacoma Fire Department spokesman Joe Meinecke. The department sent out a boat to investigate and found the body where the Puyallup River meets Commencement Bay.

Detectives are working to identify the man, Tacoma police spokesman Mark Fulghum said. There were no obvious signs of foul play.

A multi-vehicle collision is blocking the right lane of northbound I-5 near Bridgeport Way.

The accident occurred at 4:40 p.m at milepost 125. Fire, WSP and Incident Response are on scene. Backups extend about seven miles to DuPont.

5:15 p.m. FINAL UPDATE: All lanes are clear. Backups are approximately nine miles to Mounts Road, milepost 116.

A five-car collision is blocking the southbound lanes at the intersection of state Route 7 and 166th Street South in Spanaway.

The accident happened around 2:50 p.m. WSP is on scene.

3:15 UPDATE: The collision is now blocking one northbound lane and both southbound lanes. A single lane of northbound SR 7 is open. Southbound traffic is being detoured at 166th Street South onto local roads and then back onto SR 7.

FINAL UPDATE: All lanes have been reopened.

Puyallup police are investigating an arson that destroyed an old, vacant Pioneer Museum building early Sunday morning.

Crews responded around 4 a.m. to a reported structure fire in the 2100 block of 22nd Street Southeast. Firefighters found heavy flames coming from a building that was 80 feet by 150 feet. The flames did not spread to adjacent structures, but it took firefighters more than two hours to extinguish.

There were no injuries, and the building was a total loss.