Pierce County sheriff’s deputies have arrested a 27-year-old man suspected of leaving a threatening note outside a Parkland high school this morning, prompting a lockdown at the school.

A staff member found the note taped to the front door of Washington High School, 12420 Ainsworth Ave. S., this morning. The note made references to a Columbine-style attack at the school, sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said.

The school – as well as neighboring Keithley Middle School – went into a precautionary lockdown as deputies investigated.

Deputies identified the 27-year-old man, a former student at the school, as the likely author of …

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An employee of a Mexican restaurant in Parkland accidentally sparked a fire today that destroyed the building.

The blaze was reported about 2 p.m. at Hacienda Real, 13021 Pacific Ave. Central Pierce Fire & Rescue crews responded but were quickly forced into defensive mode after flames reached the roof.

Crews used a propane weed burner earlier in the afternoon and then stored it in a back storage area of the restaurant. The hot nozzle ignited and employees quickly noticed smoke beneath a commercial refrigerator that backed up against the storage room, Assistant Chief Randy Stephens said.

The building was a …

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A 25-year-old Tacoma man died late Saturday after crashing head on into another vehicle in Parkland, according to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office.

Witnesses called 911 just before midnight to report seeing two SUVs collide at Steele Street and 104^th St Ct S.

Sheriff’s spokesman Det. Sgt. Jerry Bates said Yevgenic Goncharov was driving a Chevy Astro van south on Steele Street when he crossed the left turn lane and struck a Ford Expedition head on.

Goncharov was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Ford was taken to St. Joseph Hospital for treatment of broken bones in …

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Friends and family members are asking for the public’s help in locating a 21-year-old Parkland woman who has not been seen in more than a year.

Ruthie Fawn Kindness disappeared in February 2011. She was last known to be living in Parkland around Pacific Avenue South and 126^th Street South, according to a Facebook page titled “Where’s Ruthie?”

Kindness also spent time in Puyallup, Milton and Federal Way.

She is described as Native American with brown hair and brown eyes. She is about 5 feet 4 and 110 pounds.

Anyone with information on Kindness’ whereabouts is asked to call the …

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UPDATED at 10:15 a.m.

A leaking propane tank sparked an explosion Tuesday night inside a Parkland home that rocked the surrounding neighborhood.

The home in the 200 block of Lafayette Street South had been abandoned and boarded up. However, a man said he had been staying inside with the landlord’s permission  and told investigators he was using propane tanks because there was no heat or power to the home, Central Pierce Fire & Rescue Battalion Chief Dennis Lawson said.

On Tuesday night, the man had a fire going in the home’s wood stove when he noticed one of the three …

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Criminal investigation officers from the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department on Wednesday evening arrested a suspect in a series of sexual assaults in Parkland.

The suspect, a Pierce County employee working as a juvenile detention officer at Remann Hall, turned 35 on the day he was arrested.

The suspect was arrested after being recognized by Pacific Lutheran University security officers, said Pierce County Sheriff spokesman Ed Troyer on Thursday morning.

According to jail records, he was booked into Pierce County Jail on one charge or rape, two charges of indecent liberties and seven counts of assault with sexual motivation.

“Campus …

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Law enforcement officers in Pierce, Thurston and King counties are serving search warrants today on a number of marijuana dispensaries as part of a coordinated region-wide effort.

Five dispensaries were targeted in Thurston County and five in Pierce County, law enforcement officials reported. So far, no arrests have been reported from the searches in Pierce and Thurston counties.

Thurston County Sheriff’s Lt. Greg Elwin said operators and employees of the dispensaries are being detained and questioned. He added that police are not targeting medical patients with legitimate “green cards,” because they are legally purchasing marijuana.

“A vast majority are …

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A 3-year-old boy nearly drowned at a Parkland home this afternoon, authorities said.

Emergency responders were called to the 13200 block of 42nd Avenue East about 2:15 p.m. and began CPR on the boy.

He was pronounced dead upon arrival at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma but doctors were able to bring him back, Pierce County sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said.

The boy is listed in extreme critical condition.