UPDATE as of 8:55 p.m.: The blaze has been contained and no structures were damaged, fire spokeswoman Nanette Tatom said. Several crew members are on fire watch overnight. Other firefighters and a crew of inmates will return in the morning to ensure the area is safe, she added.

PENINSULA GATEWAY STAFF REPORT:

Firefighters responded to a reported brush fire on Fox Island on Tuesday morning. Upon arrival a 200 by 200 area was burning down a hillside. Steep terrain hampered firefighters ability to gain access to the 5-acre fire. The fire continued to spread down a hill to the southwest …

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The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office has determined that an 8-year-old Silverdale boy found dead Thursday drowned.

Azriel Carver’s death has been ruled an accident. The boy’s identity also was confirmed during the autopsy.

Thurston County Sheriff’s Sgt. Cheryl Stines said, “there’s no signs of violence to the body.” She would not elaborate.

Azriel and his mother went missing Saturday night. A woman walking her dog discovered Azriel’s body Thursday afternoon on the southern edge of Fox Island.

A search plane has taken off for Thun Field to look for Shantina “Kat” Smiley, Pierce County sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said …

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The child’s body washed ashore on the beach of Fox Island has been identified as the missing 8-year-old boy from Silverdale, according to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office.

“It ended the way we didn’t want it to end, but we’re 99 percent sure it’s him,” Sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said. “He has the mohawk. He has the clothing. There’s nothing to lead us to believe it’s not him.”

The boy’s father was on the scene and fell to his knees and began to cry when he approached the site where the body was found.

The body has been collected and …

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