The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office believes it has identified a specific, single suspect responsible for each of a series of threats made in recent weeks to McKinleyville High School, disrupting classes and putting teachers, students and their families on edge. Sheriff William Honsal declined to say whether the suspect is local or how they were […]
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Former Sheriff Gary Philp Dies
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office today announced that retired Sheriff Gary Philp died Feb. 6. surrounded by his family. He was 71. Philp, who had a 38-year career in law enforcment, served as Humboldt’s sheriff for eight years before retiring in 2010. Find the HCOE post below: It is with great sadness that we announce […]
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Body Found on Centerville Beach Identified as Oregon Man
The Humboldt County Coroner’s Office has identified a body found Feb. 24 on Centerville Beach as that of Jeremy Dimitri Vlahos, 37, of Eugene, Oregon. Vlahos was found wearing a shirt with the words “HumboldtANARCHO, STATE FREE- HA TE FREE – FIGHT BIGOTRY.” The sheriff’s office released a photo of the shirt on May 7 with […]
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2nd UPDATE: Man Found Dead on U.S. Highway 101 Died of Gunshot Wounds
2nd UPDATE: Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Samantha Karges confirmed this morning that Salvatore Riccobono IV died from “multiple gunshot wounds.” Karges could not say how Riccobono’s body ended up on U.S. Highway 101 near Salmon Creek, where it was struck by a driver in the early hours of April 23. She also could not release any […]
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Remembering Sheriff Cox, 35 Years later
He was known as the sheriff who never carried a gun; the man whose laugh you could hear ringing across the building. Today marks the 35th anniversary of Former Humboldt County Sheriff Gene Cox’s death. Cox was killed in the line of duty in 1982, just four weeks before he was set to retire, the […]
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Man Found in Manila Dunes Confirmed Drowning Death
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s office has confirmed that the young man found dead on the wave slope near the Ma-le’l Dunes in Manila on Dec. 26 is a drowning victim, believed to be the sixth such death in 2016. The coroner’s office, which conducted an autopsy today, is asking for the public’s help in making a […]
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Three Homicide Victims over Weekend
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office is investigating three homicide cases this week after two men were discovered dead at a large marijuana grow operation near Hyampom and an August robbery victim died of his gunshot wounds over the holiday weekend. Deputies were called out to the Hyampom scene by the Trinity County Sheriff’s Office on […]
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Human Remains Found on Eel River
A person canoeing the Eel River on Sunday found human remains close to Stafford. Due to their extreme state of decomposition, the coroner’s office has not been able to learn the sex or any other identifying features of the body. Chief Deputy Coroner Ernie Stewart said it appeared the body had been there “quite some […]
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UPDATED: Supes Consider Post-Consolidation Pay Bump for Sheriff
UPDATE: The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors, after less than 15 minutes of discussion, voted unanimously to approve the pay increase requested for Sheriff Mike Downey to compensate him for the extra duties he’s taking on in the wake of his office consolidating that of the coroner-public administrator. Each member of the board stressed before […]
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Humboldt County is About to See More Feds Hunting Marijuana
As we reported last year, Humboldt County Sheriff Mike Downey has long been asking the federal government for help tracking down and arresting marijuana growers, and now he’s gonna get it. Today the White House announced that Humboldt County has been lumped into the Northern California “High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area,” or HIDTA. What does that […]
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Dan Rather and Jared Huffman Tour Pot Grows in a Helicopter
In this week’s “Week in Weed” column, we chat with our U.S. Congressman, Rep. Jared Huffman, about his latest trip to Humboldt, during which he was briefed by Sheriff Mike Downey about marijuana issues and interviewed by the one and only Dan Rather. They also went for a helicopter ride. Pick up this week’s Journal […]