Local Digest
Missing plane may be found

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HERRON ISLAND, Pierce County — A single-engine airplane missing since Feb. 29 may have been found yesterday, according to the Pierce County Sheriff's Office.

Sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said a private sonar company, hired by the families of pilot David Verstrate, 65, of Federal Way, and passenger Harold Bennett, 59, of Puyallup, has located what appears to be an airplane in Puget Sound near Herron Island.

Troyer said "there is a strong probability" the object picked up by sonar is the Cessna 170 carrying Verstrate and Bennett. The two men, who are brothers, failed to return to Auburn from a flight to Sequim.

Troyer said the object had sunk to a depth of nearly 150 feet, too deep for divers. He said Navy officials will have to find another way to search the object.

State officials earlier reported that an oil slick was spotted off Herron Island shortly after the plane was reported missing. Island residents told state officials they heard a splash and saw what they thought was a sail sinking, but didn't associate it with a possible plane crash until about a week after the Cessna was reported missing.

Search fails to find man who fired shot at deputy

SHORELINE — A man who fired a shot at a sheriff's deputy attempting to question him was still on the loose after hours of searching yesterday morning by officers using dogs and a helicopter.

At about 2:20 a.m., a sheriff's detective was doing surveillance near the intersection of Northeast 200th Street and 15th Avenue Northeast in Shoreline, an area hit by a series of robberies. A man walked by and the deputy got out of his car to question him, according to the King County Sheriff's Office.

"He told him to take his hands out of his pockets," said John Urquhart, a sheriff's spokesman. "The suspect pulled out a gun, shots were exchanged and he ran off."

The detective returned fire, but neither man was injured, Urquhart said.
 
Exploding pistols prompt recall by Portland chief

PORTLAND — Portland Police Chief Derrick Foxworth has ordered a recall of .45-caliber Glock Model 21 firearms, weapons carried by 230 Portland officers.

His order comes after two of the guns exploded in the hands of officers during training this month. Neither of the officers was seriously injured.

"We don't want a reoccurrence," Foxworth said. "It's the prudent thing to do."

Police will switch to 9-mm handguns. They are negotiating with officials at Georgia-based Glock to replace the .45-caliber weapons with 9-mm handguns at no cost.

Because the .45-caliber Glock is popular in law enforcement, the Portland police training officers sent a teletype to agencies nationwide. They heard back from several, including agencies in Florida and Texas, that had similar problems.

Other agencies, including two in Oregon, reported no problems.

Women's prisons workers face misconduct charges

PORTLAND — Two employees at female prisons in Oregon are facing official misconduct charges after an investigation of sexual relations with inmates, while a third employee has been placed on administrative leave.

Lt. Jeffrey Barcenas, a six-year veteran of the state Department of Corrections, was arrested Wednesday and booked on nine counts of first-degree official misconduct.

Barcenas, 34, worked at the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville.

The second employee, Christopher Don Randall, 33, Coffee Creek's food-services coordinator, was booked on four counts of first-degree official misconduct.

The identity of the third employee was not released because the investigation remains open.

Seattle Times staff and wire services

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