KUKI News

The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office continues to search for 76-year-old Margrit Lillian Pritchard, who went missing from the Piercy area on Friday afternoon. Pritchard may be suffering from dementia-like behaviors, but is very physically fit, and authorities are concerned that she may have walked a significant distance from her home. In during a previous recent disappearance she walked seven miles. Pritchard is 5’1? and 105 lbs, with grey hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing blue capris and a purple shirt. See a photo at facebook.com/MendocinoSheriff.

Congressman Mike Thompson presented the 2018 Student Leaders of the Year Award yesterday – and he named the entire Middletown High School Leadership Class as the recipients. The group of students had reached out to the Congressman asking what they could do to help prevent gun violence. Thompson met with them back in March and said he was Inspired by their passion and willingness to engage on the issue.

Orr Springs Road will be closed for repairs beginning today. A contractor for the Mendocino County Department of Transportation will be replacing the temporary bridge that has in place since a landslide in early 2017. The road will re-open on Friday for the Memorial Day weekend, and then will close again for several more days until the repairs are completed around May 31.

The trial of the man accused of starting the Clayton fire has been continued for at least another two months. The request for a continuance was granted because so much discovery is still needed to be received. When the jury trial starts, Damin Anthony Pashilk faces 19 arson charges related to a series of fires in the summer of 2016. Three of those charges relate to the Clayton Fire, which ignited on August 13, 2016. That fire burned almost 4,000 acres and destroyed 300 structures, including 180 homes. Pashilk has pled not guilty to all charges

A Clearlake man charged connection to the theft of Redbox movies has pleaded not guilty. 35-year-old Jason Paul Mifsud, was found in possession of 140 movies that had been reported stolen from a kiosk near his workplace. On April 10 the Redbox Movie and Game rental machine located at the Carl’s Jr. restaurant in Clearlake was broken into. A preliminary hearing for Mifsud has been set for May 29th.

An important deadline is here for unregistered voters in California. Residents hoping to vote in the June 5 primary must be registered by today. Voter registration forms are available in any Department of Motor Vehicles Office, and at Public Libraraies. In Lake County, they are also at the Registrar of Voters office, 255 North Forbes Street, in Lakeport. In Mendocino County, visit the Office of the County Clerk, at 501 Low Gap Road, in Ukiah.

A grim discovery halted construction at the new Dollar General in Lakeport last week. Several bones were found at the construction site on South Main Street and Kimberly Lane. Lakeport police recovered the bones on Wednesday. An archaeologist who examined the bones has determned they were pig bones, not human.

The Lakeport Police Department has released a sketch of the man who attempted to abduct a woman in downtown Lakeport this week. Police say the man tried to pull a 26-year-old woman into his vehicle at around 3:15 Tuesday afternoon at the end of 4th Street near Library Park. The composite sketch of the suspct was prepared by a former Lakeport Police sergeant who now works in the Bay Area. See it at facebook.com/lakeportpolice. Additionally, the victim told police the suspect was driving a shiny red Lexus sedan with gold badging bearing a unknown state license plate, white with black lettering, first three letters EYU.

The Mendocino County Fire Recovery Team has started a program to address excavation issues that are the result of private property debris removal by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers follwoing the October wildfires. Multiple property owners in the area filed complaints about issues related to debris removal during cleanups.The County is partnering with the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services to address those issues. Anyone who would like a site assessed should contact Mendocino County at 707-234-6076.

A Clearlake man who was impersonating law enforcement has been arrested. Police say 47-year-old Grant Leslie Washam pulled a woman over early Wednesday morning in the Kelseyville area. Police found Washam’s car was equipped with red and blue lights. They also found him in possession of badges, blank-firing pistols and drugs. Washam faces multiple charges including false imprisonment, possession of a controlled substance and openly displaying an imitation firearm in public.