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"We know where he's at now. He's in booking." Capt. Ben Wolfinger, Kootenai County Sheriff's Department
Driver downtown, not drowned
Divers search in vain for man who ran away after crashing car in lake
Kootenai County sheriff's Deputy Eric Hildebrandt watches as the Mazda is pulled out of Fernan Lake on Thursday morning following Wednesday's crash. (Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review)
Taryn Brodwater
Staff writer
August 6, 2004
The murky water in Fernan Lake made it hard to find the body of Peter Rowland.
The fact that Rowland was on Sherman Avenue not in the waters where police found his car made it pretty much impossible.
After witnesses reported a white car careening off the road and into Fernan Lake late Wednesday evening, crews from the Kootenai County Sheriff's Department searched late into the night for the driver. By morning, the search had turned to a recovery mission.
As divers continued to search for the driver, identified as Rowland, 38 of Coeur d'Alene, police received a call that Rowland had been spotted walking along Sherman Avenue. Police then called Rowland's house. To their surprise, he answered the phone.
"We know where he's at now," Sheriff's Capt. Ben Wolfinger said Thursday afternoon. "He's in booking."
The very-much-alive Rowland was arrested Thursday afternoon for failure to report an accident and the felony charge of leaving the scene of an injury accident.
Wolfinger said Rowland was aware police were searching for him, but spent the night and Thursday morning hiding from police.
"He doesn't have a valid license," Wolfinger said. "It's suspended. We don't know if he'd been drinking. Those are still pretty minor charges compared to felony leaving the scene of an accident."
Witnesses fishing in the lake Wednesday evening reported seeing a small white car crash into Fernan Lake at 9:45 p.m. They told police that a man came to the surface of the water and disappeared. The white Mazda that Rowland was driving was found upside down in the lake.
The Sheriff's Department dive team used lights to search the dark waters and even scanned the shoreline and shallow water with a thermal imaging unit to try to find Rowland. Only able to see inches in front of their masks, divers had to feel their way along the lake bottom.
The search continued early Thursday. Family members also unaware Rowland was still alive spent the morning at the lake, waited for divers to pull his body from the water.
By noon, the wrecked car was pulled from the water. The windshield had been kicked out.
Wolfinger said Rowland had borrowed the car from his girlfriend. His own car had broken down farther up the road, Wolfinger said, and Rowland was on his way to make repairs when he drove off the road. The cause of the accident is being investigated.
Wolfinger said he was frustrated, not only because of the resources that were dedicated to search for Rowland, but about the risk others took to look for him. Night dives are especially risky, Wolfinger said.
"It makes everybody angry," he said. "We could have avoided all of that if he just would have stood up and said, 'I'm OK. Here I am.' "
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http://www.spokesmanreview.com/idaho/topstory.asp?ID=19503
Article:
printer-friendly | e-mail this story
"We know where he's at now. He's in booking." Capt. Ben Wolfinger, Kootenai County Sheriff's Department
Driver downtown, not drowned
Divers search in vain for man who ran away after crashing car in lake
Kootenai County sheriff's Deputy Eric Hildebrandt watches as the Mazda is pulled out of Fernan Lake on Thursday morning following Wednesday's crash. (Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review)
Taryn Brodwater
Staff writer
August 6, 2004
The murky water in Fernan Lake made it hard to find the body of Peter Rowland.
The fact that Rowland was on Sherman Avenue not in the waters where police found his car made it pretty much impossible.
After witnesses reported a white car careening off the road and into Fernan Lake late Wednesday evening, crews from the Kootenai County Sheriff's Department searched late into the night for the driver. By morning, the search had turned to a recovery mission.
As divers continued to search for the driver, identified as Rowland, 38 of Coeur d'Alene, police received a call that Rowland had been spotted walking along Sherman Avenue. Police then called Rowland's house. To their surprise, he answered the phone.
"We know where he's at now," Sheriff's Capt. Ben Wolfinger said Thursday afternoon. "He's in booking."
The very-much-alive Rowland was arrested Thursday afternoon for failure to report an accident and the felony charge of leaving the scene of an injury accident.
Wolfinger said Rowland was aware police were searching for him, but spent the night and Thursday morning hiding from police.
"He doesn't have a valid license," Wolfinger said. "It's suspended. We don't know if he'd been drinking. Those are still pretty minor charges compared to felony leaving the scene of an accident."
Witnesses fishing in the lake Wednesday evening reported seeing a small white car crash into Fernan Lake at 9:45 p.m. They told police that a man came to the surface of the water and disappeared. The white Mazda that Rowland was driving was found upside down in the lake.
The Sheriff's Department dive team used lights to search the dark waters and even scanned the shoreline and shallow water with a thermal imaging unit to try to find Rowland. Only able to see inches in front of their masks, divers had to feel their way along the lake bottom.
The search continued early Thursday. Family members also unaware Rowland was still alive spent the morning at the lake, waited for divers to pull his body from the water.
By noon, the wrecked car was pulled from the water. The windshield had been kicked out.
Wolfinger said Rowland had borrowed the car from his girlfriend. His own car had broken down farther up the road, Wolfinger said, and Rowland was on his way to make repairs when he drove off the road. The cause of the accident is being investigated.
Wolfinger said he was frustrated, not only because of the resources that were dedicated to search for Rowland, but about the risk others took to look for him. Night dives are especially risky, Wolfinger said.
"It makes everybody angry," he said. "We could have avoided all of that if he just would have stood up and said, 'I'm OK. Here I am.' "
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