Deputies say Yelm standoff, death investigation at adjacent property may be connected

NEAR YELM, Wash. — The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office says a standoff that ended Tuesday night near Yelm could be related to a death investigation at an adjacent property.

Early Tuesday morning, firefighters were called to an RV fire near 103rd Avenue and Old McKenna Road.

Firefighters at the scene discovered what they thought could have been a body, and the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office was called.

When deputies and detectives arrived, their investigation led them to a locked travel trailer on an adjacent property with two people inside. Deputies were able to get one person out. An armed man remained inside.

SWAT and the Washington State Patrol Bomb Squad were called in. Negotiators talked to the man for several hours but were not able to get him to surrender. He ultimately took his own life.

The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office believes there is a connection between their death investigation and the standoff.

However, they say the investigation into the possible death was only just beginning after the standoff had ended Tuesday night.

Just after 10 p.m., deputies told us a body had been found.

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