sheriff's office

Update 2PM: The Following is from South Lake Tahoe Police Department Lt. David Stevenson regarding the Wells Fargo bank robbery that happened late this morning.

A Carson Valley family away for New Year's Eve came back home to find one of their four dogs dead and their home broken into but nothing missing. The Douglas County Sheriff's Office wants anyone who knows about the crime to report it. A reward of $250 is being offered for information.

Here is a news release issued by Douglas County Sheriff's Sgt. Jim Halsey:

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is preparing itself for the upcoming New Years Eve celebration at Lake Tahoe, on Saturday, December 31st, 2011. Each year upwards of 50,000 celebrants ring in the New Year in the casino core area of Stateline, Nevada.

MINDEN, Nev. - 'Tis the season of giving, but also the season for scamming, as evidenced by the number of fraud cases coming into the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.From phony lottery wins to desp...

By Heather Gould
As of October 1, nine new inmates have been incarcerated in the El Dorado County jail who would have previously gone to state prison. With the state short of funds and under a court mandate to relieve overcrowding in its state prisons, those committing non-violent, non-serious and non-sex offenses will be housed in county jails rather than state prisons under a program dubbed "realignment."

By Jim Halsey
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office will participate in several high-visibility traffic enforcement details over the Nevada Day / pre-Halloween weekend.
During the late evening and early morning hours of Friday through Sunday, October 28th-30th, deputies of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, working in conjunction with deputies of the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office, will conduct increased DUI enforcement patrols on the highways and roadways within Douglas County.

TAHOE CITY - Two people were killed early Tuesday morning after a fire, reportedly accidental in nature, engulfed a home on Lake Tahoe's West Shore.Placer County Sheriff's Office Capt. Jeff Ausnow ...

Update 7:14PM: Marie Hanson's family has confirmed through Facebook that the remains found Sunday at the site in Washington are Marie's. Services will be held this Saturday, October 15th at Sierra Community Church, Sierra Boulevard in South Lake Tahoe at noon. More info to follow.

UPDATE 3:52PM: Searchers have found skeletal remains and jewelry in an area of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest where a South Lake Tahoe woman, Marie Hanson, was last seen during the Rainbow Family gathering. The Skamania County Sheriff's Office said in a statement Monday that searchers would continue to look for other evidence to link the remains and jewelry to Hanson, 54, reported missing by family since July 9. Go here for the story.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The El Dorado County Sheriff's Office warned residents Friday about a credit card scam they have received several reports in the area about."According to victims, this is...

Update 2 p.m.: Fire crews have contained a fire that broke out this morning near Old Clear Creek Road near the top of Spooner Summit, and Highway 50 has reopened.
The fire was last reported to be about 1.5 acres in size, and there was one home in the area that was threatened. Light winds and cool temperatures helped firefighters get a handle on the blaze, with a helicopter dumping water to help out the hand crews on the ground.

12:10 p.m. update: The Associated Press is reporting that the Carson City Sheriff's Office has confirmed that the shooter in the Carson City IHOP incident has died of his self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Update 11:45: At least three people, two uniformed members of the National Guard, have died in a shooting this morning shortly before 9 a.m. at the International House of Pancakes, IHOP, in Carson City, according to Sheriff Ken Furlong. In all, 10 people were shot, with three dead as of 11:30 a.m.

The suspected shooter, reportedly using an automatic weapon, apparently shot himself and is clingling to life, Furlong said during a press conference. Three police chaplains have also been called in to respond to and speak with families of the shooting victims. The shooting on South Carson Street has the roadway closed at both sides of Highway 395 and at Eagle Station Lane.

A couple inside the restaurant, Howard and Evelyn MacDonald from Southern California who were visiting family from Carson City, both managed to escape with other customers out of the back door of IHOP when bullets began flying. The MacDonalds said they had been eating their breakfast when they heard several shots being fired, windows breaking and an employee who came out of the kitchen yelling "Get out now!" said Howard MacDonald.

"I'll never forget that sound," said Ellen MacDonald.

Across the parking lot at Locals' BBQ, owner Ralph Swagler said witnessed much of the shooting. He said that he and his son were inside his restaurant when he saw a man pull into the IHOP parking lot i a blue minivan, where he began shooting outside the restaurant. Swagler said he then saw a body on the ground next to a motorcycle, as the male shooter began shooting from the front of the restaurant to the inside. Swagler said the weapon was a fully automatic assault-style weapon, in which he said the man fired off an entire clip, reloaded and then walked inside the IHOP and began shooting.

The shooter then walked outside restaurant, saw Swagler and his son as they attempted to lock the Locals' BBQ door, then began shooting at the restaurant, he said. And then Swagler said the gunman began shooting at the H&R Block office next door.

Stray bullets have been found all over the area, in between the McDonald's building and Casino Fandango, as well as throughout the IHOP parking lot.

Law officers from agencies around Northern Nevada are responding to scene, with officers asked to respond to Carson Tahoe and Renown Medical Center in Reno to speak with and identify the victims, according to police scanner dispatch.

Developing ....

Authorities have released a sketch of a person of interest in the case of a South Lake Tahoe woman missing from a counter-culture gathering in southwest Washington state, the Reno-Gazette Journal reports.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The El Dorado County Sheriff's Office has released the name of the woman who died from a possible drug overdose last week.Nicole Steffke, 26, was found dead about 12:30 a...