A murder arrest, salmon reintroduced at Mount St. Helens among TNT’s top stories

From a Tacoma homicide investigation to salmon returning to Mount St. Helens, Pierce County saw major developments across crime, environment, business and legal fronts Wednesday. Here’s a roundup of the top local stories.

• Two people were booked into the Pierce County Jail on suspicion of first-degree murder after a Tacoma missing-person case that began June 12 led investigators to a body on Joint Base Lewis-McChord property, according to Lakewood police spokesperson Charles Porche. The male suspect allegedly used the missing person’s credit card and is also being investigated for second-degree identity theft, with the Pierce County Medical Examiner yet to identify the remains found in Lakewood, per The News Tribune’s reporting on the ongoing investigation.
• Chinook salmon returned to the North Fork Toutle watershed above Mount St. Helens for the first time in nearly 50 years on June 10 when 30 fish were released into Coldwater Creek through a partnership with the Cowlitz Indian Tribe and state agencies, as detailed in The News Tribune’s environmental coverage. The 1980 eruption wiped out roughly 230 square miles of ecosystem, and biologists now use a “trap and haul” system to move fish above the nearly 200-foot Sediment Retention System dam, with a goal of releasing at least 300 Chinook annually, according to Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife research scientist Thomas Buehrens.
• The Gig Harbor City Council on June 22 passed a code amendment allowing expanded sewer service to Minterbrook Oyster Company’s planned waterfront restaurant in Purdy, resolving a decade-long dispute over the project called Laguna’s on the Bay, as reported by The News Tribune. Co-owner Kent Kingman said the company will drop its December 2025 lawsuit against the city, with building construction expected to begin this winter and the restaurant opening roughly a year and a half later, per Kingman’s comments to The News Tribune.
• Seventy-eight foreign investors filed a federal lawsuit Monday against Point Ruston developers over $39 million in collective losses tied to the EB-5 immigration program, naming Loren Cohen and multiple affiliated entities, according to court filings reported by The News Tribune. The suit alleges the parking garage’s reclassification as “Common Parking Area” reduced collateral value by approximately $50.2 million, with total site liabilities listed at roughly $153.3 million against an estimated net liquidation value of $16.7 million, per the complaint detailed in The News Tribune.

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by senior editor Adam Lynn. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.