An Addy man, 44, was arrested by the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office May 26 after allegedly keeping a woman and her two children in a tepee in the woods near Bonaparte Mountain.
     The sheriff’s office was contacted May 22 by Stevens County Sheriff’s Office to help locate the woman and her children, said Frank Rogers, Okanogan County.
     Her father, who lives in Florida, had reported his daughter missing in the Bonaparte area of Okanogan County but called Stevens County authorities, Rogers said.
     While investigating, Sgt. Ernie Gahimer learned the woman apparently was with the Addy man. He also learned there was a protection order for the man to stay away from the woman, who recently had been in Addy with him, Rogers said.
     Addy is in Stevens County south of Colville.
     On May 2, the man, woman and her children, ages 3 months and 3 years, apparently were dropped off in the Bonaparte Mountain area, the sheriff continued.
     The man apparently believed the world would end May 12, so they “were going to the woods to survive, taking a month’s supply of food, a rifle and 100 rounds of ammunition,” Rogers said. “Prior to leaving Addy they burned all of their identification and stated they would not be needing it in the future.”
     Over the next two days Gahimer contacted several people in the Bonaparte area and learned of a possible location for the four people, he said. He also learned the man is a convicted felon and cannot possess any type of firearm.
          On May 26, Gahimer, Sgt. Eric Mudgett and Detective Mike Murray received more information of a possible location of the four subjects in the Bonaparte area. They drove into the area in unmarked vehicles to attempt to locate the subjects, Rogers said.
     The deputies posed as woodcutters since they weren’t sure what the man would do if he spotted uniformed officers, the sheriff said.
     Around 10:15 a.m. they located the four at about milepost 14 on Forest Service Road No. 3230.
     “The subjects were actually staying in a tepee they had set up approximately 30 yards off the roadway,” said Rogers. The man “actually walked down to the pickup and was talking to the deputies about the wood to be cut in the area.”
     They then identified themselves and the man was arrested on suspicion of violating the protection order, being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession of a dangerous weapon and on two Spokane County warrants.
     The woman and the children were taken to The Support Center, Omak. They were in good shape and showed no signs of injuries, Rogers said.