News-Times Whidbey
LIVING
Marching his way to state competition A11
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2014 | Vol. 115, No. 12 | WWW.WHIDBEYNEWSTIMES.COM | 75¢
Body found on beach; cause of death unknown
Coupeville officer arrested and held on $30,000 bail By JESSIE STENSLAND Staff reporter
A deputy with the Coupeville Marshal’s Office was arrested Friday in connection with a 2007 incident in which he allegedly handcuffed his former girlfriend on the side
of a dark road during a fight, according to an Oak Harbor police report. Hodges Gowdey III, a well-known and longtime deputy marshal, appeared in Island County Superior Court Friday afternoon, SEE ARRESTED, A14
By JESSIE STENSLAND Photo by Jessie Stensland/Whidbey News-Times
Hodges Gowdey appears in Island County Superior Court Friday.
A MYSTERY SOLVED?
‘For people who love history, it’s about as good as it gets’ By JUSTIN BURNETT
O
Staff reporter
An employee with Washington State Parks discovered a body on the beach outside of his on-site residence Thursday near Possession Point State Park on South Whidbey. The body was tentatively identified as Brandon Smith, 35, of Clinton, according to Island County Coroner Robert Bishop. Bishop said an autopsy is set for Saturday. He expects to be able to positively identify the body and possibly identify the manner of the man’s death, though any toxicology testing will take time.
South Whidbey Record Editor
nce strong and new, it secured our future. Now rusty and covered in sea life, it will connect us with our past. Maybe. Considered by some to be a Holy Grail of Puget Sound archaeology, three men — a commercial diver, an amateur historian and an attorney — believe they have found the fabled lost anchor of Captain George Vancouver’s exploration of the Pacific Northwest more than 200 years ago. Lying in shallow water along the west side of Whidbey Island, the historic artifact could be recovered by the three-man team that makes up Anchor Ventures LLC within the month. Thought the only physical proof left behind by the long-ago expedition, the anchor has been a highly sought-after prize by historical groups for years. Some say its discovery and subsequent recovery will spark international interest and even a legal battle for ownership. But is this the artifact SEE ANCHOR, A10
SEE STORY, A14
Land trust rejects COER call to refuse money from Navy By JANIS REID Staff reporter
Watercolor by Steve Mayo/Bellingham Maritime Museum
An artist’s rendering depicts the HMS Discovery and HMS Chatham somewhere in Puget Sound. A group of history hunters believe they have located a lost anchor from the Chatham.
Whidbey Camano Land Trust will continue to accept Navy money to acquire land within Ebey’s Reserve, despite a request from jet noise opponents to suspend the relationship. Citizens of Ebey’s Reserve, or COER, asked last month that the Land Trust cease using Navy funds until the ongoing Environmental Impact Statement on the EA-18G Growler is finished. That’s expected to take about 17 months. COER has criticized the noise levels of the Navy’s MONSON touch-and-go operations at Outlying Field Coupeville, which is surrounded by residential homes and shares a property line with Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve. COER offered to give a presentation in January to the land trust board about the proposed moratorium on Navy funding but were denied. “The board appreciates COER’s offer of an in-person presentation but found it to be unnecessary,” wrote president Lenny Corin last month in a letter to COER member Maryon Attwood. SEE FUNDING, A10
Sweetheart Dance with the Sailors February 14th 3:00p.m. to 4:30 p.m. please call to r.s.v.p. by february 10th
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