2A — THE OBSERVER
THURSDAY, JULY 16, 2020
LOCAL/REGION
DAILY Medical examiner says missing teen drowned
PLANNER
By Chris Collins
TODAY
EO Media Group
Today is Thursday, July
16, the 198th day of 2020.
There are 168 days left in
the year.
BAKER CITY — A
17-year-old boy who had
been the subject of a week-
long search in the area
of Hewitt Park in eastern
Baker County was found
dead Friday night.
A kayaker at the park
spotted the body of Thierno
Bah fl oating in the water
west of the boat docks about
50 yards from shore, Ashley
McClay, Baker County
Sheriff’s spokeswoman,
said Monday.
The Baker County Sher-
iff’s Offi ce was notifi ed at
6:03 p.m. Friday
“It does appear that at
some point he fell in the
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
On July 16, 1945, the Unit-
ed States exploded its fi rst
experimental atomic bomb
in the desert of Alamogor-
do, New Mexico; the same
day, the heavy cruiser USS
Indianapolis left Mare Island
Naval Shipyard in California
on a secret mission to de-
liver atomic bomb compo-
nents to Tinian Island in the
Marianas.
ON THIS DATE
In 1557, Anne of Cleves,
who was briefl y the fourth
wife of England’s King Henry
VIII, died in London at age
41.
In 1790, a site along the
Potomac River was desig-
nated the permanent seat of
the United States govern-
ment; the area became
Washington, D.C.
In 1862, Flag Offi cer David
G. Farragut became the fi rst
rear admiral in the United
States Navy.
In 1969, Apollo 11 blasted
off from Cape Kennedy on
the fi rst manned mission to
the surface of the moon.
In 1973, during the Senate
Watergate hearings, former
White House aide Alexan-
der P. Butterfi eld publicly
revealed the existence of
President Richard Nixon’s
secret taping system.
In 1999, John F. Kennedy
Jr., his wife, Carolyn, and
her sister, Lauren Bessette,
died when their single-en-
gine plane, piloted by
Kennedy, plunged into the
Atlantic Ocean near Martha’s
Vineyard, Massachusetts.
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• 7 p.m.: 1-7-4-2; • 10 p.m.: 6-3-5-0
water and
drowned,”
McClay said.
Bah could
not swim, she
said.
Bah
“This is not
the outcome
myself, or anyone on our
Search and Rescue team,
had hoped for,” Sheriff
Travis Ash stated in a press
release. “Our condolences
go out to the family and
friends of Thierno.”
Dr. James Davis, Baker
County medical exam-
iner, said drowning was the
cause of death.
“There were no signs of
any other contributing fac-
tors there,” Davis said.
Bah had gone missing
on Friday, July 3, from the
Hewitt Park campground
where he was vacationing
with his foster parents,
Ahmed Ebeid and Omnia
“Nora” Mahmoud, who live
in the Portland area, and a
group of friends.
The park is in eastern
Baker County, 3 miles
east of Richland just off
Highway 86.
Bah, was originally from
the West African country of
Guinea. He had been placed
in foster care with the Port-
land-area couple about two
months ago, McClay said.
Bah had gone for a walk
about 5:30 Friday evening.
He commonly took long
walks, family members
said. They called to report
him missing about 9 o’clock
that night after he failed to
return to camp.
McClay said Bah is
believed to have fallen in
the water and died some-
time that night.
Last week, his family
offered a reward to anyone
with information that might
lead to helping searchers
fi nd the boy.
Members of the Baker
County Sheriff’s Offi ce
Search and Rescue Team
began searching for Bah
on July 3. They later were
joined by members of the
Umatilla County Sheriff’s
Offi ce Search and Rescue
Team, Malheur County
Sheriff’s Offi ce, Oregon
Department of Forestry,
Idaho Power and Oregon
State Police.
The search included
ground crews who inter-
viewed people camped at
Hewitt Park and the nearby
Holcomb Park on Brownlee
Reservoir as well as resi-
dents of the Richland and
Halfway areas. Aerial
drones with infrared capa-
bilities, boats equipped with
side scan sonar, a diver and
a fi xed-wing aircraft were
used during the effort to
fi nd Bah. Fliers with photos
of Bah and a description of
him also were distributed in
the area.
Loved ones want more COVID-19 protections for inmates
By Alex Castle
EO Media Group
PENDLETON — Lydia
Jarrell stood looking across
the fenced-off exterior of
Eastern Oregon Correc-
tional Institution on Friday,
July 10. A few hundred
yards away from the facility
is the closest she has been
to her husband in more than
four months, since visita-
tions ceased at the Pend-
leton prison in February
due to a fl u outbreak and
then were later suspended
statewide in March due to
COVID-19.
Jarrell’s husband is one
of the 1,700 men incar-
cerated at EOCI, which
announced its fi rst con-
fi rmed cases on Wednesday,
July 8, and went into a
14-day quarantine due to
an outbreak of the virus
on Monday, July 13. As of
July 13, there are 19 cases
in the facility, 16 inmates
and three staff, according to
prison offi cials.
The cases at EOCI are
just the latest in Oregon’s
prisons, which to date has
reported 398 total cases in
state prisons, 315 among
inmates and 83 among staff.
One inmate has reportedly
died from the virus.
The ability for
COVID-19 to spread
quickly though crowded,
indoor settings is a terri-
fying situation for those
with loved ones inside the
system, like Jarrell, who
stood outside in the after-
noon heat to protest fol-
lowing a short nap to
recover from clocking off
from work at 5 a.m.
“These are our husbands,
our sons, our fathers, our
brothers, our uncles, our
loved ones,” she said. “This
is already a scary time as
it is, and we’re stuck out
here worrying about them
in there — helpless — with
nothing we can do.”
Jarrell joined three other
women with loved ones in
Photo by Ben Lonergan/EO Media Group
Outside Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution in Pend-
leton, Barbara Dickerson protests for stronger COVID-19
precautions in Oregon’s prisons. Dickerson’s husband is
an inmate at EOCI and tested positive for COVID-19.
the Oregon prison system
outside of the Pendleton
institution on July 10, to
protest what they say are
dangerous conditions as a
result of negligence from
Gov. Kate Brown and the
Oregon Department of
Corrections.
Among their many con-
cerns are that correctional
offi cers working inside the
state’s prisons aren’t being
required to wear masks
at all times while on duty
despite Brown’s execu-
tive order mandating they
be worn in indoor public
spaces throughout the state.
“Our concern is that
masks have been mandated
by our governor. And if the
DOC doesn’t enforce that,
the superintendents (must)
enforce it within their
prisons — they’re jeopar-
dizing not only our loved
ones inside, but of taking it
home and jeopardizing their
families,” said Patty Young-
blood, whose son is incar-
cerated at EOCI.
The Oregon Depart-
ment of Corrections’ policy
requires prison staff and
inmates to wear masks
when they cannot maintain
6 feet of physical distance.
Masks also have been man-
dated for all inmates in
medical and food areas,
along with some work
locations.
The department has
stated it’s testing and
screening all symptomatic
inmates, isolating and quar-
antining those believed to
have the virus or come in
contact with it, and con-
ducting contact tracing
investigations on those who
test positive.
Joseph City Council welcomes park volunteer, code offi cer
DELIVERY ISSUES?
If you have any problems
receiving your Observer, call
the offi ce at 541-963-3161.
By Bill Bradshaw
EO Media Group
JOSEPH — The city
of Joseph has a few new
people on board, having
welcomed a new code
enforcement offi cer, two
new maintenance workers
and a 6-year-old volunteer
to help keep the city park
free of trash and accompa-
nying germs.
Enzo Braden, the elder
son of City Administrator
Larry Braden, asked to
address the city council
at its Thursday, July 9,
meeting. Enzo asked Mayor
Teresa Sajonia if he could
serve as a volunteer to pick
Correction
In the July 9 B section
story, “Project coming
to a close,” the article
erroneously stated David
Johnson was working
with the Columbia
Development Authority
on solutions for main-
tenance of the artifi cial
owl burrows. The CDA
is not involved in the
project. The EO Media
Group regrets the error.
up trash at the park and oth-
erwise help keep it clean.
“I just don’t want anyone
to get germs from the park,”
Enzo said.
In another matter,
Braden introduced the
city’s new code enforce-
ment offi cer, Christian
Ambroson, to the council.
Ambroson’s hiring
comes on the heels of the
city’s June 4 decision to
give Wallowa County 90
days’ notice it was can-
celing its contract for law
enforcement services.
The city’s chief complaint
was the county was not
enforcing city ordinances
and codes. While the city
wants to retain the Wallowa
County Sheriff’s Offi ce
for patrol services, the
council decided it needed
a more effi cient way to
enforce code and ordinance
violations.
Braden said Ambroson,
who has a law degree, will
be the person to approach
residents who appear to be
in violation of city ordi-
nances and attempt to
resolve the violations.
“I just want to work with
the people,” Ambroson told
the council.
If need be, he will be the
one who issues citations.
Such citations will be heard
quarterly by a hearing
offi cer, who has yet to be
named.
Braden at last month’s
meeting said junk or
wrecked vehicles or uncon-
trolled weeds and grass
within city limits are the
most common violations.
Property owners have
10 days to remedy the
problem. After that, the
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Union County Museum to stay closed
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Teriyaki Chicken $12 Entre $18
Salad
The Observer
UNION — The Union
County Museum will not
open this year.
A press release
Wednesday announced the
board of directors decided
to keep the doors on the
museum in Union closed,
putting an end to a season
already delayed two months
because of the coronavirus.
“Due to the COVID-19
pandemic and the precau-
tions underway to reduce
its spread, rather than
opening to the public on a
regular schedule, we have
decided to use the 2020
season to upgrade the facil-
ities, freshen exhibits and
work on museum outreach
and educational programs,”
Nod Palmer, president, said
in the press release.
The museum tradition-
ally is open Mother’s Day
through September.
The board is seeking
help from volunteers for a
range of projects. People
who want to help or learn
about opportunities can
do so by contacting Linda
Bond at 541-910-8263 or
jeffl indabond@gmail.com.
For renewals or fi rst-time
signups for memberships,
contact Carol Mulvany at
cjmulvany@charter.net.
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City offi cials emphasized
last month they were sat-
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