The Columbia Press
July 2, 2021
Officially open
Memorial gets some much-needed protection
Works people for completing the
surround for the memorial at Sea-
farers Park,” Commissioner Rick
The memorial in Seafarers Park ad-
Newton said. “It looks really good;
jacent to Hammond Marina stands as
way better than I thought it
a testament to those who lost
would.”
their lives savings others.
Initially, the monument
So it’s been hard for some
stood
at the location of the
to see park visitors and some
Point
Triumph
Condos, which
campers using it to dry their
overlooks
the
site
of the trag-
clothes or to prop up a cooler
edy.
It
was
moved
to the park
full of beer.
and
rededicated
there
in May
The Triumph Memorial hon-
1991.
ors the five U.S. Coast Guard
“In memory of the valiant
members who died in 1961
crew
of the Coast Guard Mo-
while rescuing the fishing ves-
tor
Lifeboat
Triumph who,
sel Mermaid, which broke a
on
the
night
of
Jan. 12, 1961,
rudder during a severe storm.
during
a
severe
storm, made
City leaders decided it was
the
supreme
sacrifice
while
time to rescue the memorial.
assisting
the
fishing
vessel
Warrenton’s Public Works
Photo by Rick Newton
Mermaid on Peacock Spit,”
Department got a great deal
City
crews
installed
a
protective
fence
around
the
the memorial reads.
on rope from the state surplus
Triumph Memorial in Seafarers Park in Hammond.
Those who died: John L.
office in Salem, according to
Culp, John S. Hoban, Joseph E.
Petrin, Ralph E. Mace, and Gordon
Sussex.
Last weekend’s extreme heat led to have not yet been determined.
There was one survivor on the
the deaths of 63 Oregonians, according
Warrenton’s high was 101 degrees on
Coast Guard lifeboat. Two fish-
to the State Medical Examiner’s Office. Sunday, according to AccuWeather.
ermen from the Mermaid also
Several death investigations still are
No deaths were reported in Clatsop
drowned.
in progress and final causes of death County, but Multnomah had 45.
The Columbia Press
Members of the Warrenton-Hammond
Historical Society want the public to
know the little museum across from
City Hall is up and running. If the sign
is out, the museum is open and you’re
welcome to come in.
3
Operations Manager Kyle Sharpsteen.
Pacific Power donated poles and city
workers installed them this week.
“I just wanted to thank the Public
Heat blamed for 63 deaths in Oregon
Wildfire training was just in time DNA: Child will be given proper burial, family says
Firefighters across the state
as well as members of the
Oregon National Guard just
finished wildland fire recerti-
fication last week and already
they’ve been called up to fight
a large wildfire.
Gov. Kate Brown declared
the Wrentham Market Fire
in Wasco County a confla-
gration, which cleared the
way for the state fire marshal
to mobilize firefighters and
equipment from other areas
to assist in battling the blaze.
The fire outside Dufur has
burned more than 10,000
acres.
Task forces from Mult-
nomah, Washington and
Yamhill counties reported
Wednesday for a briefing
and assignments. Additional
resources from other areas
were expected to be called
up.
Downtown group hires new leader
The Astoria Downtown His-
toric District Association has
hired an interim executive di-
rector.
Former Astoria City Council
member Jessamyn West will
serve in the position through
the end of 2021.
After a failed search for
a permanent director, the
board voted to close the
search temporarily, secure an
interim with the skills needed
to lead the organization, and
reopen the search at the end
of the year.
West is an owner of the
Oddfellows Building and di-
rector of the Astoria Art and
Movement Center.
Continued from Page 1
In 2018, the Oregon State
Police Medical Examiner’s
Office was awarded a grant
to perform innovative DNA
techniques on unsolved un-
identified skeletal remains
cases.
The toddler case was rec-
ognized as one that could be
resolved by phenotyping and
investigative genetic genealo-
gy provided by OSP’s vendor
lab, Parabon Nanolabs.
The first report using genet-
ic material determined the
child was of Northern Euro-
pean descent, with fair skin,
brown eyes, and brown to
light blonde hair.
Last October, a DNA profile
suitable for comparison to
genealogy databases was ex-
tracted.
Several relatives to the un-
identified boy were found.
Searching their family trees
eventually led to the imme-
diate family members of the
boy who then provided infor-
mation regarding his identi-
ty.
During an interview with
a potential relative, the man
said he’d had a younger
half-brother named Stevie,
who was born with Down
syndrome.
The child was born in New
Mexico, but mysteriously
vanished during a brief stay
in Oregon in the early 1960s,
the man said.
New Mexico’s vital records
are kept private, so inves-
tigators had to make a for-
mal request of any children
named Stevie or Steven born
in late 1960 or early 1961 to a
woman who’d been identified
through genetic genealogy.
The New Mexico records
department discovered a
birth certificate for Steven Al-
exander Crawford born Oct.
2, 1960, in Las Cruces.
The family member submit-
ted an oral swab for kinship
inference testing. The results
were definitive; the deceased
boy and the DNA donor were
half-brothers, sheriff’s offi-
cials announced Monday.
Officials have not yet re-
leased a cause of death or
who is suspected of killing
the boy. His mother is no lon-
ger living.
Based on genetic and cir-
cumstantial evidence, the
Jackson County Sheriff’s Of-
fice plans to release the body
to family members in New
Mexico, who plan to give him
a proper burial.