Kittitas County Sheriff

08/31/2026

MISSING EASTON MAN FOUND SAFE AFTER SIDE-BY-SIDE ROLLOVER

At about 7:15 p.m. Friday, August 28, an Easton-area family called Kittcom to report that an older man with medical conditions had driven his side-by-side into Easton several hours earlier and had not returned. He did not have a phone with him. His family had searched without success and was growing worried.

Deputies immediately began looking for people or cameras that might have seen him. They learned that a traffic-monitoring camera had recorded his side-by-side traveling east on Sparks Road at about 4 p.m. That critical lead helped direct the search, but deputies, family members, and a small hasty team of Kittitas County Search and Rescue volunteers were unable to find him that night.

At daylight, a larger KCSR team joined the search. Volunteers narrowed the search area after contacting firefighters who had seen the side-by-side heading up Easton Ridge beyond a wildfire road closure the previous day.

A short time later, the man’s family found him. He had driven up a steep and difficult trail on Easton Ridge, rolled the side-by-side off the trail, and spent the night trapped inside its cab. In the morning, he broke out the rear window, crawled back up to the trail, and waited there, calling for help.

Thankfully, his son was close enough to hear him.

His family took him to KVH for evaluation and care. Despite the rollover and a night spent trapped in the vehicle, he suffered no serious injuries.

Thank you to the family members, deputies, firefighters, dispatchers, and Kittitas County Search and Rescue volunteers whose persistence helped bring this potentially critical incident to a safe conclusion.

08/30/2026

The Forest Service is holding a public meeting to provide information and answer questions regarding the Three Queens, King, and Goat Fires. The meeting will take place Monday, August 31, 2026, at 7:00 pm at the Cle Elum-Roslyn High School Gymnasium located at 2692 SR 903, Cle Elum, WA 98922.

08/28/2026

08/28/2026

BEFORE YOU HEAD OUT, CHECK WILDFIRE CLOSURES

With a few summer weekends still ahead—including Labor Day weekend—we’re asking the public and our media partners to help spread the word about major wildfire closures at Lake Kachess, Lake Cle Elum, and in the Cle Elum Valley.

Local, state, and federal crews are fighting three wildfires in the area from the ground and the air. A significant portion of the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest is closed, including Kachess Campground, surrounding Forest Service roads, trails—including a portion of the Pacific Crest Trail—and all public-access areas at Lake Kachess and Lake Cle Elum.

We are profoundly grateful for the enormous effort underway to contain and suppress these fires and protect lives, property, and communities.

If you’re planning a trip outdoors in Kittitas County, please check current closures and evacuation notices before leaving home and plan accordingly. We welcome visitors and recreationists, and we want you to return to your favorite lakes, trails, and mountain areas. Right now, however, closures are necessary to protect both the public and the firefighting operations working to keep our communities safe.

The Sheriff’s Office and our state and federal law-enforcement partners are actively enforcing these closures.

Thank you for helping us spread the word—and for supporting the firefighters and communities affected by these fires.

08/26/2026

SUSPECT SOUGHT AFTER MAY PURSUIT NOW IN CUSTODY

On May 30, deputies pursued a stolen vehicle from Ellensburg onto Interstate 90. Spike strips eventually disabled the vehicle near milepost 107 along the Yakima River.

Two young men ran from the vehicle. Deputies took one into custody, while the other crossed the Yakima River and escaped on foot. Investigators later identified the second suspect as 20-year-old Jose Cortez Aguayo and shared this photograph while seeking information that could help locate him.

Cortez Aguayo was recently arrested by the Seattle Police Department during an undercover investigation into a separate crime. He is now being held in the King County Jail, with bail set at $500,000 on a robbery charge and an additional $500,000 on Kittitas County charges that include theft of a motor vehicle, felony eluding, assault, possession of a stolen firearm, unlawful possession of a firearm, and other offenses.

The other suspect from the May 30 pursuit remains in the Kittitas County Jail on charges arising from the same incident.

We appreciate the citizens who reported the crimes connected to this investigation and the law-enforcement agencies here and on the west side whose work helped identify, locate, and take both suspects into custody.

As in every criminal case, charges remain allegations, not convictions.

08/25/2026

This weekend, a woman at the Roza Recreation Area in the Yakima River Canyon made an instantly regrettable mistake most of us have made: she locked her keys in her car.

Stuck miles from the nearest services, she was fortunate to run into Deputy Jose Serrano. Before coming to KCSO, Deputy Serrano began his law enforcement career at Central Washington University—where officers get plenty of practice helping students retrieve keys locked inside vehicles.

We’re glad the right deputy, with the right equipment, happened to be in the right place to help a grateful visitor keep her weekend on track!

08/25/2026

08/23/2026

NEW GOAT FIRE PROMPTS LEVEL 3 "GO NOW" EVACUATION WARNINGS FOR SALMON LA SAC NORTH OF FRENCH CABIN CREEK

9:30 AM SUNDAY 8/23/26

The new Goat Fire in the northern portion of the Cle Elum Valley has elevated risk to residences and communities accessed by Salmon La Sac Road north of Forest Service Road 4308, or French Cabin Creek Road. That area is now under a LEVEL 3 – GO NOW evacuation advisory.

Deputies are recontacting and warning the dozen or so people that were identified living or staying in that area last night for the previous Level 2 “Get Set” notification.

A LEVEL 3 – GO NOW evacuation is the highest and final level of warning and indicates that everyone in the area is advised to leave immediately for their own safety and the safety and operational ability of firefighting personnel.

The Three Queens Fire team is responding to the Goat Fire to prevent its spread and to protect life and property in the Cle Elum Valley. Follow their page for information and updates on this and other wildfires in that area.

Follow the Sheriff's Office page for further evacuation notices and updates,.

Live, updated evacuation zones can be viewed at the Kittitas County Live Evacuation Map here:

https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/cbd279e3569d45b4aeb28bc1f0c616ff

08/22/2026

LEVEL 2 "GET SET" EVACUATION WARNINGS FOR SALMON LA SAC NORTH OF FRENCH CABIN CREEK ROAD

8:00 PM FRIDAY 8/21

The Three Queens Fire team is seeing seeing significant expansion of the fire to the northeast, toward Cooper Lake Road. Based on this movement and current high-risk fire conditions, the Sheriff's Office is issuing a LEVEL 2-GET SET evacuation notice for all residences and communities accessed by Salmon La Sac Road north of Forest Service Road 4308 (aka French Cabin Creek Road).

Deputies are headed to the area to directly contact all persons in the area and advise them of this notice.

LEVEL 2 - GET SET means residents should be ready to evacuate on very short notice. While this is not a recommendation for all residents to evacuate immediately, the one-way-in-one-way-out infrastructure of this area means it might not be possible for deputies to return to contact people again if it becomes necessary to issue a LEVEL 3 - GO NOW warning.

Those with animals, children, or elderly or disabled household members may wish to consider leaving soon to allow travel in non-emergent conditions.

Residences and communities accessed by Salmon La Sac Road south of FS 4308, as far south as Davis Creek, remain on a LEVEL ONE - GET READY notice.

Please follow the Sheriff's Office page for further evacuation notices and updates, and follow the Three Queens Fire Information 2026 page for ongoing information about fire behavior and containment efforts.

Current, updated evacuation zones can be viewed at the Kittitas County Live Evacuation Map here:

https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/cbd279e3569d45b4aeb28bc1f0c616ff