Charge filed in river body case

According to a report by Kathy Hedberg in the Sept. 30 Lewiston Morning Tribune, the grandson of the woman whose body was recovered from the Snake River May 1 upstream from Central Ferry has been charged with failing to report her death. The badly decomposed body, which was discovered by fishermen on the Garfield County side of the river, was identified days after its discovery as that of Lavina Hietala, 72, who had been reported missing at Kamiah. High spring runoff was believed to be the key factor in carrying the body so far downstream. It was recovered by the Whitman County Marine unit.

Her death has been the subject of an investigation in Lewis County, Idaho, and her grandson, Justin M. Hietala, 27, became a person of interest in the case. He was charged at Grangeville Thursday with failing to notify the coroner or deputies there of her death after discovering her body. Autopsy report indicates Mrs. Hietala died of natural causes because she had an enlarged heart, Hedberg’s Tribune report said.