Published:Tuesday, September 30, 2008 10:26 AM PDT
Serving the South Coast of Oregon

Body of Warm Springs woman found in burning car
Tuesday, September 30, 2008 10:26 AM PDT

BEND, Ore. (AP) — Crews called to fight a fire on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation last week discovered a woman’s body in a burning car.

Relatives of Lucinda Stwyer, a 24-year-old mother of three, told KTVZ-TV that the death was a homicide and meth played a role.

The FBI and the Warm Springs Tribal police have declined to provide or confirm any details about the case.

“Because it is a violent crime, potentially, that would give us jurisdiction under federal law,” said Oregon FBI spokeswoman Beth Anne Steele. “It’s an ongoing investigation. I can tell you there haven’t been any arrests at this time.”

Relatives of Stwyer told the Bend television station that she was involved with meth and had gotten into a physical fight with another woman last week. Last Wednesday, her family says, Stwyer went alone to a drug deal in the remote Trout Lake area of the reservation. They claim friends of the other woman were there and retaliated.

 


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