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Body identified as missing Coolin man Posted: Thursday, Mar 22, 2007 - 10:03:55 am PDT By KEITH KINNAIRD News editor
Cause of death still under investigation SANDPOINT -- The body found at Priest Lake on Monday has been positively identified as that of Leslie Carlton Breaw, a 48-year-old Coolin man who was reported missing last month.The cause of Breaw's death remained under investigation on Wednesday, Bonner County Sheriff's officials said. Authorities are awaiting a pathology report from the Spokane County Medical Examiner's Office, which conducted the autopsy on Breaw. The identification comes a day after two people described as persons of interest in Breaw's disappearance were arrested in southwestern Florida.
What roles -- if any -- either person had in Breaw's disappearance and death is still unknown, according to Bonner County Prosecutor Phil Robinson. "We don't know where to go with this," said Robinson, who adds that it's still not clear whether Breaw's death was the result of foul play. "I don't even know the cause of death. It could be suicide; it could be exposure; it could be hiking in the snow and he had a heart attack and died," said Robinson. Keith Brown, however, is charged with unlawfully using Breaw's debit card at a convenience store after the man was reported missing. The use of the financial transaction card was discovered as part of the investigation into Breaw's disappearance, Robinson said. Robinson said the purchase, possibly for gasoline, was relatively small, although Keith Brown's unauthorized possession of the card amounts to a felony. The arm of the law doesn't typically extend beyond western states in Bonner County felony theft cases, but Robinson said an exception was made in this matter given the fact that sheriff's officials described the Browns as persons of interest in Breaw's disappearance. See BODY, Page 3 To extend their reach, authorities here sought a warrant for Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution, which enabled federal agents to track down and apprehend the Browns anywhere within the contiguous U.S. "Why we went to the extent of doing UFAP was to get them in custody so somebody could ask them, 'What do you know about this missing guy?'" Robinson said. Federal marshals and FBI agents found the Browns living in Fort Myers Beach, a seaside community more than 3,000 miles from Bonner County. Keith Brown awaits extradition back to Idaho, but Robinson said it was not known Wednesday afternoon if Brown would fight or cooperate with those proceedings. Tyrah Brown has no pending charges in Idaho, Robinson said. Breaw was reported missing on Feb. 4 and his Dodge pickup truck was subsequently found near his Missouri Street home. Robinson said Breaw could have been missing since as far back as mid-January. The relationship between Breaw and the Browns was not entirely clear Wednesday. The Browns, who profess to be husband and wife, were reportedly staying in a home on Breaw's property at Priest Lake, Robinson said. Montana Department of Corrections records show Keith Brown was charged with fraud and drug possession in Gallatin County in the late 1990s and imprisoned for a period of time. Keith Brown was born in Madison, Wisc., and has used more than a dozen aliases over the years. Tyrah Brown was charged with theft in Missoula County in 2000 and imprisoned, according to Montana prison records. She was denied parole on a theft rap in 2001 and charged with escape in Yellowstone County the following year. She was born Tyrah Brea Harding in Sheldon, Iowa. POST YOUR OPINION
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Bonner County Daily Bee
P.O. Box 159 / Sandpoint, Idaho 83864 / 208-263-9534
Bonner County Daily Bee Online is updated at 10am PST.