Homicide

Uhrich faces deliberate homicide charges

News from Jeff Smith Anderson Broadcasting

POLSON — A Polson man is accused of shooting and killing the mother of his child on the evening of May 10 in the Hell Roaring Canyon area of the Mission Mountains above State Highway 35, east of Polson.

Tyler Uhrich, 20, was formally charged with deliberate homicide for allegedly shooting Rozlyn Bluemel, 22, in the head, causing her death. He is also charged with felony criminal endangerment for alledgedly leaving the 2-year-old child the couple shared in a vehicle with its windows down the night Bluemel died. A $1,000,000 warrant of arrest had been issued for Uhrich.

According to court records, shortly before 10 p.m. on May 10, Lake County 911 took a report that a person, identified by the initials J.D., had reported being lost in the Hell Roaring Canyon area and that a domestic violence situation was occurring. J.D. said she had followed her friend Bleumel, who was riding in another pick-up with a male identified by the initials A.S., when she saw Uhrich arrive. Uhrich allegedly got out of his vehicle and started banging on the passenger side window of the pick-up occupied by Bluemel, and A.S. and was yelling at Bluemel.

At one point A.S. attempted to drive away, but Uhrich got into the back of the pick-up and began beating on the roof of the pick-up. A. S. then applied the brakes, causing Uhrich to hit the rear of the truck cab. That’s when A.S. heard a possible shot. Uhrich then jumped out of the bed of the truck and several more shots were heard. Bluemel then exited the pick-up. Out of fear, A.S. then drove down the road. A.S. indicated that the last thing he saw was Uhrich and Bluemel walking back up the road toward where Uhrich had left his vehicle with the child inside. As A.S. continued driving away, he heard three more shots fired.

Meanwhile, J.D. was still with her vehicle parked near Uhrich’s vehicle. She drove toward Uhrich and Bluemel when she heard shots fired. As she proceeded toward where Uhrich and Bluemel were, she could see that A.S. had already left and Uhrich was standing over Bluemel, who was on the ground facing up toward Uhrich. As J.D. approached, Uhrich turned his attention toward her, giving Bluemel the chance to flee into a wooded area. As she fled Uhrich

chased after her. J.D. then attempted to call Bluemel. She also attempted to call A.S.’s phone to see if he had come across Bluemel further down the road. A short time later, Uhrich emerged from the woods and banged on J.D.s’ window before walking toward the direction of where he had left his vehicle with the 2-year-old child inside. That’s when J.D. called 911 to report the disturbance before Tyler Uhrich driving to the main road to wait for responding law enforcement officers. When law enforcement arrived, neither Bluemel nor Uhrich could be located. Law enforcement did locate Uhrich’s vehicle, which was still running with the headlights on and the child inside. The window had been left open and the child appeared to be cold and was crying. A search for the pair continued overnight and into the next day. It was late afternoon May 11 when law enforcement officers located Bleumel’s body. She was lying face down on the ground in a heavily wooded area. She had been shot once in the back of the head with the bullet exiting the front temple area. Bluemel’s cellphone was discovered nearby. The search for Uhrich went on until approximately 6 p.m. on May 13, when Uhrich was arrested by Lake County Sheriff’s deputies in the Pablo area.

ROB ZOLMAN / VALLEY JOURNAL PHOTOS Raven Hall club members started installing flags on the Armed Forces Memorial Bridge at 4 a.m. on a Saturday.

Raven Hall Motorcycle Riding Club installs flags on bridge

By Taylor Davison / Valley Journal

POLSON — The Armed Forces Memorial Bridge recently had United States flags and flags from each branch of the military installed thanks to the efforts of the Raven Hall Motorcycle Riding Club (MRC).

The club was founded in a garage in May of 2016 with a few members, but it didn’t take long for the MRC to expand. “The club wanted to do something for the community, and when doing rides noticed there weren’t a lot of American flags being flown,” member Nate Ricciardi said. They decided to add a separate 501c3 nonprofit flag program to their roster, providing free U.S. flags to any home or business in Lake County.

Putting flags up along the Armed Forces Memorial Bridge was a natural undertaking for the club. “We really want to honor the American flag and the armed services. It’s a big part of what we do,” Ricciardi commented, mentioning that some of their members are also part of the armed services as well.

The project was a year in the making. The club teamed up with the City of Polson to get permission to install the flags, then had to wait over nine months for quotes on the banners and flags due to supply chain issues.

Once the flags finally arrived, however, the club was ready to go and quickly finalized with the city.

The Raven Hall MRC is now committed to raising $10,000 over the course of five years to continue to care for the bridge flags, which are required to be replaced every year. The club has already raised funds for this and the next two years and will take the flags down on the second week of October before replacing them each year the first weekend of May.

The club averages 100 flag installations per year, typically five flags per week during riding season, and even replaces non-serviceable flags and damaged poles. Their entire operation, after initial support by club president Edward Lee to get the program off the ground, is now funded entirely by donations from the community.

Those interested in making a donation or learning more about the club can reach out to Raven Hall on their Facebook page at: www.facebook. com/FriendsofRavenHallMRC, or simply swing by the clubhouse, 710 First Street E in Polson, whenever there’s a motorcycle outside. Whether contributing financially or not, the club appreciates the support it receives from the community.

“We have lots of plans for the future,” Ricciardi stated. “We plan on helping this community out in a lot of different ways.”

Tester pushes infant formula manufacturers to address crisis

News from the Office of Senator Tester

U.S. SENATE — In his continued effort to address the supply chain crisis, Senator Tester recently joined 31 of his colleagues in sending a letter to Mardi Mountford, President of the Infant Nutrition Council of America, urging infant formula manufacturers to address the shortage occurring across the country.

“This shortage has placed an unacceptable burden on parents and caregivers and has put the health of babies and infants at risk,” Tester and his colleagues wrote. “For many families, infant formula is critical for ensuring children receive the nutrition they need to grow healthy and well-nourished … There is no easy substitute for infant formula, and this shortage has left families across the nation scrambling to figure out how they will safely care for their children.”

They concluded: “We urge the Infant Nutrition Council of America and your member companies to do all you can to increase infant formula production and distribution, and prevent future supply chain disruptions.”