Kootenai County authorities have identified the man they believe fatally shot two Coeur d’Alene firefighters who had responded to a fire on Canfield Mountain yesterday. He was 20-year-old Wess Roley.
Sheriff Robert Norris told reporters this afternoon that Roley had recently moved to Idaho from Arizona, but not much else is known about him. Norris says investigators have not yet been able to search Roley’s car, in part because officers pushed it over an embankment yesterday to keep Roley from accessing it to escape.
“We have not been able to find any manifesto. We have not been able to inventory the vehicle, although people that have seen the vehicle do believe it appeared as if he was living in the vehicle. There was a lot of debris that's in the vehicle,” Norris said.
Roley’s body was found on the mountain next to a firearm that investigators believe he used to kill himself.
Norris says Roley had been contacted five times by local officers, but for minor occurrences.
“They had to do with more trespassing. He was trespassing at a location. He was asked to leave and he cooperated. We had some welfare checks on Roley and very, very minor. We don't show any criminal history for Roley,” he said.
Norris says investigators are searching for clues about his motive from his social media posts.
Investigators are still up searching the crime scene on Canfield Mountain while firefighters work to fully contain the 26-acre fire they believe Roley started.
Firefighters’ identities also released
Coeur d’Alene area fire officials have identified the two slain firefighters killed as they arrived to fight a wildfire on Canfield Mountain Sunday.
Both were battalion chiefs.
John Morrison, age 52, served the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department.
42-year-old Frank Harwood worked for Kootenai County Fire and Rescue.
“Chief Harwood was a leader in our organization. He did an amazing job. He was a shift commander. He was well respected by his shift. This loss is felt by so many, including all of the members of his shift that worked and saw the incident yesterday,” said Kootenai Fire and Rescue Chief Chris Way.
A third firefighter, Coeur d’Alene Fire Engineer Dave Tysdal, age 47, is in critical condition, but stable after two surgeries. He’s in intensive care at Kootenai Health.
