Shy, Gentle, Cheerful
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C M C M Y K Y K STATE DANCE CHAMPIONS Marshfield’s Upbeats capture seventh crown, B1 Serving Oregon’s South Coast Since 1878 SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013 Coos Bay and North Bend police teams Jury removed evidence, Shy, gentle, including a pink back- pack, from the wooded area behind the for- acquits mer DV8 night club in Empire where a body cheerful was found Thursday. in rape By Alysha Beck, The World Holly Berry’s friends case grapple with tragedy BY GEORGE ARTSITAS The World BY TIM NOVOTNY, THE WORLD COQUILLE — A Coos Bay man ome came to know her in recent months. was acquitted Thursday of rape and sexual abuse. Others had known her for years. Salvador Ledesma Barron was Regardless of how much time they spent found not guilty on two counts of S with Coos Bay’s Holly Berry, they all felt sexual abuse, one count of rape blessed to know the gentle but troubled soul. and one count of sexual penetra- tion with a foreign object. He had The identify of a body “She liked blankets and been accused of molesting and found Thursday won’t be liked the fact that she could later raping a pre-adolescent girl. confirmed for several days. come in and visit, spend The jury deliberated for nearly But grief closely followed hours and hours there,”she two hours before finding Barron the news that the 34-year- said. “I enjoyed the time I not guilty. Afterward, Barron showed emotion for the first time old’s mysterious disappear- got to spend with Holly.” since the trial began. As his family ance had come to an appar- She was by all accounts crowded around him outside the ently tragic conclusion. shy, and Pinney said she courtroom, he wiped away a tear “Holly was so full of joy seemed to enjoy the securi- with his thumb. and love, but battled ty of the store and their Defense lawyer James von Hip- depression as well,”Wanda friendship. She would con- pel made only a brief statement Sanders-Young said in an tribute hours each year, after the verdict: email to The World. “There always in the store, knitting “I’m happy with how it hap- was just something about hats for servicemen over- pened,”he said. “I just don’t think her that reminded (me) of seas. She would then go it’s too appropriate for me to get one of my daughters and all home and email Pinney just too involved as far as airing things I could do is was wrap my to talk about the “I Love to the public.” arms around her. She may Lucy” episode she would be Coos County District Attorney have been 34 (but) in many watching. Paul Frasier said he was disappoint- ways had the innocence of a Friends say Berry was not ed, but he expressed respect for the young child.” one to wander around. If jury’s verdict. Frasier said proving The sentiment is common she had a destination in guilt beyond reasonable doubt is among her friends. Berry’s mind, she would go straight difficult when the case hinges on family chose not to speak there and straight back. the word of a young person. about her Friday, but others Sometimes the destina- who knew her embraced the tion was just down the SEE JURY | A12 opportunity to envision her street at the Nancy Dev- in better days. ereux Center, a drop-in Lyn Pinney said she felt a mental health counseling kinship to Berry, whom she center that also serves had come to know well over meals. Director Barbara the years. Their relationship Anderson said Berry wasn’t Hospital began inside Pinney’s blan- a steady visitor, but she was ket store, then located always welcome. Contributed Photo inside the Pony Village addition Friends said Holly Berry was full of love and joy and quick with a smile. Mall. SEE HOLLY | A11 praised Inside Police expect autopsy on body today A timeline in the must wait for the autopsy. McCullough Around 5 p.m. Thursday, police case of Holly Berry’s BY GEORGE ARTSITAS AND ALYSHA BECK BY TIM NOVOTNY disappearance. The World expects the autopsy results sometime removed a dark pink backpack from the The World next week. scene where the body was found. Berry Glenda Campbell is EMPIRE — An autopsy is scheduled Berry was last seen Jan. 3, at her was recorded on a store’s surveillance COOS BAY — Bay Area Hospi- still missing from the for today on the body found Thursday Norman Street apartment in the video the day of her disappearance, tal’s new wing is receiving positive same area. in Empire. Coos Bay police say the Empire area. On Thursday, wearing a dark pink backpack and a reviews after its first week of use. body probably is that of a missing 34- McCullough said a discovered body purple coat. A stage-by-stage moving More photos from year-old Coos Bay woman. was wearing clothes that fit the McCullough said police did not find process concluded with the the search for Holly. “There’s a very likely indication description of Berry given to police the marks on the body consistent with foul Thursday opening of the post- Page A11 that it is Holly Berry,” Chief Gary day she went missing. play, but they would not make a final surgical third floor. Intensive care McCullough said Thursday evening. Jay Maxner, Berry’s stepfather, said determination until after the autopsy. and outpatient clinical services Because of the body’s decomposi- he and Berry’s mother were distraught at made the switch earlier in the tion, however, a positive identification the possibility their daughter was dead. SEE AUTOPSY | A11 week. Employees and patients were pleased with the new space. “It’s gorgeous,” said Sylvia Kiewert, the hospital’s lead service Woman perishes in registration representative. Kiewert is among the first peo- ple most patients meet as they Langlois home fire enter the building. She has been with the hospital for 25 years and THE WORLD ment found the house fully engulfed remembers when it was just a in flame and Peck dead inside. small, rural hospital. She says the LANGLOIS — A 63-year-old Local authorities were assisted building’s size makes a good first woman died in one of two South by the Brookings, Port Orford and impression — especially the spa- Coast house fires Thursday. Gold Beach police as well as Ore- cious main entrance. Firefighters found the body of gon State Police and the Sixes River “Just the look on their faces is Bethany Ann Peck inside her Alder one of awe,”she said. “You can tell Street home in Langlois. The fire’s Fire Department. they really spent a lot of time with cause and her cause of death are Coos Bay man treated for the details.” under investigation. Beyond aesthetics, Kiewert said The fire was reported to the smoke inhalation the building conveys a message of Contributed photo Curry County Sheriff’s Office on Earlier Thursday, a Coos Bay A fire 63-year-old Langlois resident Bethany Ann Peck on Thursday night in her Alder Thursday night, just before mid- SEE HOSPITAL | A12 Street home. night. The Langlois Fire Depart- SEE FIRES | A12 Police reports . A2 Comics . A10 T S S Edna Fowler, Plantersville, Texas E Betty Stiles, Coos Bay A H D What’s Up . Go Puzzles . A10 Lois Blankenship, Coos Bay I Robert Phillips, Myrtle Point C T E A S South Coast. A3 Sports . B1 Elsie Olson, North Bend Chance of rain E | Obituaries A6 R N Fred Humphries, North Bend 53/40 I D Opinion. A4 Classifieds . C5 O F Weather | A12 C M C M Y K Y K C M C M Y K A2 •The World • Saturday, March 16,2013 Y K South Coast City Editor Ryan Haas • 541-269-1222, ext. 239 theworldlink.com/news/local ‘Friends’ want rhody garden open more frequently BY GAIL ELBER That new information The World Friends of the made BLM officials resolve to seek inclusion of the REEDSPORT — The Hinsdale Garden property on the National Friends of the Hinsdale Gar- Next meeting: Thursday, 6:30 Register as a “cultural land- den are gathering volunteers p.m., Reedsport Senior Center. scape.” who want to help open the Training session for the May To the American Rhodo- historic property more often 11 open day at the garden: dendron Society, the garden for the enjoyment of the April 20 is a treasure trove. Compar- public. ing old photos of the proper- At the Reedsport Garden Info: Sue Martino, 541-271- ty with Jane Hinsdale’s Club’s recent meeting, rep- 4065. records of plantings, horti- resentatives of the Friends culturists have been able to joined Steve Samuels, cul- with an eye to managing it identify rare rhododendron tural resource specialist with for public use. It commis- varieties, some no longer the Bureau of Land Manage- sioned historian Stephen commercially available. ment, and Mike Kelly, man- Dow Beckham to study the The Hinsdales also plant- ager of the BLM recreation property. ed mature specimen trees of area at Loon Lake, to solicit Beckham concluded that many varieties, some so large help from garden enthusi- the property wasn’t eligible they had to be brought in on asts. for inclusion on the National flatbed trucks and rail cars. Samuels recounted the Register of Historic Places They brought in 23,000 property’s history. because the house, designed cubic yards of sand and piled BLM has owned the for- by Hinsdale, wasn’t represen- it 10 feet deep in some places mer Hinsdale family proper- tative of any recognized style.