WAITSBURG⎯On Thursday, October 10, officers from the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, the Walla Walla Police Department and Crisis Response Team members responded to a Main Street home in Waitsburg after a woman reported that her son, Markes A. Cantrell was allegedly threatening her and two other women with a metal bat inside her home. The woman told Walla Walla dispatch that her son, Cantrell was “smashing the kitchen” and she was frightened for her safety. She also claimed that he had been on meth the previous evening according to a press release. The two other women in the home escaped, one of whom climbed out of a window on to the roof, where she was recovered by the Columbia-Walla Walla County Fire District #2.

The attempt to get the suspect to peacefully leave the home drew bystanders and caused the Waitsburg School District to post on its social media page that it would release students early due to a “safety issue on Main Street.” Elementary students were dismissed at 2:40 p.m. to the multipurpose room and released in small groups. Waitsburg High School and Junior high students were told to avoid Main Street and use alternate routes home.

After hours of calling into the house and obtaining a search warrant, officers used WWPD K9 Farel to help locate Cantrell, who was found hiding in the attic of the Waitsburg home. Mr. Cantrell was taken into custody without incident and transported to Walla Walla County Corrections where he was booked on Felony Harassment Domestic-Violence, Obstructing Law Enforcement and an unrelated warrant. On Friday, October 11, Cantrell’s bail was set at $10,000 in Walla Walla Superior Court.