Officials Search for Body After Shots, Fire at Radical’s Washington Home
Authorities are combing the charred ruins of a house in Washougal, Wash., today, looking for the remains of a man who appears to have past ties to illegal firearms, domestic violence and white supremacists.
Steven Douglas Stanbary, who once said his hero was white supremacist Randy Weaver of Ruby Ridge fame, is believed to have died Wednesday as his home burned to the ground. Firefighters and police were held at bay by repeated gunfire and explosions.
The whereabouts of Stanbary’s wife and her teenage daughter also weren’t known late Wednesday. Authorities weren’t commenting on how many bodies they were searching for.
Today’s search takes place on the 27th anniversary of a landmark gun battle and standoff between the FBI and Robert J. Mathews - another iconic hero of white supremacists — about 180 miles away on Whidbey Island, Wash. Mathews headed a neo-Nazi terrorist group called The Order, some of whose members were previously involved in a shoot-out with FBI agents in Portland, Ore., not far from Washougal.
The current investigation involves the Clark County Sheriff’s Office and agents assigned to a Joint Terrorism Task Force, including FBI and ATF agents.