Officer Shooting, Suspicious Death in Lake County

The Lake County Sheriff's Office says a 49-year-old California man is being held on charges of attempted deliberate homicide after he opened fire on a Polson Police officer during a traffic stop.

Lake County Sheriff Don Bell says the shooting happened late on Friday evening, but details are just now being released. Bell says the Police officer stopped a northbound motorist on Highway 93, at Regatta Road, but the driver immediately opened fire with a rifle.

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A close call

Sheriff Bell says the officer, who was still in his patrol vehicle, was hit by shrapnel but was able to back up in his car and avoid being shot directly.

Later, officers on patrol spotted the suspect's vehicle north of Polson along Flathead Lake on Highway 93. They were then able to apprehend the suspect without incident at the Elmo Post Office.

He's now been identified as Cameron E. Francis of Gridley California and is being held in Lake County Jail in Polson.

Lake County detectives looking into suspicious death 

Also in Lake County today, investigators are looking into the suspicious death of a Polson woman, who was discovered after officers conducted a welfare check over the weekend. .

Sheriff Bell says Polson Police officers found 48-year-old Kimberly Goodson when they went to check on her after a 9-1-1 call saying her family hadn't heard from her for several days. The Lake County Sheriff/Coroner's Office was called and conducted a full examination of the scene.

Polson Police, Lake County, and the State Medical Examiner's office are following up on the investigation.