Blaine County Sheriff Walt Femling confirmed Monday that Mike Lance, 47, a jailer who had worked for the county for nearly 11 years, died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound Thursday morning.
Femling said the Magic Valley Critical Incident Task Force had questioned Lance the day before his death about alleged sexual misconduct with a Blaine County Jail inmate. The task force is an eight-county group that assists sheriffs' offices with internal investigations, officer-involved shootings and homicide cases that counties may be ill equipped to handle.
Femling said a woman now being held in the Twin Falls County Jail, who claimed that she had had sexual contact with Lance in June and July in the Blaine County Jail in Hailey, brought the allegations to the task force's attention.
"The first interview was Aug. 16 at the Twin Falls County Jail. Three detectives were assigned to the case," Femling said, adding that a formal interview of Lance by the task force was conducted on Aug. 24. "Mike was never charged in this case. He left the interview with his attorney. On Aug. 25 at 12:30 a.m. the Blaine County Jail received a call from Teresa Lance ... Lance's ex-wife, that Mike may be suicidal. Jail staff contacted on-duty officers."
A search-and-rescue dog led searchers up Water Gulch to a hilltop east of the Woodside area of Hailey, where Lance was found at about 4 a.m. Thursday.
"Because of the location and the steep terrain, (Bureau of Land Management) was contacted and sent a helicopter to assist us in bringing Mike's body off the hillside," Femling said.
The helicopter arrived at the scene at about 8:15 a.m.
Femling said a forensic pathologist at the Ada County Coroner's Office performed an autopsy Friday. The results of the autopsy, once they are available, will be part of a Magic Valley Critical Incident Task Force investigation into the allegations of sexual misconduct allegedly brought against Lance.
"We were in the middle of this investigation when this happened," Femling said. He noted that the investigation had nothing to do with the case of Sarah Johnson, the convicted Bellevue murderer who earlier this year alleged she was raped by an inmate in the Blaine County Jail.
Pursuant to a decision implemented Aug. 1, no female inmates have been or will be held in the Blaine County Jail, Femling said.
The public defender assigned to the woman who allegedly brought allegations against Lance, Kevin Cassidy, said he has no knowledge of such allegations.
"I don't know anything (about Lance)," said Cassidy, who in a pending criminal case for a probation violation is representing the woman Femling named in association with Lance.
Femling said authorities were notified by a "fill-in" public defender about the woman's allegations against Lance when she was in Blaine County for a court hearing.
Cassidy has been recorded as the woman's public defender since March 24.
A member of the task force, Sgt. Art Rebollozo, the lead investigator with the Twin Falls County Sheriff, said he had no information about the investigation into the allegations.
"I'd love to make a comment, but all press releases need to go through Walt Femling," he said.
Lance's body was cremated on Monday after a memorial on Sunday at Lions Park in Hailey, where Femling and others gave speeches in honor of Lance and his service to the community. About 40 police vehicles were involved in the funeral procession. Femling said more officers would have attended Lance's funeral if they had been given more advance notice.
Blaine County Coroner Russ Mikel said the funeral and cremation were organized quickly to accommodate pressing schedules of out-of-town relatives.
"I advised against it," Mikel said. He added that he is investigating the manner of Lance's death to confirm whether or not it was a suicide.
Femling said he was shocked by the allegations against Lance. He added that his office had a duty to complete its investigation into the alleged misconduct, but that Lance had continually denied the allegations, including in his suicide note to Teresa Lance. Femling said his office might call in another team to assist with the investigation.
Mike Lance
