The husbands of two drowned state employees plan to sue Washington, claiming safety lapses.
OLYMPIA, Wash. — The state of Washington could face legal action from the husbands of two state employees who drowned while conducting field work for the Department of Fish and Wildlife in separate incidents that occurred just four months apart.
Mary Valentine, 48, died in January 2024 while snorkeling and counting steelhead in the Duckabush River in Jefferson County. Four months earlier, Erin Peterson, 31, drowned in the Wind River in Skamania County while trapping baby salmon for the department. The husbands of both women are pursuing legal action, claiming the state
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