Family fears missing man killed in fire

SANDPOINT — Family of a missing northern Idaho man fear he was killed in the structure fire that destroyed a historic building on the Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation earlier this month.

Family of Daniel Julian Uhnak expressed their fears to Spokane, Wash., television station KREM on Thursday and said they have been in contact with authorities investigating the Feb. 3 fire at the Mary Immaculate School in DeSmet.

The remains were discovered several days later amid the rubble of the former boarding school, according to published reports. Autopsy results are pending.

Uhnak, 21, was reportedly last seen in the Sandpoint area on Feb. 2, several days after he was released on his own recognizance in a Bonner County trespassing case.

Uhnak was arrested on Jan. 26 for walking on the railroad trestle near the Long Bridge.

Following his arrest, family members implored the state and the court to order a mental health evaluation because Uhnak’s behavior had grown increasingly erratic in months leading up to his arrest, court records show.

Family members said in several letters to the court that Uhnak unexpectedly gone to New York, where he allegedly stole a vehicle and been an altercation with police there. They also reported that Uhnak had been hearing voices, starting fires and exhibiting other bizarre behavior.

The family asked the state and the court to intervene because they could not due to Uhnak being an adult, according to court records.

Bonner County Deputy Prosecutor Valerie Fenton moved for Uhnak to be evaluated by an Idaho Department of Health & Welfare examiner on Jan. 27 and Judge Barbara Buchanan granted the motion.

A designated examiner, however, indicated that Uhnak’s behavior did not meet the criteria for persistent mental illness, court document said. Family members urged against Uhnak’s release and asked the court to order further evaluations.

“We ask that the court system and the State of Idaho do all in their power to help us keep Daniel from becoming a statistic,” one of the letters said.

Uhnak was released on Jan. 31 pending trial on the misdemeanor trespassing charge.