The Clark County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) has concluded its investigations into the Cowlitz Indian Tribal Public Safety Department’s former Interim Chief Charles Gardiner’s suicide and sex crimes against a minor, according to news release on Thursday, May 22.
The sheriff’s office determined Gardiner’s death in April to be consistent with suicide and there was no evidence of foul play.
A separate investigation into allegations of sex offenses involving a juvenile found probable cause that Gardiner committed the crimes of first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor, sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, the sheriff’s office stated.
“Investigators believe the inappropriate relationship had been ongoing for approximately six to nine months,” the release added. “At this time, there is no evidence to suggest there are additional victims.”
The case has been closed after Gardiner’s death, CCSO stated.
Initially, CCSO deputies responded to a report of an occupied residential burglary in the 9000 block of Northeast 79th Street in Vancouver, according to a prior news release from the sheriff’s office. In an updated release from the sheriff’s office at the beginning of May, CCSO stated that the 911 caller had discovered Gardiner in the residence and got into a physical altercation with him before Gardiner fled. There is no indication that there was a residential burglary, the CCSO stated in that update.
Gardiner was found dead from a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound in a vehicle near where he allegedly fled.
Gardiner worked for the Washington State Patrol for over 25 years before joining the Cowlitz Indian Tribal Department of Public Safety in December 2020, according to his LinkedIn profile.
To protect the privacy and wellbeing of the juvenile victim, the sheriff’s office stated that no further details would be released.
