The Cowlitz Indian Tribal Public Safety Department’s former interim chief Charles Gardiner is now being investigated for several sex offenses against a juvenile victim.
Gardiner was found dead from a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound in a vehicle near where he allegedly fled a northeast Vancouver residence where a burglary was reported on Wednesday, April 23.
The Clark County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) continues to investigate the case and the circumstances surrounding Gardiner’s apparent suicide.
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 news release from the sheriff’s office.
In an update from the sheriff’s office on Thursday, May 1, 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 the update.
The sheriff’s office has split the incident into two investigations, the death investigation and a criminal investigation, the update stated.
“The caller reported a male subject inside the residence,” the initial release stated. “The male subject fled the residence on foot. As deputies and other law enforcement officers searched the area, they located a vehicle with a deceased person matching the subject’s description.”
Evidence from the death investigation involving Gardiner is consistent with a suicide, the update stated.
CCSO stated that due to the sensitive nature of the investigation, additional details cannot be released at this time.
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.
