Page 110

Moscow, Idaho

D ean of students Blaine Eckles gets up at around six a.m. and sees he missed a call from Captain Tyson Berrett the night before, at around eleven.

It’s rare that he misses phone calls. Usually his wife, Shelley, gets the phone if he can’t, but they’d both fallen asleep.

He texts the police officer: Hey Tyson, what’s up?

Before he gets a response, he sees a news flash. Moscow PD is holding a press conference. They’ve arrested a suspect in Pennsylvania. He attends Washington State University.

Eckles feels like a huge weight just lifted off him. “Once we learned that the alleged perpetrator wasn’t from our community, that was such a relief,” he said. “Just knowing… what it meant for our students… I knew they’d feel more secure.”

He texts Jenna Hyatt, the dean of students at WSU.

In the weeks since the murders, he’s gotten to know Jenna well.

The outreach he’s received from her has been so overwhelming that he’s ashamed that UI hasn’t done more for other campuses in tragic times.

She’s sent counselors to man the UI counseling center so that the UI team could attend the vigil.

She’s sent care packages galore. He considers her a good friend.

So now he texts her, sympathizing: The tidal wave that just hit our campus is about to hit you.

Whatever she needs, he wants to help.