West Sonoma County stabbing suspect, deceased victim identified

Authorities on Friday released the names of a suspect and one of two victims in a pair of stabbings that occurred just before the attacker took his own life Wednesday night.

Guerneville resident Drake Myhre, 24, stabbed the victims before jumping off a bridge and taking his own life, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office reported Friday.

A victim who died in the attacks was identified as Guerneville resident Francisco Marcelo Olivera Arellanes, 31. The other victim was being treated for injuries as of Friday.

A motive behind the attacks wasn’t released Friday.

The fatal stabbing occurred at a home in the 14000 block of Old Cazadero Road in the Guerneville area.

A 911 call came in around 9 p.m. from a woman “whispering for help,” according to the Sheriff’s Office. Dispatchers received additional calls reporting someone drove a vehicle into a home and someone being dead inside.

Sheriff’s deputies found Arellanes, who lived at the home, suffering from at least one stab wound that left him “bleeding profusely,” investigators reported.

Deputies performed CPR until paramedics arrived, and Arellanes was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

Officials are still investigating whether he knew Myhre.

The second attack happened about an hour later approximately 7 miles away in the 10500 block of River Drive near Forestville.

A man was stabbed at a home and was taken by a family member to an area hospital. He was in critical condition upon arrival but investigators later said he was expected to survive.

His name hasn’t been released but officials confirmed he knew Myhre.

Authorities found Myhre’s body on rocky ground at the base of the Highway 116 bridge over the Russian River in Guerneville. His death is considered an “apparent suicide,” according to the Sheriff’s Office.

His truck was nearby.

Loved ones of the deceased men could not be immediately reached for comment Friday.

A makeshift memorial was set up outside the home where Arellanes died but its front door remained boarded up and no one was inside.

Neighbors said they knew little about Arellanes other than they occasionally saw him driving in the area and believed he was there to visit his girlfriend who lived in the house.

You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @colin_atagi.