The Island County Sheriff has confirmed the name of the deputy as Jay Wallace, who may have failed to follow procedures and answer a 911-hang up call from a Freeland residence where a woman was allegedly being assaulted and held against her will last weekend. A dispatch report also identifies Wallace as the responding officer.

“Under normal circumstances of an internal investigation, I would not release an employee’s name,” Sheriff Mike Hawley said.

“But because his name has been acknowledged in the public domain, I will confirm that the deputy under investigation is Jay Wallace,” he said.

“The investigation into the incident is continuing in our office,” Hawley said. “Wallace has been placed on administrative leave.”

Wallace is one of four Republican candidates for Island County Sheriff. The election is this fall.

Wallace could not be reached for comment Friday.

According to the 911 log, Wallace was identified as the responding officer to calls that came from a home at 1480 Shoreview Drive in Freeland at 11:23 p.m. Feb. 7 and 1:50 a.m. Feb. 8.

Hawley told reporters last week that an Island County deputy was being investigated for apparently shirking his duty by not fully responding to 911 hang up calls, apparently from a woman being held against her will at that location.

Prosecutors charged Matthew M. Friar, 26, of Bellingham with unlawful imprisonment, felony harassment and assault in the fourth degree-domestic violence incident.

The charges stem from incidents that occurred Feb. 7 and 8. Friar allegedly held an acquaintance against her will in a cabin at 1480 Shoreview Drive, across from Freeland Park.

The victim was finally able to escape on her own, 11 hours after the second 911 call, which Wallace apparently ignored. She ran to Freeland Park, then borrowed a cell phone from a park visitor to call police. She told authorities that she had been assaulted and sexually assaulted the night before by Friar. The woman also reported that he had threatened to kill her 3-year-old son.

Hawley said last week if the deputy had followed procedure and responded to the second call, the victim’s ordeal may have ended sooner.