According to the King County Sheriff’s Department, a nearly-naked 39-year old man who was allegedly using drugs got lost last Thursday (Sept. 3rd), then went missing for a day and a half before being found.

He was discovered wearing only boxer shorts, and as you can see from the photo, had scratched himself up quite a bit whilst lost.

The Sheriff’s Office became aware of the man’s plight shortly before 5pm on Friday, Sept. 4th when two residents near the 12600 block of Shorewood Drive called 911 to say they could hear faint calls for help coming from a heavily wooded area near a sewage treatment plant.

Responding deputies could hear the man calling for help too, but couldn’t understand exactly what he was saying due to the distance. So they hiked down the bank, across a small stream, then up a big, steep bank, and eventually found the man.

He was a 39 year-old Burien man who had been using illegal narcotics when he became paranoid and delusional and ran into the woods. Deputies believe he had been there since about 8am the previous morning. He had no shoes or any clothes, except for his boxers. He was scratched from head-to-toe by the brambles. He couldn’t walk because of injuries to his feet. And he was dehydrated (but at least by then he was hopefully sober, and from the looks of it, full of blackberries…).

A Sheriff’s Office Arson investigator who happened to be in the area came up with a pair of size 13 boots for the man’s size 12 feet. The fire department provided a rope for climbing up the bank.

Deputies helped the man climb to safety where he was checked out by the fire department, then released.

Burien’s recently-installed, controversial nude female sculpture has become a local media sensation (which we first covered on Monday), and Thursday (June 25th) our B-Town Blog video production crew of Mark Neuman and Bart Bryan dared to actually go near “Paradigm Shift,” the lifelike bronze Mike Magrath statue located at the Interim Art Space, where they shot this video:

If you haven’t yet read our original story, it’s worth a peek since the Comments are quite interesting – click here to read ‘em.

Last week, a new lifesize bronze sculpture of a nude female (pictured above) was installed at the Burien Interim Art Space near the new Town Square and Library, and it’s been stirring up some controversy in our Forums:

LYNETTE: I walked through the new Burien town square today and much to my dismay I came across a bronze statue of a completely nude woman. I may appreciate the “art” in the piece but since it is very realistic it is absolutely inappropriate for a public area where all ages of children can view the statue. If that were a live person she would be arrested for public nudity. The tall woman and daughter that are very abstract are not my cup of tea but they are not realistic. If someone chooses to go into a gallery and see nudes that is their choice. Pieces such as this should not be next to a public library and a busy street. I was planning to bring my grandchildren to town for the Strawberry Festival but I will now direct them away from the city center. Public art should be appropriate for ALL the public, including the children. Thank You Lynette Storer

JILL: Yeah, a woman’s nude body is so offensive. Maybe you should lighten up and join the 21st century.

JARED: Then why do we in the 21st century still require you to be 18 to buy a Playboy?

Part of parenting is censonship. (Careful what you show your kids Jill)

CHRISTY: The human body, male or female, is not offensive when display tastefully in the right setting.  In fact, it can actually be very intriguing to the eye.  HOWEVER, when dispalyed for all ages it needs to be in accordance to the demographic of the community.  The library is right next to the art and during the summer most of the foot traffic is going to be children, most of whom are already filled with questions. The accusation of a nude woman is inaccurate. It is not the art itself, but just simply where the art is chosen to be displayed.

The sculpture, a very lifelike, detailed sculpture of a squatting, nude woman called “Paradigm Shift,” was created by Seattle artist Mike Magrath, and was originally on display at the UW’s Henry Art Gallery. Magrath installed it at B/ IAS last week, which, despite comments above, is actually a private art space controlled by Curators Dane Johnson and Kathy Justin.

“I have spent the last decade or so focused primarily on the human subject not only because it offers a hugely accessible front door, but because I perceive something implicit in the body that remains inchoate, relevant, and continuously vibrant with potential,” said Magrath in a statement. “I tell students half jokingly that the human form is the composite total of what our forebears found irresistible…For me study of the specific form and attitude of the model is a way of exploring and understanding the deeper structures of the universe.”

“Good art is often controversial,” said Johnson when he stopped by our booth at the Strawberry Festival. “So when we read or hear comments like this, we feel like we’re doing a good job.”

“And if people don’t like seeing naked sculptures, they should just avoid B/ IAS,” added Justin.

6/24/09 UPDATE: KOMO News did a story on the sculpture (thanks guys for subscribing to our RSS Feed), which you can watch here.

So…what do YOU think? Please take our poll and leave Comments below:

According to an inside, well-placed source at city hall, a strip club will be taking over the space formerly occupied by Office Depot, located at 15716 First Avenue South in Burien.

The new club, to be called “Red Light Runners” will cater to males over 18 and will be the first all-nude club in south King County to feature the latest trend in adult entertainment – Strippers on Segways.

“In this economy, you take what you can get,” said Real Estate agent Fred Nathanian, who brokered the deal. “But what would you rather have – an empty building with no tax revenue, or a hopping high-tech girly bar with lots of cashflow, especially in the form of neatly-folded ones and fives?”

“Red Light Runners” is owned by Frank “Red” Flexxxamaria, an “entertainment agent” who has built a successful chain of Segway clubs in the Portland area.

“Burien needs some adult fun, doncha tink?” Colamaria said while chewing a cigar and showing off the new club’s recently-installed polystyrene dance track. “Not only will Red Light Runners have a wholesome, high-tech all-nude adult club, we’ll have a first-class all-beef and hardcrust-bread restaurant, free wi-fi, a sexy drive-thru espresso stand, 10-cent color copy happy hours on a Brother CDW-4070 wireless laser printer weekdays from 4-7pm, strippers and servers on Segways, and a fun, dark and cozy Daycare Center for the kids. Now you find me another place like dat around here…”

We tried repeatedly to get comments from the mayor and numerous city councilmembers, but they were all apparently out of town on a group junket in Portland, doing “research.”

The club is expected to have its grand opening on July 4th, right after its staff leads Burien’s annual 4th of July Parade on red, white and blue Segways.