Former Appeal-Democrat Editor Pronounced Dead By Sutter County Judge

The former editor of the Appeal-Democrat newspaper has been declared dead, after a brief hearing in Sutter County.

Len La Barth had been missing since March 6 of this year. His vehicle was found by the CHP parked near the Golden Gate Bridge with several notes inside it.

He was an editor for the newspaper and the Tri-County Newspapers chain from 2006 to 2012.

He guided the newspaper through a difficult period where its parent company, Freedom Communications, had filed for bankruptcy, and the newspaper was up for sale.

During his tenure, the newspaper was named by Editor & Publisher as one of its 10 Newspapers Doing It Right in 2011.