WAPATO, Wash. -- A 55-year-old Wapato man was found fatally shot in his car at a rural intersection southeast of Wapato.

A passer-by discovered Lenard Cohenour about 1:30 a.m. today at the intersection of Phillip John and Winaway roads, about four miles from Wapato, said Stew Graham, chief of detectives for the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office.

He appeared to have been shot once in the chest, but an autopsy will be scheduled, Graham said.

Cohenour lived nearby, in the 900 block of Winaway.

Detectives are trying to determine Cohenour’s last activities. The direction of his vehicle suggests he was headed away from his house.

Anyone with information about the case may call the sheriff’s office at 509-574-2500.

Cohenour’s death is the 20th homicide reported in Yakima County this year. That’s two more than the 2008 count.

-- Mark Morey