Byline: Joe Livernois

MONTEREY, Calif. _ Mike Echols, the volatile author who wrote the best-selling book about the Steven Stayner abduction, died in Monterey County Jail on Friday.

Sheriff's officials say Echols was found dead in the isolation cell at the jail about 11:40 p.m. Friday. Echols had a history of bad health, and complained bitterly during the past several weeks that law enforcement officials were ignoring his medical needs while he was in jail.

Echols, whose full name was Walter Harlan Echols II, last year was arrested on two occasions and charged with several misdemeanor charges. He had been in jail since November for violating terms of his probation.

Since his incarceration, Echols had said he was convinced that certain officials in Monterey County were trying to eliminate him.

"They're trying to kill me in here," Echols said during a telephone interview from jail on Tuesday. "It's like I'm living a Kafka novel."

Last Tuesday, Echols' attorney informed him that he was seeking a psychiatric evaluation of Echols because he did not believe Echols was competent to stand trial.

Echols, 58, wrote a book called "I Know My First Name is Steven," a chilling true account of Stayner's abduction by two men in 1972. Stayner was 7 when he was kidnapped and was abused for seven years until he managed to escape. He died in 1989 in a motorcycle accident.

A television docudrama based on the book won a Golden Globe Award for outstanding production in 1989.

The high-profile drama surrounding Stayner continues to unfold. Last month, Stayner's brother, Cary, convicted of murders in and near Yosemite National Park, was sentenced to...