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Oregon
May 15, 2004 20:23:41 GMT -5
Post by LadyBlue on May 15, 2004 20:23:41 GMT -5
Husband of missing woman arrested May 15, 2004 PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Police in Multnomah County have arrested a Portland man on murder charges, two years after his wife mysteriously disappeared. On Friday, a Multnomah County grand jury issued a criminal indictment of David Waldron, the estranged husband of Barbara Waldron. Barbara Waldron's body was never found, and David Waldron refused to cooperate with detectives throughout the investigation. Much of the evidence linking him to his estranged wife's death is circumstantial. Multnomah County authorities said they had hoped the discovery of a body would help the inquiry. But after two years, detectives and prosecutors decided to move the case forward. "Anytime you haven't secured the body of the deceased, there's various things you need to do to prove circumstantially the death, and to look into the facts of what occurred, and we've been doing that for the past two years," said Norm Frink, a Multnomah County chief deputy district attorney. Waldron is being held without bail in the Justice Center jail and will be arraigned Monday in Multnomah County Circuit Court. Waldron's lawyer, Whitney Boise, said his client has no history of violent behavior and no criminal record, and he has steadfastly denied any involvement in his wife's disappearance. Shortly after Barbara Waldron's disappearance, detectives filed search warrant affidavits, saying they had probable cause to think that David Waldron might have been involved in his wife's disappearance. They searched his home and found trace amounts of blood on a bedroom pillow. They also found her purse - including her identification, credit cards, wallet and car keys - hidden behind books in a bookcase. Her car was parked in the garage. www.katu.com/news/story.asp?ID=67345
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Oregon
Jun 7, 2004 12:28:41 GMT -5
Post by LadyBlue on Jun 7, 2004 12:28:41 GMT -5
September 16, 2002
Nestled among the hills of Oregon City, Oregon, sits Newell Creek Village Apartments. The complex includes 125 units and is home to more than 325 residents, including Lori Pond and her 12-year-old daughter, Ashley. On January 9th, 2002, Ashley was running late. It was a little after 8:00 a.m. and she had only a few minutes to catch the bus. The walk up the hill to the bus stop took less than ten minutes. Ashley was a popular student – a member of both the swimming and dance teams. She was looking forward to practice after class. Lori Pond expected to hear from her daughter by 6:15 p.m. When she didn’t, she became worried and called the school. She was told that the other students had not seen Ashley in school that day. Lori immediately contacted the Oregon City police. She told the officer none of Ashley’s clothes or personal belongings was missing – things she was sure her daughter would have taken had she run away. The police concluded there might be a child abductor on the loose – and opened an investigation. Detectives first talked with some of Ashley’s classmates and learned she had never gotten on the bus. Next, police canvassed the entire apartment complex – looking for leads or possible suspects. They found neither. The search expanded. Hundreds of volunteers combed the surrounding area – while detectives questioned Lori’s ex-husband, looked into Ashley’s internet activity and checked out lists of known sex offenders.
Again, no clues or suspects. Detectives contacted the FBI, who moved to the larger community around the apartment complex talking to friends, teachers and administrators. But they found only more dead-ends. And still the same fundamental question remained unanswered: What had happened to Ashley Pond between 8:05 a.m. and 8:15 a.m.?
Meanwhile, 13-year-old Miranda Gaddis – Ashley’s neighbor and dance teammate – found herself in the middle of the intense investigation. Days turned to weeks and still no sign of Ashley Pond surfaced. Three months later, life at the apartment complex became somewhat normal again.
On March 8th, 2002, Michelle Duffey, Miranda’s mom, packed up for work at 7:30 a.m. Miranda, was in no hurry – she still had 45 minutes before the school bus arrived. Police believe Miranda left her apartment a little after 8:00 a.m. and headed up the hill for the bus stop.
At 1:20 that afternoon, Michelle’s oldest daughter called her mother and said Miranda's friends reported that Miranda was not at school. When Michelle phoned the school she learned that Miranda was noted as absent that day. Michelle went to the police station and reported her daughter missing. The FBI was again contacted and a full-scale investigation began immediately.
The circumstances surrounding Miranda’s disappearance on March 8th, 2002 were eerily similar to those of Ashley Pond two months earlier. Even more ominous was the striking resemblance between the two girls. They are about the same height and weight and both have brown eyes.
Like Ashley, Miranda usually took the road up the hill to catch the bus. Had the two girls been snatched by a stranger on the way? It was certainly plausible, but the mothers of the two girls found it highly unlikely saying that both girls would have made a fuss if somebody had tried to take them that they did not know.
Without an apparent crime scene, police began to focus on the possibility that the girls were taken by someone they knew. Since the disappearance of Ashley Pond and Miranda Gaddis, the school bus now picks up students right outside their doors. However, residents of Newell Creek Village Apartments – indeed all of Oregon City – remain on edge, terrified that a child abductor walks among them.
Investigators have processed over 3,500 tips but still have no suspects. However, the search continues for any lead that might help crack these puzzling cases. Meanwhile, two hard-working, single mothers suffer through every parent’s nightmare – and try their best to remain hopeful.
UPDATE: On Saturday, August 24, 2002, remains were found in a shed behind the rented home of Ward Weaver, a 39-year old man who lived down the road from the Newell Creek Village Apartment complex. An autopsy was conducted on Monday, August 26, and the remains were identified as that of 13-year-old Miranda Gaddis.
That same day, a medical examiner began examining a second corpse - found by investigators Sunday in a barrel buried under a concrete slab at Weaver's home. The body was later determined to be that of Ashley Pond, who was 12 when she disappeared. Police say Ward Weaver is a suspect in the disappearance and murder of the two girls, but (as of September 10, 2002) he has not yet been charged. He has been in jail since August 13 on an unrelated rape charge.
We will bring you further information about this story at a later date.
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Oregon
Jun 7, 2004 12:35:35 GMT -5
Post by LadyBlue on Jun 7, 2004 12:35:35 GMT -5
April 15, 2004 Is Ward Weaver mentally fit to stand trial?
OREGON CITY, ORE. - On Wednesday, April 21, a Clackamas County judge will decide whether a man accused of killing two Oregon City girls is mentally fit to stand trial for their murder. Ward Weaver faces multiple counts of aggravated murder in the deaths of 12-year-old Ashley Pond and 13-year-old Miranda Gaddis.
Their bodies were found in August of 2003 on his property, which was not far from the apartment complex where both the girls lived.
Ward Weaver is set to go to trial for those murders in June, but if the judge decides next week that he is not mentally fit, the trial could be put on hold indefinitely.
Weaver instead would go to the state mental hospital for treatment until he is deemed able to stand trial in his own defense.
Is Weaver Faking It?
The question on some people's minds is whether Weaver is really sick or not.
"I think he's crazy like a fox," Sharon McFarland, a Clackamas County resident, told KATU News.
In the last few months, Weaver's attorneys say he has demonstrated unstable behavior.
In January, jail deputies found Weaver cutting himself with a disposable razor blade in an apparent suicide attempt.
A psychologist hired by his attorneys reports that Weaver is suffering from hallucinations and refuses to take his antidepressant medication.
However, some people we talked to are not convinced.
"I think it's all a game," Clackamas County Resident Tiffany Ash told KATU News. "I think it's fake and he's just playing it off so he can go to a mental institution."
Could Weaver Really End Up At The State Hospital?
At the Oregon State Hospital in Salem, hospital directors say they rarely see people coming in who are trying to fake a mental illness and even if it does happen, they say they have systems in place to catch it.
The litany of testing they do, for example, looks at someone's mental history, their short-term and long-term memory, and their ability to solve problems.
"There is a difference between someone who is mentally ill and suffering from a mental illness, and they perceive reality differently than you and I do, and the way someone who is angry and acting out and perceives reality basically the same way we do, but acts out on it differently," says Dr. Gail Mason with the Oregon State Hospital.
Even if someone like Ward Weaver is deemed mentally ill, it does not mean they are not fit to stand trial.
"If it doesn't interfere with that, then they are going to court," says Mason.
That is precisely what a number of Oregon City residents tell us they want to see.
"He should face the consequences. I mean, whether he's sick or not, I think he should face the consequences," Don Bruce, a Clackamas County resident, told KATU News.
The state psychologists say in making their assessment, they do take into account the normal depression an inmate might suffer by being in solitary confinement for a year, as Ward Weaver has been in.
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Oregon
Jun 7, 2004 12:37:44 GMT -5
Post by LadyBlue on Jun 7, 2004 12:37:44 GMT -5
CLACKAMAS COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE 2223 S. KAEN ROAD - OREGON CITY
Last night (Jan 11) at 9:55 p.m., a Corrections Deputy discovered inmate Ward Weaver, who is housed in isolation for his own safety, cutting his chest and wrist with a broken disposable razor.
Weaver suffered superficial wounds and was taken by AMR to Willamette Falls Hospital for treatment of those wounds before returning to the Clackamas County Jail.
While being treated for his non-life threatening cuts outside the jail, Weaver was kept in full restraints (belly chains, wrist chains, leg chains) and under guard.
Weaver is currently being housed in a medical isolation cell and is under a suicide watch.
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Oregon
Jun 7, 2004 12:41:00 GMT -5
Post by LadyBlue on Jun 7, 2004 12:41:00 GMT -5
Judge sends Ward Weaver, accused of killing 2, to hospital instead of to trial
Apr 23, 2004
Accused killer Ward Weaver was declared mentally unfit to stand trial by Clackamas County Judge Robert Herndon on Thursday.
Herndon ordered Weaver transferred to the Oregon State Hospital in Salem. His double murder and sexual assault trial, originally set for June 1, will be postponed pending a decision on whether he is fit to stand trial.
Herndon’s ruling came after a daylong hearing on Weaver’s mental state. Weaver’s defense attorneys — Michael Barker and Peter Fahy — filed a motion to delay the trial, saying that Weaver was mentally unable to assist in his own defense.
“He does suffer from a mental illness or defect,” Herndon said, noting that Weaver was on suicide watch at the Clackamas County Jail, had stopped taking antidepression medications and was not talking to his attorneys.
Under Oregon law, hospital officials must evaluate Weaver within 60 days to determine whether there is a reasonable probability that he will recover enough to stand trial in the foreseeable future. The officials must report their findings to the court within 30 days of that determination.
Oregon law allows the hospital to detain people for evaluation for three years. However, the state could move to commit him to the hospital indefinitely at that point, said Susan Mandiberg, a criminal law professor at Lewis & Clark Law School.
“I don’t think people should worry that Ward Weaver will be walking the streets anytime soon,” she said.
Herndon directed that Weaver be placed under 24-hour supervision at the hospital. Herndon predicted that if Weaver is not mentally ill, hospital officials will find that out. If that happens, Herndon said, Weaver will quickly be returned to Clackamas County for trial. Defense not yet at issue The motion filed by Weaver’s attorney was not an attempt to lay the foundation for an insanity defense.
“The issue of whether a person is fit to proceed to trial is an entirely different question,” said Stephen Kanter, a constitutional law professor at Lewis & Clark. “His lawyers are not arguing that he was insane at the time he committed a crime.”<br> Herndon said he would require Weaver to take antidepressants at the hospital.
Weaver is charged with killing Oregon City girls Ashley Pond, 12, and Miranda Gaddis, 13; with attempting to kill his son’s former girlfriend, then 19; and with raping a minor female in 2002. He could face the death penalty if convicted on all charges.
The mothers of both homicide victims attended the Wednesday hearing. Lori Pond and Michelle Duffey, Gaddis’ mother, both cried after the ruling was announced Thursday but declined to talk to reporters.
“We can’t make any comments, sorry,” Pond said as she walked away from the Clackamas County Courthouse in Oregon City.
During the hearing, defense psychiatrist Jerry Larsen said Weaver was suffering from major depression, was not taking antidepressant medications and was not communicating with those around him.
Court-appointed psychiatrist Richard Hulteng testified that he believed Weaver was faking at least some of his symptoms, and he said he thought Weaver was depressed but not psychotic.
County prosecutors argued that Weaver was faking his symptoms and should go to trial as scheduled. At least one mental health advocate said he was disturbed by the accusations that Weaver is not mentally ill.
“The whole issue of ‘faking it,’ I find that a little upsetting,” said Stephen Mathieu, an attorney for the Oregon Advocacy Center, a nonprofit organization that advocates for the disabled and mentally ill.
“The determination of whether they can aid or assist is a medical determination that needs to be made by a psychiatrist and psychologist. … We have to leave that determination up to experts and not the speculation of laypersons, based on emotional reactions to whether we think somebody’s guilty or innocent.”
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Oregon
Jul 3, 2004 11:55:58 GMT -5
Post by LadyBlue on Jul 3, 2004 11:55:58 GMT -5
Missing from Portland Oregon Clark Co. woman vanishes from Portland night club Case Closed A young Clark County woman is missing after she apparently vanished from a Portland night club over the weekend. Sierra Maldonado hasn't been seen since she went to a Portland night club with friends. Sierra Maldonado, 20 was last seen early Saturday morning at a dance club in downtown Portland called FX, police said. Due to the circumstance surrounding her disappearance, police filed a missing person’s report within the first 24 hours she was reported missing. Her family and friends believe she could be in grave danger. She left her purse, her car and her medication at home before going to the club with friends "For her to be completely not in contact with anyone, concerns me and for her to go a couple days without her medication concerns me even more," said Sierra’s father, Dean Maldonado. "It's serious, she just wouldn't leave without telling her friends...if she had just left with some random person, she would have called us by now to tell us she was okay," said Cady Lindsey, one of Sierra’s best friends. Lindsey and Sierra's family made flyers with Sierra’s picture and handed them out to people downtown. "We went downtown last night from 10 to midnight, handed out flyers, talked to the owner, homeless people, people going to dinner, checked the hotels and the hospitals and have come up empty handed," Dean Maldonado said. Sierra was last seen wearing a black halter top and blue jeans. Authorities ask that anyone with information regarding her disappearance call police immediately. Contact: Portland Police 503-823-0446 or Visit her Web page For More information www.childseeknetwork.com/Sierra.htm Note: Our prayers Go out To The family. We did What We Could. Our country needs to help us and others do more to prevent this evil. Missing from Portland Oregon Clark Co. woman vanishes from Portland night club Case Closed A young Clark County woman is missing after she apparently vanished from a Portland night club over the weekend. Sierra Maldonado hasn't been seen since she went to a Portland night club with friends. Sierra Maldonado, 20 was last seen early Saturday morning at a dance club in downtown Portland called FX, police said. Due to the circumstance surrounding her disappearance, police filed a missing person’s report within the first 24 hours she was reported missing. Her family and friends believe she could be in grave danger. She left her purse, her car and her medication at home before going to the club with friends "For her to be completely not in contact with anyone, concerns me and for her to go a couple days without her medication concerns me even more," said Sierra’s father, Dean Maldonado. "It's serious, she just wouldn't leave without telling her friends...if she had just left with some random person, she would have called us by now to tell us she was okay," said Cady Lindsey, one of Sierra’s best friends. Lindsey and Sierra's family made flyers with Sierra’s picture and handed them out to people downtown. "We went downtown last night from 10 to midnight, handed out flyers, talked to the owner, homeless people, people going to dinner, checked the hotels and the hospitals and have come up empty handed," Dean Maldonado said. Sierra was last seen wearing a black halter top and blue jeans. Authorities ask that anyone with information regarding her disappearance call police immediately. Contact: Portland Police 503-823-0446 or Visit her Web page For More information www.childseeknetwork.com/Sierra.htm Note: Our prayers Go out To The family. We did What We Could. Our country needs to help us and others do more to prevent this evil. CASE CLOSED
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Oregon
Jul 3, 2004 11:57:08 GMT -5
Post by LadyBlue on Jul 3, 2004 11:57:08 GMT -5
There may be a break in the case involving the suspicious death of 20-year-old Sierra Maldonado, whose body was found under the Broadway Bridge on Monday. KATU News has learned that police have questioned a young man who was at the same downtown nightclub that Sierra disappeared from on Saturday.
He has not been taken into custody, police only questioned him in relation to the case involving Sierra Maldonado.
According to a source, the man lives in an apartment not far from where her body was found, near the Broadway Bridge.
The source also tells KATU News that sometime early Saturday morning, the man was treated at a Portland hospital for cuts to his chest and neck, as well as a concussion.
In addition, KATU News has learned that some items collected by detectives in the case include one piece of the man's clothing and his vehicle, both of which were found near the bridge.
Police are holding them as possible evidence.
Meanwhile, autopsy results on Sierra's body are still pending. The medical examiner is waiting for test results before releasing the cause of her death.
Friends And Family Mourn
Family and friends want to know what happened to Sierra.
Those who worked with her at a Vancouver restaurant said she was full of energy, and had a good heart.
"She was just too young, she had a lot to look forward to," Michael Lalane, Sierra's former co-worker.
"I think that's the hardest thing for me also, is - how did it happen, did she suffer, was she in pain. Were her finals thoughts of being scared?" said Kammy Pollock, Sierra's former co-worker.
Sierra's family has set up a memorial fund in her name at any Columbia Credit Union branch.
Her family said it would use donations to support programs for missing children.
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Oregon
Jul 3, 2004 11:57:51 GMT -5
Post by LadyBlue on Jul 3, 2004 11:57:51 GMT -5
On Monday, March 22, 2004, Portland Police Bureau Homicide Detectives arrested 20-year-old Christopher Cook in connection with the murder of 20-year-old Clark County resident Sierra Maldonado. Maldonado’s body was found on Monday, March 15, 2004, in the Willamette River, beneath the Broadway Bridge. She had been reported missing after vanishing from a downtown Portland nightclub.
Detectives have been conducting interviews with many individuals regarding Maldonado’s death. Detectives interviewed Cook on March 22, 2004, as part of the ongoing investigation. At the conclusion of that interview, he was taken into custody. Cook was lodged in the Multnomah County Detention Center, on charges of Aggravated Murder; he will be arraigned on Tuesday, March 23, 2004.
Detectives are still waiting for test results from the Medical Examiner, and this investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information about this homicide, is asked to call Portland Police Bureau Homicide Detective Brian Grose at (503) 823-0757 or Detective Barry Renna at (503) 823-0255.
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Oregon
Jul 3, 2004 11:58:35 GMT -5
Post by LadyBlue on Jul 3, 2004 11:58:35 GMT -5
March 15, 2004 Body Of WA Woman Found in Willamette PORTLAND - For three agonizing days Sierra Maldonado's friends and family have wondered what happened to her. Monday afternoon police found the body of the Clark County woman in the water beneath the Broadway Bridge. Twenty-year-old Sierra Maldonado's body was found at 3:50 p.m. in the Willamette river after a resident called police. Maldonado was reported missing Saturday, March 13, after disappearing from the downtown nightclub called 'FX.' Her cause of death has not been determined by the medical examiner, and police continue to investigate the mysterious death. "We won't label it as anything until we get a medical examiner's report," said Portland Police Sgt. Cheryl Robinson. Friends and family members spent the weekend flooding the downtown area with flyers that included Maldonado's picture. Those who knew Sierra are highly suspicious of her death. They say she suddenly disappeared from them, which was not like her. www.katu.com/news/story.asp?ID=65450
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Oregon
Jul 3, 2004 11:59:48 GMT -5
Post by LadyBlue on Jul 3, 2004 11:59:48 GMT -5
March 23, 2004 Cook pleads not guilty in Sierra's murder In an emotional hearing, the man charged with murdering a Portland woman could hardly compose himself as he faced the judge Tuesday afternoon. Christopher Ray Cook, 20, who previously had no criminal record, pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder charges. During the hearing Cook's family also visibly struggled to cope with the beginning of a traumatic legal process. Police allege Cook killed Sierra Maldonado and dumped her body beneath the Broadway Bridge. Attorneys did not want to discuss the case after the hearing because the investigation continues. "We're not gonna comment, the investigation is still ongoing. You've got a copy of the information. We'll see what the grand jury does next week," said Deputy District Attorney Jim McIntyre. According to a source, Cook was at the same downtown nightclub Sierra disappeared from and lives in an apartment not far from where her body was found. Investigators combed the area where Maldonado's body was found and they discovered Cook's T-shirt and car. The source also told KATU News that sometime during the morning that Maldonado disappeared, Cook was treated at a Portland hospital for cuts to his chest and neck, as well as a concussion. At that time Cook told his family and friends that he did not remember how he was injured, and did not want to 'get into trouble,' the source told KATU. The Affidavit In an affidavit submitted in Cook's case, it states Portland police officers: "observed the defendant to have several long and deep cuts on his neck… had scratches on his chest area." The affidavit states at 3:30 a.m. on March 13, Cook told police, "…he fell off the Broadway Bridge but he did not know how." On Monday March 22, Cook was retrieving his automobile from police impound when he spoke with police about the night Sierra died, the affidavit said. On that occasion Cook admitted to police that he and Sierra departed the dance club in his car to the Broadway Bridge near where Sierra's body was found. Cook then told police he and Sierra "started kissing." The affidavit states at that point they started "wrestling around" and she hit him in his ribs. Cook "told detectives he punched her back a couple of times striking her in the head or neck area. He said she fell and wasn't moving much. He then indicated he threw her over the bridge railing next to where they were standing. (Cook) told them he then panicked and jumped in after her, realized what he had done and then ran away," the affidavit states. Cause Of Death Although Cook faces aggravated murder charges, the exact cause of Maldonado's death has not yet been released. Full autopsy results are pending because the medical examiner is waiting for test results. The affidavit provides a glimpse into what may have caused Sierra's death. Dr. Cliff Nelson told Deputy District Attorney Norm Frink that in the preliminary autopsy Sierra "was dead as a result of manual strangulation, and that her death was not caused by injuries from the fall (into the water.)" Still Seeking Information Portland police say they still want to talk with anyone who knows anything about the case. Those with information are asked to call Detective Brian Grose at (503) 823-0757 or Detective Barry Renna at (503) 823-0255. www.katu.com/news/story.asp?ID=65699
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Oregon
Jul 3, 2004 12:00:43 GMT -5
Post by LadyBlue on Jul 3, 2004 12:00:43 GMT -5
The mystery and horror began at 1 a.m. on Saturday, March 13. Sierra Nicole Maldonado, 20, who was taking a quarter off to work with her Western show horses in Ridgefield, turned to her friend at the Up Front FX night club in Portland and said she would be right back, according to her father. Maldonado, daughter of commercial real estate developer Dean Maldonado and granddaughter of Red Lion co-founder Ed Pietz, walked toward the front of the club and did not return. While friends and family reported her missing and put up flyers near the club to find her, a Portland man recovered from deep scratches to his neck and chest. The man was taken to the hospital after police were called to his apartment at 1:22 the morning Maldonado went missing. A woman called police because he was bleeding and soaking wet from head to toe. According to police, he repeated with confusion that he had fallen off the Broadway Bridge, but that he didn’t know how. According to The Columbian, this man, Christopher Ray Cook, 20, allegedly stood among the crowd of friends, family and others that watched on Monday, March 15 as police discovered Maldonado’s body in the Willamette River two days after she disappeared. According to Portland Police Bureau Sgt. Cheryl Robinson, a passer-by noticed the body around 4 p.m. on the western edge of the river under the Broadway Bridge, only a mile away from the club Maldonado was last seen at, and only a mile away from Cook’s apartment. The Oregonian reported that Cook was interviewed after picking up his car (that he had allowed the police to search) and after police found his torn and bloody shirt in a trash can near the crime scene. After further questioning in the days following the discovery of the body, police gained probable cause to arrest Cook for suspicion of aggravated murder. Sheriff’s deputies said that Cook allegedly wept openly as he was booked into jail at the Multnomah County Justice Center on Monday, March 22. The probable cause affidavit filed at his first court hearing on March 23, at which he also cried, depicted the events Cook claimed occurred in the last minutes of Maldonado’s life: Cook said that he drove Maldonado to the Broadway Bridge, and they began kissing. When she began to resist his advances, they began to "wrestle" and she punched him. When he punched her back in the neck and head, she fell to the ground. When she didn’t move, Cook picked her up and dumped her over the railing of the bridge into the flowing river below. As an act of panic, Cook said he jumped over the railing after her, but once he realized he had killed her, he swam to shore and climbed out. Cook’s public defender entered a plea of not guilty on one count of aggravated murder and one count of murder in the initial hearing. On Wednesday, March 31, Cook was arraigned on one count of aggravated murder after appearing before a grand jury. He is being held without bail and is expected to appear next in court on May 12. Cook has been on suicide watch twice since his arrest and will not be moved until it is decided that he will not be of harm to himself and that other inmates will not harm him. Authorities allege that Cook strangled Maldonado in the course of sexual assault, and then threw her lifeless body into river. Her body was found clothed with her belt undone. The results of a medical examiner’s toxicology test are expected to determine the cause of death, but a March 16 autopsy revealed that the cause of death was "more likely than not" strangulation. www.columbian.com/independent/
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Oregon
Jul 12, 2004 14:25:32 GMT -5
Post by LadyBlue on Jul 12, 2004 14:25:32 GMT -5
Portland homicide detectives on Sunday found the body of a 45-year-old woman who disappeared from her family's motel two days before.
Deputy State Medical Examiner Duane Bigoni identified the body as that of Ilaben Patel. She was found Sunday afternoon beneath the Northeast Halsey Street overpass near Interstate 205 by passers-by who had been looking for a place to pick berries.
Bigoni said authorities are treating the investigation as a homicide. He declined to comment on the cause of death. An autopsy will be performed today.
Patel's family and friends had spent the weekend looking for her and posting fliers after she vanished Friday afternoon. She had gone to a room to retrieve cleaning supplies at the Madison Suites Motel, 3620 N.E. 82nd Ave.
Her family described Patel -- known to relatives and friends as Ila -- as shy and quiet. They said she had been in good spirits and was looking forward to a family trip. They say she would never go off on her own. She was the mother of two daughters, ages 11 and 13.
"She didn't even go to the grocery store without one of her daughters," said Usha J. Patel, a relative. "She would not leave on her own."
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Oregon
Aug 14, 2004 8:56:01 GMT -5
Post by LadyBlue on Aug 14, 2004 8:56:01 GMT -5
The owner of a northeast Portland motel who was found dead under the Halsey Street overpass in early July wasn’t the victim of a homicide, the medical examiner found.
Ilaben Patel instead may have died after being “exposed to the elements after falling from the Halsey Street overpass and sustaining an incapacitating injury,” according to Sgt. Brian Schmautz of the Portland Police Bureau on Friday.
Investigators found no evidence of homicidal violence, and witnesses said Patel was alone on the overpass on the day she died.
“Because it is unknown if Mrs. Patel had accidentally fallen or intentionally jumped from the overpass, the medical examiner has listed the manner of death as, ‘undertemined,’” according to Schmautz.
Patel’s body was found on July 11 by blackberry pickers.
Patel was a 45-year-old mother with an 11-year-old daughter. She was last seen working at a northeast Portland motel that her family owned and managed.
She left the front office and went to a motel room that had been vacant for several days, according to her brother. She went to the room to pick up some cleaning supplies, and it should have taken no more than a few minutes.
When Patel’s husband went to the room he found the cleaning supplies still there, but no sign of his wife or any struggle that may have taken place in the room.
Prior to the discovery of her body, Patel’s family said they believed she was abducted. Police said it was unusual for the Patel to leave without telling anyone. She left behind her purse, car keys, identification and medication for her heart condition.
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Oregon
Oct 23, 2004 13:25:05 GMT -5
Post by LadyBlue on Oct 23, 2004 13:25:05 GMT -5
A Portland police investigation into this week's suspicious disappearance of a 51-year-old Portland lawyer led homicide detectives early Friday to a body discovered in a rural part of Clackamas County, said Sgt. Brian Schmautz, police spokesman.
Douglas Alan Swanson was last seen about 7 p.m. Tuesday in the 3400 block of Southeast Belmont Street. He had attended a school conference with his wife at his 12-year-old son's school. He and his wife left in separate cars, and Swanson never returned to his Irvington neighborhood home that night or arrived at work the following morning, police and co-workers said.
At first, his family thought Swanson may have gone to the apartment above his firm's office at Southwest Second Avenue and Yamhill Street to finish up work before a planned family trip later in the week to visit his oldest son, a first-year student at American University in Washington, D.C. But other attorneys were there that night and never saw Swanson.
Swanson, a partner in the firm Swanson, Thomas & Coon, specialized in workers' compensation law. Fellow partner Jim Coon said he and his colleagues became worried when Swanson failed to show up for work Wednesday.
"There were clients who came in and he wasn't there, and that had never happened in my experience," Coon said. "For him to fail to show and not call us, that would not be like Doug."
His disappearance initially was assigned to Detective Mike Weinstein on the missing persons detail, but soon two Portland homicide detectives took over the case and were working closely with the Multnomah County district attorney's office.
"As it progressed, there were a number of red flags that developed," Schmautz said, but he declined to elaborate.
Detectives learned that Swanson had made a call on his cell phone about 45 minutes after he left the school Tuesday night.
Investigators spent most of Friday scouring a rural, wooded area in the Mount Hood National Forest, southeast of Estacada, where they located an adult body.
Police would not say whether the body had been identified as Swanson's, but Schmautz said the person found had been the victim of a homicide.
"The police haven't made a definitive identification, but they're preparing us for the worst," Ray Thomas, another of Swanson's law partners, said Friday night.
The body was taken to the Oregon state medical examiner's office, and an autopsy was expected to be done today.
Coon said he wasn't aware of any problems Swanson was having.
"Everything seemed to be going great," Coon said. "Our firm was growing, and we had just purchased the building. He's a very successful guy. He's probably one of the longest-lasting guys handling workers' compensation, certainly in Portland. When people were quitting the practice, he hung in there."
The Portland lawyer was raised in Chicago. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of New Mexico and attended Northwestern School of Law at Lewis & Clark. He went into private practice in 1982, Coon said.
Swanson was active in the community, played soccer and coached his sons' teams. He also has been active in the presidential campaign and local politics, his partner said.
Authorities said their preliminary investigation suggests the circumstances surrounding Swanson's disappearance had nothing to do with his spouse, legal cases or political involvement. They would not say whether police had located his car.
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Oregon
Nov 2, 2004 14:19:14 GMT -5
Post by LadyBlue on Nov 2, 2004 14:19:14 GMT -5
One year has passed since 17-year-old Cynthia Lamb disappeared from the Molalla Public Library, worrying her family and prompting a wave of media attention. She would later turn up in Montana, after spending 10 months on the run living with a convicted sex offender, 34-year-old Douglas French. French now sits behind bars for violating his parole and also faces a charge of felony custodial interference for his involvement with Lamb. Meanwhile, Lamb says she has been trying to put her life back together after learning just how dangerous the Internet can be. "He told me his name, his fake age and that he would take care of me," Lamb says she was trying to run from family problems when she turned to Douglas French, who she met in an online chat room. "I packed my stuff here (at home) with a whole bunch of books to be returned. I walked down there (to the library), put those in there (the books), got on the Internet, starting talking to him and then I called him to see if he was on his way," she said. French picked her up at the Molalla Public Library and the two vanished. Lamb describes French as erratic - one minute trying to ditch her and the next, wanting to marry her. "He was an OK fun person, but we would get in a fight sometimes and I'd be tempted to leave, but he would talk me out of it, saying he was going to kill himself if I left," Lamb said. Lamb was living like an adult, but clearly thinking like a child. This is how she responded when KATU News asked her about any plans she was making to come home while she was with French. "I was working on getting my GED out of a book that we bought and I was going to start school after I turned 18. I was going to go on a show and have my parents go on there and surprise them," she said. The teenager did not go on a television talk show to surprise her parents. Instead, authorities found her first. Lamb says she made a big mistake and now she is trying to give back - offering advice to parents and at-risk teenagers through the Child Seek Network Web site. While Lamb's case ended with a happy ending, there is still sadness for the teenager's mother, who says she wonders if her daughter will disappear again. "I always think 'is this going to be the last time I see you?' You know, because of what happened at the library," www.katu.com/team2/story.asp?ID=72273
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Oregon
Nov 12, 2004 20:37:09 GMT -5
Post by LadyBlue on Nov 12, 2004 20:37:09 GMT -5
A 67-year-old Prineville elk hunter who became separated from his hunting partners was found cold, wet and tired but otherwise in good shape Wednesday after spending two days and nights lost in the Mill Creek Wilderness Area, Crook County officials said.
A fellow hunter located Jim Splawn around 10 a.m., about three miles from the camp he'd left Monday morning. But it took three more hours to get the man out of Desolation Canyon and to some warm and dry clothes, said Undersheriff Jim Hensley.
“He’s tired, he’s sore – and he’s a lucky man,” Hensley said, adding that the man did not need a trip to the hospital after his ordeal.
“It took us over three hours to get him out of that canyon,” he said. “It’s named Desolation Canyon for a reason.”<br> Splawn last had been seen around 9 a.m., Monday by a fellow hunter, hunting in a draw in the Twin Pillars area northeast of Prineville. But he failed to return to camp that night, and his companions tried to signal him by firing their rifles through the night. They began a search Tuesday morning and continued until 12:45 p.m., when they reported him missing to the sheriff’s office.
Deputies responded, along with search and rescue and Forest Service law enforcement crews, reaching the scene around 2 p.m. Tuesday. Searchers looked for Splawn until dark, and Deschutes County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue joined He’s tired, he’s sore – and he’s a lucky man. Jim Hensley Crook County undersheriff in the search Wednesday morning.
“He had a rain poncho, and he says, ‘It’s the best buck-29 I’ve ever spent,’” Hensley said. “He had a sandwich or two in his pack.”<br> Searchers learned Wednesday that Splawn, who knew the area fairly well, had encountered some other hunters who had felled an elk Tuesday. “They said they were going up to Whiskey Springs, about a mile and a half” away, Hensley said. “He said, ‘Well, I’m not headed that way – my camp’s up this way’ – and he headed up Desolation Canyon.”<br> “This is some of the roughest country, the roughest terrain in the whole wilderness,” the undersheriff said.
Hensley added, “I want to take my hat off and thank Deschutes County Search and Rescue for their expertise and assistance.” Crook County likely would have had only six to eight searchers available Wednesday, but “with their equipment and personnel, we had close to 40 people.”<br> “They know what they are doing,” he said. “Using their expertise and knowledge, they said it more and more likely where he is. Our people were headed right toward this guy, from four different directions.”
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Oregon
Dec 3, 2004 13:32:41 GMT -5
Post by LadyBlue on Dec 3, 2004 13:32:41 GMT -5
A 25-year-old Albany woman reported missing by her mother recently turned up back in Albany.
On Oct. 15, Tammie Williams reported her daughter Tiffany Jackson had not been seen since Sept. 12. After several weeks passed without a call or visit from her daughter, Williams began to worry.
Recent reports of assaults and abduction attempts on women in Corvallis and Albany caused Williams to wonder if her daughter was not so lucky.
On Wednesday, Williams met with Albany Police Department Detective Ryon McHuron to discuss Jackson's disappearance and recent re-appearance. Detective McHuron was able to confirm that Tiffany Jackson left Albany of her own free will and was never in danger or a victim of foul play as previously suspected by family members.
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Oregon
Dec 21, 2004 6:21:06 GMT -5
Post by LadyBlue on Dec 21, 2004 6:21:06 GMT -5
Oregon State Police are investigating the death of a woman found on a Lincoln City beach south of Chinook Winds Casino.
Shelva Dean Lay, 64, of Mount Vernon, Wash., was found about 7 a.m. Friday by tourists walking on the beach, police officials said.
The body appeared to have been in the water for a short time and bore no visible signs of violence, and foul play is not suspected, said Lt. Gregg Hastings, a spokesman for the OSP.
Lay's family members said she had been at the coast since at least Dec. 7 and was staying in a rental house near where her body was found.
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Oregon
Mar 8, 2005 9:35:42 GMT -5
Post by LadyBlue on Mar 8, 2005 9:35:42 GMT -5
A North Bend man who was missing for two years was found over the weekend inside his submerged car. The Coos County Sheriff's Office identified the victim as Brandon Brink. He was 26 when he was reported missing in May of 2002.
The vehicle was found by sport divers at the end of the BLM boat ramp on the north spit. Divers from the North Bend Fire Department determined that a body was inside the vehicle.
The vehicle was pulled from the water Saturday afternoon.
The body was sent to Eugene for an autopsy.
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Oregon
Apr 4, 2005 12:11:12 GMT -5
Post by LadyBlue on Apr 4, 2005 12:11:12 GMT -5
Springfield - Lane County authorities have found the body of a 30 year old Springfield man who had been missing for over a month.
Campers at Deer Creek in the McKenzie river area found the body of a man and an abandoned car.
Lane County sheriff's deputies and the Medical Examiner's office ruled it was Brian Paul Workman, reported missing by his family on February 24th.
I-D was found belonging to Workman, along with a handgun.
Officials had determined Workman had been deceased for some time.
An autopsy is pending by the Lane County Medical Examiners office.
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Oregon
May 16, 2005 14:07:43 GMT -5
Post by LadyBlue on May 16, 2005 14:07:43 GMT -5
Authorities searching for a missing Oregon college student found a body Thursday that they think is the young woman's, the Shasta County Sheriff's Office reported.
A search team found the body on Shasta Lake's Slaughterhouse Island, near where Gina Zalunardo was last seen alive houseboating with a group of fellow Oregon State University students.
Officials closed the area around the island as they searched for evidence and were waiting to confirm the body belonged to Zalunardo, a junior from Redmond, Ore.
Capt. Dave Dean said investigators are treating the case as a suspicious death. After Zalunardo was reported missing, the department originally had said foul play was not suspected.
The body was found at approximately 11:10 a.m. by search and rescue personnel conducting a grid search of the island, Dean said.
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Oregon
May 18, 2005 2:57:05 GMT -5
Post by paula on May 18, 2005 2:57:05 GMT -5
The death of a Redmond woman at Lake Shasta has been ruled a suicide. The Shasta County Sheriff’s Department says the medical examiner has determined that 22-year-old Gina Zalunardo used her own clothing to hang herself. The Oregon State University student’s body was found last Thursday in heavy brush near the top of Lake Shasta’s Slaughterhouse Island. She disappeared the night of May 7th while attending a houseboat party at the Northern California reservoir.
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Oregon
Jul 13, 2005 11:04:34 GMT -5
Post by LadyBlue on Jul 13, 2005 11:04:34 GMT -5
BEND -- The body of a southern Deschutes County woman who disappeared three years ago was discovered earlier this month not far from her home, and police are calling her death a homicide.
Brenda Middlekauff was 39when she was reported missing in July 2002.
The state medical examiner's office used dental records and X-rays to identify her remains. They were found July 2 in a rural wooded area on private land.
It appears Middlekauff was killed, said county District Attorney Mike Dugan, but authorities declined to release details, citing the continuing investigation.
Investigators are asking anyone who might have information about Middlekauff's death to call the sheriff's tip line at 541-383-4396.
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Oregon
Jul 17, 2005 9:10:40 GMT -5
Post by LadyBlue on Jul 17, 2005 9:10:40 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]Brandon Lee Brink[/glow] Brink was located deceased in 2005. He had been missing since March 5, 2002 from North Bend, Oregon.
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Oregon
Jan 5, 2006 2:25:14 GMT -5
Post by LadyBlue on Jan 5, 2006 2:25:14 GMT -5
The search for a man missing near Snaketooth Butte east of Brookings ended Saturday when his body was found near where he entered the woods last week.
Somboon Thongsavat, 48, of Yreka, Calif., was found less than a third of a mile from where he entered the forest last Tuesday afternoon. Thongsavat, his wife Thongphane, and their 6-year-old son were visiting relatives and friends in the area last week when they went searching for mushrooms near the intersection of Forest Service Road 1107 and 560, about 11 miles up North Bank Chetco River Road
Somboon was separated from the group and went missing until Saturday morning. He spent four nights in the woods, during which the area received more than 10 1/2 inches of rain. Winds gusted has high as 49 mph in Brookings, and gusts were significantly higher along the ridge top in the Snaketooth area. The low temperatures each night hovered around 47 degrees, except Dec. 29, when the low was 52 degrees.
Curry County Sheriff's Sgt. John Ward said that Thongsavat, who was dressed in a raincoat, rain pants and sneakers, likely succumbed to hypothermia.
"Where he was found, we'd been all over that area the first day of our search," said Ward. "If he'd been alive at that time, he would have heard whistles or something. It's my guess he probably succumbed that first night."
Ward and Curry County Search and Rescue volunteers began their search at about midnight Wednesday morning. The were joined by search volunteers from Coos and Josephine Counties, U.S. Forest Service personnel, a search dog and handler from Josephine County, local volunteers and about 25 friends and family members during the four-day search.
"We were prepared to stay there through Sunday if the weather was going to stay as bad as it had been," Ward added.
The search was suspended in the afternoon both Thursday and Friday because of hazardous conditions. Forest Service volunteers said high winds were knocking large branches from trees along the ridge tops.
Thongsavat was found Saturday morning. His body was released to Redwood Memorial Funeral Services at the request of the Curry County District Attorney's office.
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