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Jackson Co. Sheriff's Office  - 02/18/19  An autopsy performed Monday, February 18, 2019, revealed Johnathan Patrick Likeke Walker, 23, died of suffocation following a skiing accident on Mt. Ashland on Saturday. During the investigation, deputies learned that Walker was skiing in a group of three Mt. Ashland Ski Patrol members.  Walker was the last of the group to descend the hill.  The others looked back to find that Walker had skied into a tree well and had become trapped upside down in the snow.  They climbed back up the steep hill and worked to free Walker from the snow, but he was not breathing. Efforts to resuscitate Walker by ski patrol members, as well as by medical personnel at the ski area, continued for approximately two hours.

Oregon State Police  - 02/17/19 6:32 PM On February 17, 2019 at approximately 5:00 PM, Oregon State Police, with the assistance of US Coast Guard and Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, recovered the body of a deceased female in the ocean, in a cove, just north of “God’s Thumb”. The female is described as a white adult female with long dark brown hair. She was approximately 5’7” and 190-200 pounds. The Oregon State Police is continuing its investigation as to the specifics of her death but we are asking for the public’s assistance for information on her identity. If anyone has any information on a recent missing female, matching this description, please call (800) 452-7888 and reference case number SP 19-058230. Detective Carla Urbigkeit is the lead investigator. No photos are available or additional information is available at this time.

Washington Co. Sheriff's Office  - 02/17/19  On Friday, February 15, 2019, at 6 p.m., Washington County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a single vehicle crash at NW Bronson Road and NW Roseburg Terrace in the community of Bethany.  A witness reported seeing a car leave the road and hit a tree.  Responding emergency crews had to extricate the driver, 27-year-old Zachary Benjamin of Hillsboro.  Mr. Benjamin was taken to a Portland hospital with life-threatening injuries.  On Sunday, February 17, Mr. Benjamin died at the hospital. The Washington County Crash Analysis Reconstruction Team responded to assist with the investigation.  Deputies do not yet have a suspected cause for the crash which remains under investigation.

Jackson Co. Sheriff's Office  - 02/17/19 Update, 2/17/19 at 10:35 a.m. The decedent in Saturday's incident on Mt. Ashland was identified as Johnathan Patrick Likeke Walker, 23.  Walker lived and worked locally, but lived previously in Yakima, Wash.  The autopsy has been postponed until Monday. Original release, 2/16/19 at 8:10 p.m.: ASHLAND, Ore. - A 23-year-old man died Saturday afternoon after reportedly colliding with a tree while skiing on Mt. Ashland.  He was a member of the Mt. Ashland Ski Patrol. On February 16, 2019, at 1:31 p.m., dispatch received a 911 call reporting a skiing accident on the south side of the mountain, outside the boundaries of the Mt. Ashland Ski Area.  Jackson County Sheriff's Office (JCSO) deputies responded to the ski area, along with personnel from Ashland Fire & Rescue. Deputies learned the victim was among a group of Mt. Ashland Ski Patrol members skiing in the backcountry.  The victim's fellow ski patrol members render

Bend Police Dept.  - 02/16/19  On Saturday, February 16, 2019 at approximately 0654 hrs. 911 dispatch received a call from a third party reporting that they had just witnessed an unknown suspect break into a parked vehicle, remove items from within, and then flee the area on foot.  Bend Police responded to the scene and conducted an extensive area check.  Although the suspect was not located at this time, a purse belonging to the victim was located along the roadway. As the investigation continued, Bend Police Officers learned the victims credit cards were being unlawfully used at two seperate retail establishments in Bend.  Follow-up investigation, which included the reviewing of surveillance video where the victims credit cards were used, revealed a detailed description of a suspect in this case. With the additional suspect description, Officers continued to search / canvas the area.  While doing so, a Bend Police Officer drove by a motorist who matched the description of th

Ore. Dept. of Public Safety Standards and Training  - 02/16/19  More than 300 career and volunteer firefighters from more than 100 fire agencies (city and tribal fire departments, fire districts, and wildland) throughout the state are at the Oregon Public Safety Academy in Salem this weekend for the State's annual Winter Fire School. This is the 16th annual Winter Fire School hosted by the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST) at the Oregon Public Safety Academy 4190 Aumsville Highway in Salem. Eleven classes are being offered by the National Fire Academy, DPSST, and the City of Dallas Fire & EMS Department. Classes range from leadership topics such as Health and Safety Officer, Strategy and Tactics for Initial Company Operations, Decision Making for Initial Company Operations, Leadership in Supervision: Creating Environments for Professional Growth, Perspectives in Thinking, Leadership in Supervision: Frameworks to Success, Wildland Urban Interface

Jackson Co. Sheriff's Office  - 02/16/19 MEDFORD, Ore. – The Pacific Northwest Violent Offenders Task Force (PNVOTF) was tasked with locating and apprehending Kayla Navarro, 26, of Medford.  Navarro was wanted by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) in Indiana, on a federal warrant for Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances, as well as a probation violation. On February 13, the investigation led the Task Force to a home in the City of Medford where Navarro was seen entering a vehicle.  A traffic stop was made on the vehicle, and Navarro was taken quickly taken into custody.  Another passenger of the vehicle was also arrested on an outstanding warrant.  Both Navarro and the other passenger were found to be in possession of methamphetamine and heroin.  Navarro is lodged in the Jackson County Jail awaiting prosecution and extradition. The Medford Division of the Pacific Northwest Violent Offenders Task Force is made up of personnel of the United States Marshals Service, Ja

FBI - Oregon  - 02/15/19  Washington County Sheriff's Office deputies, with the assistance of Portland Police Bureau, Beaverton Police Department and the FBI, arrested Robert Norman Benham on Wednesday, February 13, 2019, at his Beaverton home without incident. According to the federal criminal complaint filed in this case, Benham, age 53, faces charges related to a series of bank robberies that occurred starting in mid-December. Those charged robberies include: December 11, 2018 - Wells Fargo Bank (located inside a Thriftway), 7410 SW Oleson Road, Portland December 24, 2018 - Columbia Bank, 4805 SW 77th Avenue, Washington County January 30, 2019 - Columbia Bank, 4805 SW 77th Avenue, Washington County Benham appeared before a federal magistrate judge on Wednesday, and the judge ordered him held pending further court proceedings. Investigators are gathering information related to as many as six other unsolved bank robberies in this area between November 2018 and now. Anyone

Forest Grove Fire & Rescue  - 02/15/19  This morning at 8:20, firefighters were dispatched to a reported motor vehicle crash on NW Wilson River Highway (Oregon Highway 6) near the 55900 block. It was reported that the vehicle was involved in a pursuit with law enforcement and had crashed into the Gales Creek. The driver of the vehicle had made it out of the vehicle and was pulled to shore by law enforcement officers prior to fire units arriving. Minutes later, firefighters arrived and began to deploy water rescue equipment to try and access the heavily damaged vehicle that sat partially submerged in the very cold water. It was found that a passenger was entrapped in the vehicle and a plan was established to use tow trucks to pull the vehicle to shore and then bring it up to the roadway. It took crews about 30 minutes from dispatch time to bring the vehicle to shore and another 30 minutes to get the vehicle from the shore up the steep embankment to the roadway to extricate the p

Gresham Police Dept  - 02/15/19  Gresham, Ore.— Gresham Police made an arrest in yesterday’s deadly shooting. Yesterday at approximately 1:00 p.m., police responded to the report of a shooting at 911 SE 187th Ave. Officers arrived on scene and discovered that one person was deceased. As a result of the investigation, 23-year-old Schwanna Waters, of Gresham, was arrested for Manslaughter in the First Degree. Detectives are still combing through the evidence to discover what lead up to the shooting. We are not releasing the name of the victim pending notification of next of kin. No other information is available at this time. Anyone who saw or heard anything in regards to the shooting is asked to call the Gresham Police at 503.618.2719.