Local News

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested a man on an out-of-state felony warrant following a weekend traffic stop and foot pursuit in south Grants Pass. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies placed 30-year-old Robert Anthony Dale into custody at the Beacon Drive McDonald's on Sunday morning. Deputies said they pulled over a Ford F-250 with California plates driven by Dale near the intersection of the Grants Pass Parkway and NE F Street. They said they knew was wanted on a Del Norte, California, County felony warrant for Probation Violation related to a property crime arrest. Dale reportedly bailed out of the pickup and ran, but he was tackled to the ground and placed into handcuffs for the short ride to the Josephine County Jail. Dale was booked into jail on the warrant plus new charges of Resisting Arrest, Attempted Escape and Methamphetamine Possession. He was being held without bail pending extradition to Crescent City.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested a motorist for impaired driving after she crashed her vehicle off Williams Highway between Grants Pass and Murphy. According to OSP, troopers and emergency crews responded to the single-vehicle rollover wreck near milepost 3 of Highway 238 on Saturday shortly after 5 p.m.. Troopers said an investigation determined that 67-year-old Joni Rae Jaeger of Murphy was driving a Ford Ranger pickup when she failed to drive within her travel lane, struck a ditch and rolled over. They said indicators of impairment were observed at Three Rivers Medical Center where Jaeger was contacted. A search warrant was obtained and a legal blood draw documented impairment by alcohol. Jaeger was cited to appear in court for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants and Reckless Driving. She was released to the care of hospital staff, but her pickup was impounded.

 

Authorities are investigating the discovery of human remains at a structure fire that was the origin of the Board Shanty Fire that erupted on July 17th. The Josephine County Sheriff's Office reports the remains were found one day after the 469-acre fire started in the 2200-block of Board Shanty Creek Road. The burning house as well as vehicles and recreational vehicles spread to the wildland. During the initial investigation into the cause of the fire, deputies learned that a woman who lived in the house was missing and could not be located by friends. The remains found in the burned residence are believed to be those of Sarah Caron. Confirmation cannot be made until further DNA testing is completed, but Caron's family has been advised. The investigation into the incident is being conducted by the Sheriff's Office, with assistance from the Oregon State Fire Marshal, Oregon State Medical Examiner's Office and Oregon State Police Crime Lab. Investigators said the residence where the fire started was the only one lost in the Board Shanty Fire although several properties were threatened. They are unaware of any other people unaccounted for in regard to the incident. According to the Sheriff's Office, many aspects of this incident are still under investigation and no further information is available at this time.

 

Five people were hurt when a sport utility vehicle pulling a trailer rolled over on Interstate 5 in the Sunny Valley area. On Friday at 10:25 p.m., Rural Metro Fire Department, American Medical Response, the Josephine County Sheriff's Office and Oregon State Police were dispatched to the rollover wreck in the northbound lanes of I-5 near milepost 70. OSP said an initial investigation indicated 24-year-old Nicholas Andrew Lake of Jacksonville was driving a Toyota 4-Runner towing a camping trailer, descending Mount Sexton, when he lost control of the vehicle, causing it to roll before landing on its top on the freeway shoulder. Rural Metro officials said a total of five occupants were transported by ambulance to Three Rivers Medical Center with what appeared to be non-life-threatening injuries. Two dogs in the overturned SUV were not hurt. The SUV and trailer sustained heavy damage and were hauled to Grants Pass by Caveman Towing. It was unclear in the report if any citations were issued.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man on a local felony warrant while investigating a weekend report of suspicious activity at Walmart. The Police Department reports officers chased down and arrested 45-year-old Ely Benjamin Smith at the Abby's Pizza on NE Beacon Drive on Friday at 7:32 p.m.. Police said a citizen reported seeing Smith messing around with a Dodge Ram pickup in the Walmart parking lot. The caller said the suspect got into the bed of the truck, slid open the cab window and climbed inside. Smith took off running when officers responded to the scene. He reportedly ran toward Fred Meyer and to Abby's where he was placed into custody at Taser point. Officers discovered that Smith was wanted on a Grants Pass felony warrant for 1st-Degree Criminal Mischief and Attempted Escape. He was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrant plus a new charge of Attempted Escape. He was being held without bail.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested a motorist for impaired driving after a weekend traffic stop in south Grants Pass. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies pulled over a silver Honda driven by 19-year-old Thomas Buck Hunter near the intersection of the Grants Pass Parkway and Rogue River Highway on Saturday at 2:37 a.m.. Deputies said they stopped Hunter for a traffic violation and he showed obvious signs of impairment. They said he performed poorly in field sobriety tests, so they placed him into custody. A Remington shotgun in the car was logged into evidence for safekeeping. Hunter was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants and Reckless Driving. His vehicle was impounded.

 

The Oregon Department of Forestry and its local partners responded to and extinguished three fires that broke out Saturday afternoon and evening. Around midday Saturday, ODF responded to a reported grass fire in the 7,000-block of Anderson Creek Road west of Talent. Numerous engines and additional resources including helicopters were called in to knock down the blaze. At 12:30 p.m., resources began mop-up operations. The cause of the fire was under investigation. On Saturday at 4:47 p.m., a column of smoke was detected by an ODF camera on Slate Creek Road in the Wonder area. Arriving units found a 1/4-acre fire burning in vegetation. ODF and Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest resources including numerous engines, a helicopter and other aircraft had contained the fire by 5:40 p.m.. The incident was turned over to the US Forest Service for mop-up efforts. On Saturday at 5:27 p.m., ODF and Jackson County Fire District #3 responded to a structure fire in the 12,000-block of Duggan Road in the Sams Valley area. Crews extinguished the house fire along with several spot fires that spread in surrounding vegetation. By 6:25 p.m., firefighters had made good progress on the spot fires that made up around 1/4-acre. Crews worked to line and mop-up these areas.

 

Grants Pass police officers and firefighters started the month of August with yet another strong effort in community protection. According to the Weekly Report filed by Grants Pass City Manager Aaron Cubic, police officers responded to a total of 672 calls for service along with 264 officer-initiated calls last week that resulted in 48 arrests, 29 citations, 56 warnings and five highly-intoxicated people being lodged at the Sobering Center. Cubic also reported that officers conducted a total of 70 traffic stops in the city and they made 17 referrals to the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS). The GPPD Community Response Team (CRT) contacted a total of 27 potential troublemakers while arresting two people, citing 26 more and warning five others. The CRT unit also trespassed 12 individuals and made 63 checks of city parks. Grants Pass Fire & Rescue responded to a total of 95 calls last week including 42 for emergency medical service, four reports of fire or smoke, 12 lift assists, eight rescue situations, seven assists to other agencies and eight false alarms. The Grants Pass 9-1-1 Communications Center fielded a total of 1,302 emergency calls last week.

 

Due to dry vegetation, increased fire behavior and consistently hot and windy conditions, the Oregon Department of Forestry is raising the local fire danger level to "extreme" on Tuesday. At 12:01 a.m. tomorrow, the fire danger level in Josephine and Jackson counties will be elevated to extreme -- the Industrial Fire Precaution Level will remain "2." During extreme fire danger, the use of all power-driven machinery including power saws; the cutting, grinding and welding of metal; and the mowing of dead or dry grass is completely prohibited on ODF-protected lands. The operation of any other spark-emitting internal combustion engines not specifically mentioned is also prohibited. Use of electric chainsaws and the mowing of green grass are allowed.All other fire prevention regulations remain in effect including the ban on outdoor debris burning and the use of fireworks. Open fires are prohibited except in approved fire rings at designated campgrounds. In other locations clear of dry vegetation, portable cooking stoves using liquefied or bottled fuels are allowed. Smoking is prohibited while traveling except in vehicles on improved roads, in boats on the water and other designated locations. Motor vehicles -- including motorcycles and ATVs -- may only be used on improved roads free of flammable vegetation except when used for the culture and harvest of agricultural crops. All-terrain vehicles and motorcycles traveling on ODF-protected lands must be equipped with one 2.5-pound or larger fire extinguisher. More information about local fire season regulations can be found by visiting "swofire.com."