Local News

The Medford Police Department is investigating a weekend homicide that occurred in the parking lot of an elementary school. MPD officers were dispatched to Wilson Elementary School where a deceased male was discovered on Sunday around 6:30 a.m.. Detectives responded to the scene and confirmed this is a homicide investigation. Surveillance footage obtained from the Medford School District shows the incident occurred several hours earlier. Investigators are working to collect additional surveillance footage to identify the suspect or suspects and any associated vehicles. At this time, there is no known threat to the public or school community. According to MPD, this remains an active and ongoing investigation. Updates will be provided as new information becomes available.

 

A man is missing and presumed dead after he wrecked his motorcycle off a cliff above the Rogue River during a law enforcement pursuit northwest of Galice late last night. The Oregon State Police reports troopers assisted the Josephine County Sheriff's Office with the single-vehicle crash near milepost 17 of Galice Road on Sunday at 11:07 p.m.. OSP said a preliminary investigation indicates a Honda motorcycle ridden by an unidentified man was being pursued by sheriff's deputies when it left the roadway and crashed into a tree on the downward slope of a cliff overlooking the river. According to OSP, the rider was not found and his identity was unknown. A 46-year-old Grants Pass man was mentioned in the report, but not confirmed as the rider. Unconfirmed sources reported a motorcycle helmet was found in the river. Bulldog Towing collected the heavily-damaged motorcycle and transported it to their secure storage facility in Grants Pass.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a woman for stabbing her boyfriend while they were in a vehicle at a city park. The Police Department reports officers arrested 58-year-old Carol Kim Clements for the incident on Saturday at 12:12 a.m.. Police said they responded late Friday night to Three Rivers Medical Center for a male victim of domestic violence who was initially uncooperative with emergency room staff. When officers arrived at the hospital, the victim advised that he was stabbed by Clements three times and that the crime occurred in the vehicle they reside in while it was parked at Eckstein Park on SE Portola Drive. The victim told officers Clements was in the vehicle outside the ER waiting for him be medically cleared. She was passed out in the passenger seat slumped over the center console, with dried blood on the driver seat as well as on the keys and exterior of the vehicle. She admitted that she stabbed her boyfriend because she was angry at him. She was immediately placed into custody. Clements was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felony 2nd-Degree Assault and Felony Unlawful Use of a Weapon. She was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for roughing up his ex-girlfriend at the Bottle Drop Center. According to the Police Department, officers responded to a domestic disturbance at the recycling depot on Rogue River Highway on Saturday around 8 a.m.. Police said workers called 9-1-1 to report that 37-year-old Michael Wayne Cheek was shoving a woman around and throwing items everywhere before left fled on a skateboard. The female victim stayed at the Bottle Drop Center to talk to officers. The woman told officers that Cheek pushed her, threw ice cream on her and ripped a bag of cans from her hand. She was not seriously hurt. Officers located Cheek at Baker Park a short time later. He was placed into custody and lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Physical Harassment.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a female transient for vandalizing her mother's garage in the northeast part of the city over the weekend. According to the Police Department, officers responded to the incident at a home in the 900-block of NE 9th Street on Saturday around 6:45 p.m.. Police said a woman called 9-1-1 to report that her daughter -- 25-year-old Emilee Joy Benavente -- broke windows on her garage in order to break in. She said her daughter did not take anything and left a mountain bike behind when she fled. Video surveillance captured Benavente committing the crime against her mother. Benavente was located a short time later at the NW 5th Street resting site and was placed into custody following an interview. She was lodged in jail for 2nd-Degree Criminal Mischief and trespassed from her mother's property.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office is seeking public assistance in locating a missing woman. Sheriff's officials reported this morning that 39-year-old Desiree Wytcherley was last seen in the Wilderville area late last week. They said Wytcherley frequently walks on roadways in the Wilderville area. Wytcherley is described as a white female adult, 5-feet-11-inches tall and 145 pounds, with brownish-blonde hair and blue eyes. It is unknown what she was wearing. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Desiree Wytcherley is urged to contact the Sheriff's Office at (541)-474-5123.

 

The Jackson County Sheriff's Office captured a murder suspect during a traffic stop on Highway 62 near Vilas Road in Medford late last week. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies and detectives arrested 60-year-old William Irvin Hastings on Friday morning. Detectives said Hastings was arrested in connection to a suspicious death turned into a murder investigation that occurred in Phoenix earlier last week. The victim was identified as 60-year-old Julie Renee Hastings of Phoenix. William Hastings was lodged at the Jackson County Jail for suspicion of 2nd-Degree Murder and 1st-Degree Abuse of a Corpse. He was being held without bail. The investigation began after patrol deputies responded to a welfare check last Wednesday night at a residence in the 4,000-block of South Pacific Highway. Deputies found forced entry into the residence, with the victim deceased and suspicious circumstances at the scene. Detectives and medical examiners responded and took over the investigation. The Oregon State Police Crime Lab, Jackson County District Attorney's Office, Medford Police Department, Phoenix Police Department and OSP detectives responded to assist with the investigation. Investigators said the case remains active with detectives following additional leads.

 

A motorcycle and an electric dirt bike collided in the Central Point area late last week, killing the juvenile dirt bike rider. The Jackson County Sheriff's Office reports dispatchers received a 9-1-1 call on Thursday shortly before 9 p.m. for a crash that occurred near the intersection of Ross Lane and Old Stage Road in rural Central Point. Sheriff's deputies, the Oregon State Police and Jacksonville Police Department responded along with a Mercy Flights ambulance. Deputies said they will not be releasing decedent information due to the rider's age and out of respect for the family's privacy in this difficult time. The Jackson County Serious Traffic Accident Reconstruction (STAR) Team responded to investigate the fatal incident. The unidentified motorcycle rider is cooperating with the investigation and no criminal charges have been filed. The STAR Team consists of investigators from the Jackson County Sheriff's Office, Medford Police Department, Central Point Police Department and Jackson County District Attorney's Office.

 

Josephine County emergency agencies responded to a fatal crash on Redwood Highway in extreme northern California at the beginning of the weekend. On Friday shortly after 7 p.m., the Illinois Valley Fire District and American Medical Response were dispatched to the two-vehicle collision on US Highway 199 around 8.5 miles south of the Collier Tunnel. Gasquet Fire also responded. IVFD officials confirmed there was one fatality and one person was transported to an area hospital from the crash scene. No other information was available. The fatal crash was being investigated by California Highway Patrol (CHP).