Searching for a man accused of beating and kidnapping a woman in Grants Pass, Oregon, during a multi-day manhunt

A sweeping multi-day manhunt continues for a suspect accused of brutally beating and kidnapping a woman in Oregon who remains in critical condition, according to police.

Investigators previously said Foster may be using dating apps to find potential new victims or manipulate people into helping him evade arrest. Hensman didn’t say whether Foster is still active on those apps.

Grants Pass police Chief Warren Hensman has said that state and local investigators have been working around the clock to locate Foster, who is wanted on suspicion of attempted murder, kidnapping and assault.

During a Thursday press conference, Hensman said he is “troubled” by Foster’s history of domestic violence and assault charges, which are detailed in court records.

The victim was brought to a local hospital where she remains in critical condition, police said Sunday. Police were protecting the victim as of Thursday.

Police are urging the public to send in tips on the suspect’s whereabouts or any potential sightings. The department said in a statement on Sunday that people should pay particular attention to his eyes and facial structure as they believe he may try to change his appearance by changing his hair and beard.

Hensman encouraged people who come into contact with Foster – either in person or online – to call 911 immediately. Police have warned that the “extremely dangerous suspect” could be armed.

The victim in that case told police Foster strangled her several times and kept her tied up for most of the following two weeks, a Las Vegas police report said. When she was finally able to escape to a hospital, she had seven broken ribs, two black eyes and abrasions to her wrists and ankles from being tied up, the report said.

Foster accepted plea deals in two cases. In the first case, he was sentenced to a maximum of 30 months in prison but given credit for 729 days served.

A man accused of kidnapping a woman in Oregon and another woman in Nevada is on the run and using dating apps to search for additional victims

A man accused of kidnapping a woman in Oregon and holding another woman captive in Nevada is on the run and active on dating apps, authorities say.

Police have established a tip line and are offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to Foster’s arrest and prosecution. And they warn that he may be looking for additional victims or help evading the authorities, including by posing as a potential suitor.

Foster may try to change his appearance, like changing his hair or shaving his beard, since those features are hard to change, police said on Sunday. They uploaded several pictures of him with different lengths of hair and will release more as they become available.

Match Group, the parent company of the popular dating websites Match and Plenty of Fish, said it does not have any information to confirm Foster is on its platforms, but is looking into it.

Bumble told NPR over email that its team has been “working around the clock to identify any members based on the information that is available to us at this time,” and has not located anyone on the app with Foster’s full name.

“Any time we become aware of a report in the media, we proactively work to identify if the member is within our community and take swift action against their account,” it added.

Criminal background checks aren’t done on most dating apps. Garbo allows users of Match Group sites to run background checks if they have at least their match’s first name and phone number.

Match Group says it expects to continue rolling that feature out to other brands in the U.S. The process for reporting users is also promoted by the company.

The anti-sexual assault nonprofit RAINN offers safety tips for anyone using dating apps to connect online or meet in person. They include: look up your potential date on social media, block and report users for suspicious behavior, don’t respond to requests for financial help, choose a public place for your first meeting and don’t rely on your date for transportation.

Source: https://www.npr.org/2023/01/30/1152559181/benjamin-obadiah-foster-oregon-kidnapping

Agent Warren Hensman in Grants Pass, Oregon, is on a leave-by-all-night search for a domestic violence suspect

Grants Pass Police Chief Warren Hensman said at a press conference last week that she was held for a “protracted period of time.” The victim and the suspect had a “prior domestic relationship,” Hensman said, according to The Oregonian.

In 2019, before moving to Oregon, he held his then-girlfriend captive in her Las Vegas apartment for two weeks, The Associated Press reports — while he was on a suspended jail sentence for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit as well as awaiting trial in a 2018 domestic violence case.

She managed to escape from Foster after persuading him to bring her and her dog with him to a grocery store and gas station, reportedly sprinting through a store and into a nearby apartment complex while he was distracted letting the dog out of the car.

The suspect in the southwest Oregon case knew his victim before the attack, police tell CNN, as the search for him continues.

Hattersley said authorities received “credible information” that Foster had entered the home where a woman was found unconscious, bound and near death on Jan. 24, The Daily Courier reported. She was hospitalized in critical condition.

I have seen a lot in my career but there are some things that stay in my memory and will stay for a long time.

Police investigators are sifting through a large amount of evidence to make sure no one else is involved, according to the police chief.

There were charges for felony assault, battery and kidnapping against him for abusing his girlfriend.

Survival of a suspect in a violent kidnapping in Grants Pass, Oregon, died after a standoff with law enforcement

The town of Grants Pass, Ore. A suspect in a violent kidnapping in Oregon died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound Tuesday night after being taken into custody following a standoff with law enforcement, a police spokesman said.

The man who was taken into custody in Grants Pass, Oregon, died in a hospital, according to a police lieutenant.

Foster barricaded himself under a house as officers from four agencies concentrated in the area, set up a command post and assembled a SWAT team while attempting to secure his surrender beginning Tuesday afternoon.

Just before 8 p.m., Hattersley said the situation had been resolved but did not immediately confirm whether Foster had been arrested. Police later confirmed Foster was in custody, but a little more than an hour later said he had succumbed to his injuries.

Last Thursday, law enforcement raided a property in the unincorporated community of Wolf Creek, but Foster, who had been staying on family property there, slipped away. Forested mountains surround the community, but investigators believe that instead of disappearing solo into the wilderness, Foster had help getting out of the area.