Oregon Beach News, Wednesday 8/24: 34-Year-Old Woman Found Dead In Holding Cell At The Curry County Sheriff’s Office, Coos Bay AT&T Employee Arrested for Hacking Customer Accounts

The latest news stories across the state of Oregon from the digital home of the Oregon coastal cities, OregonBeachMagazine.com

Wednesday, August 24, 2022

Oregon Beach Weather

34-Year-Old Woman Found Dead In Holding Cell At The Curry County Sheriff’s Office

Around 6 p.m. Sunday (Aug. 21, 2022), 34-year-old Heather Iverson of Gold Beach was found deceased in a holding cell at the Curry County Sheriff’s Office, officials there reported Monday.

Iverson had been transported to the jail by the Gold Beach Police the day before, on Saturday, Aug. 8, for Disorderly Contact, Criminal Mischief, and Probation detainer.

According to the report, deputies discovered Iverson was unresponsive and not breathing, so they contacted Medical and Fire to respond.

“It was determined that she was deceased for unknown reasons,” CCSO said. “Per protocol, the Sheriff’s Office contacted the Oregon State Police to conduct the death investigation and two detectives responded.”

The Curry County District Attorney was notified and requested an autopsy to be performed once the initial investigation was complete.

The body of Iverson was released to Redwood Memorial at the authorization of the District Attorney, the Sheriff’s Office said.

“Currently, the investigation is ongoing, and no further information will be released until the Oregon State Police complete their investigation,” CCSO said. “We are all saddened of the passing of Heather.”

Coos Bay AT&T Employee Arrested for Hacking Customer Accounts

On Monday, August 22 at approximately 1:00 PM, Coos Bay Officers were dispatched to AT&T for a report of an employee accessing customer’s accounts without permission. The employee was also changing information and selling it to unknown individuals, resulting in customer’s bank accounts being hacked into and money stolen.  

The employee was identified as Alexander Keely of Coos Bay.  After subsequent investigation, it was determined Keely accessed at least 2 different customer accounts in different states on multiple occasions, changed information within the account and provided it to unknown people.

Keely was taken into custody and transported to the Coos County Jail on Identity Theft and Computer Crime charges.  At this time the investigation is on-going.

Any individuals who may have information pertaining to this investigation are encouraged to call the Coos Bay Police Department at 541-269-8911 or Coos Stop Crime at 541-267-6666.

Sea Lion Caves Inviting The Public To Celebrate Their 90th Anniversary On Friday!

Marking the momentous occasion of their 90th anniversary, Sea Lion Cave’s owners are inviting the public to celebrate on Friday, Aug. 26, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Siuslaw Pioneer Museum, 278 Maple St. in Florence.

“We thank the Siuslaw Pioneer Museum for their support in hosting historic exhibits, not just of Sea Lion Caves but of the entire region’s history from first-nations people through the settlers’ and into fairly modern times,” said Steve Saubert, co-owner of Sea Lion Caves. “They have a true community treasure that everyone should see. We hope the whole community will come out for the Sea Lion Caves’ anniversary party at the museum.”

The festivities begin at 5 p.m. with champagne and wine for those of age, juice, cookies, and other party snacks.

Steve Saubert, one of the co-owners of Sea Lion Caves says the museum is one of the region’s treasures and they want to thank the museum for their support, not just of the caves, but for the history that it preserves.

Museum Board President Del Phelps said, “We’ll have a special historic exhibit dedicated to Sea Lion Caves and presentations by local dignitaries. It will be a grand occasion for all.”

Saubert and Phelps also said that attendees who contribute a financial gift to the museum’s operations will receive a family admission pass to Sea Lion Caves, good for one use during the next 12 months.

To learn more about the Siuslaw Pioneer Museum, visit http://SiuslawPioneerMuseum.com

To learn more about Sea Lion Caves, its hours, admission, and more, visit http://SeaLionCaves.com

We want to keep you informed about COVID-19 in Oregon. Data are provisional and change frequently. For more information, including COVID-19 data by county, visit our dashboard: http://ow.ly/UpS150KqHY4

Screen shot of linked dashboard shows a decrease trend in cases, test positivity, and hospitalizations. Vaccinations have plateaued. Please visit healthoregon.org/coronavirus for more.

As Oregon’s students prepare to head back into the classroom, it’s a good time to brush up on knowledge of common infections, as some symptoms may look similar to COVID-19 symptoms.

Graphic detailing symptoms of COVID-19, the flu, RSV and the common cold.

Remember – this is only a guide. The only way to know for sure is by getting tested, especially if you are at high risk for severe COVID-19 illness or the flu. The flu, COVID-19, Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and the common cold spread the same way: by breathing out droplets into the air or onto a surface. You can get sick if you breathe in the droplets, the droplets land on you or if you touch a surface that has the droplets on it and then put your fingers in your nose, mouth or eyes.

To learn more about how you can protect yourself from infection and what to do if your child gets sick, check out our blog: http://ow.ly/p4v050KqMKN

Bomb Threat at Lebanon Walmart Forces Evacuations

A bomb threat at a Lebanon Walmart forced an evacuation earlier Tuesday morning, but the Lebanon Police Department says no explosive device was found.

LPD said that at about 10:30 a.m. on August 23 officers responded to a reported bomb threat at the Walmart Supercenter at 3290 South Santiam Hwy. Elements from the Lebanon Fire Department, Linn County Sheriff’s Office, and Oregon State Police also arrived to respond to the threat. Police said the building had been closed and evacuated before they arrived.

Lebanon police Lt. Ryan Padua said officers swept the store for anything that looked like a bomb. According to an LPD news release, the Oregon State Police bomb squad helped with the search. The Linn County Sheriff’s Office also assisted. 

By 12:20 p.m., there were still multiple Lebanon police cars and some Lebanon fire personnel at the scene. Police were seen checking cars in the parking lot.

Police said the Oregon State Police Bomb Squad was called in to help with the search. Officials said that after an extensive search of the premises, no suspicious device was found and the store was turned over to Walmart staff for normal operations.

Anyone with information about the threat is asked to contact Sergeant Cad Christenson at 541-258-4324 or the Lebanon Police Department at 541-451-1751.

WILDFIRE UPDATES

The Oregon Department of Forestry is continuing mop-up operations across the Westside Complex fires. With swift response times, ODF is relying on its numerous resources.

With more than 50 lighting-caused wildfires that ODF has responded to, officials say they are more than prepared to send out resources when lightning strikes. ODF Public Information Officer Natalie Weber says has been six fires in the Applegate area from the lighting storm last Wednesday.

She says when a fire is spotted through their lightning detection center they need to size it up to determine how many resources to send to the incident. Other resources could include tree cutting companies, aircraft for bucket drops and recon, as well as crews from other districts.

Westside Complex Incident Commander Taylor Wilkerson says the biggest challenge is the terrain. The Westside Complex fires are not along roads or highways. They have had to face steep inclines, brush, and weakened trees that have the potential to fall down.

He says crews are able to jump on all of the fires because they have so many resources available for them district-wide.

—- The Umpqua National Forest has reduced the Emergency Fire Closure for the Windigo fire (details below). 

Weather: Today will be hot and dry, with isolated thunderstorms possible near the crest of the Cascades. Temperatures will be in the low to mid-80s with relative humidity around 30%. Winds start the day light, increasing this afternoon with gusts up to 14 mph. For smoke information visit AirNow.gov.

Big Swamp Fire:  Firefighters continue to utilize the sprinkler system along the 2153 Road to check any forward advance of the fire. Elsewhere on the fire, crews continue to patrol, mop up, and repair control lines.

Potter Fire: Crews continue with dozer, hand line, and road repair. Chipping, processing, and hauling of danger trees that have been removed is ongoing.

Camel Hump Fire: Firefighters were able to begin construction of the hose lay around the fire yesterday. A water tender is being brought in today to allow fire crews to charge the hoses and bring water to the fireline. Fire crews are making good progress mitigating hazard trees around the fire perimeter. 

Windigo Fire: Firefighters continue work repairing remaining dozer hand lines to restore natural drainage on the landscape and minimize the potential for sediment to flow into local streams. Fire crews also made excellent progress grading, repairing, and removing hazard trees along the 60 Road to the Windigo Pass Trailhead on the Pacific Crest Trail.

Resources: 15 hand crews, 10 engines, 3 dozers, 10 water tenders, 5 helicopters. Total personnel 643. 

Closures: The portion of the Pacific Crest Trail within the Umpqua National Forest and the Kelsay Valley Horse Camp have been reopened. Other trails in the area, as well as the Mt. Thielsen Wilderness, are now open. Area closures for the Windigo and Potter Fires remain posted on the Umpqua National Forest – Alerts & Notices (usda.gov) page.

Public Safety:  As fire activity diminishes, hazards from fire effects and suppression activities remain. Crews and equipment continue to use roads for both suppression and post-fire suppression repair. Activities like brushing and chipping along roadsides and falling trees remain hazards on the landscape. You can help keep firefighters and the public safe by adhering to the closure orders until they are officially lifted. As roads begin to open, please drive slowly through the areas. Stopping along roads and highways to observe operations creates a safety hazard for both firefighters and the public. 

Wynne Broadcasting has learned that the Klamath County Major Crime team responded to an area where a body was discovered Tuesday morning.

It is known that the body of a male was found in the open field by Klamath Learning Center, which is near Fred Meyer. No other information was immediately available as investigators continue to process the scene.
This is a developing story; we will update this information as it becomes available.

Adidas CEO Stepping Down

Adidas CEO Kasper Rorsted will step down next year, the sports apparel maker said Monday, and the company has started looking for a successor.

Rorsted, who has been CEO since 2016, and its supervisory board “mutually agreed” that he will hand over during the course of 2023, Adidas said. The company has its North American headquarters in Portland.

He thanked Rorsted for “major achievements” that included strategically repositioning the company, vastly expanding its online sales and doubling sales in North America. Rabe said the firm can now focus on its core brand after divesting TaylorMade, Reebok and CCM Hockey.

Recent years “have been marked by several external factors that disrupted our business significantly” and that it took “huge efforts” to deal with those challenges, Rorsted said.

The Klamath Independent Film Festival Tickets On Sale Now

The Klamath Independent Film Festival, now in its 10th year, is coming to town once more to showcase made-in-Oregon films.

Scheduled for Sept. 16-18 at the Ross Ragland Theater in Klamath Falls and streaming online, tickets are now on sale for the film festival.

For single-day passes, the price will be $25 while weekend and online passes will cost $40 and a festival-wide pass that includes livestreaming/on-demand access will be $50.

The film festival will kick of Friday, Sept. 16 with a street festival featuring food trucks and a beer garden. There will be other activities as well, such as the making-of documentary film about “Animal House” — “Animal House of Blues” — a special presentation by original National Lampoon’s “Animal House” casting director Katherine Wilson, and a screening of the iconic film complete with a toga costume contest and “Shout!” dance-off on stage.

Saturday, Sept. 17 will feature full-length films shot across Oregon, including a special panel discussion highlighting the Modoc Wars and Klamath Traibes surrounding two films made about the Moduc Wars — “Modoc Nation: An Untold Story of Survivial” and “This is Their Land.”

The programming for Sunday, Sept. 18 will open with a K-12 student film showcase and short film selections There will also be an awards ceremony that includes $5,000 in cash prizes and custom-made awards by the Southern Cascade Woodcrafters Guild. This will be the third year the awards have been made by the guild.

FOR MORE INFO: https://klamathfilm.org/

‘American Idol’ Will Hold Virtual Auditions For Oregon Singers On 8/26

Think you have what it takes to be the next Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood“American Idol” is giving would-be singing stars in Oregon an opportunity to audition in front of show producers, as part of the “Idol Across America” campaign.

For the third year in a row, “American Idol” is conducting open call auditions via Zoom in 50 states, and Washington, D.C. The TV singing competition is preparing to launch its sixth season on ABC.

“American Idol” originally aired on Fox from 2002 to 2016, when it was canceled. It was then revived by ABC in 2018, with new judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan, and Ryan Seacrest returning as host.

The Oregon auditions happen Friday, August 26th

As the press materials say, “During this season’s first round of ‘American Idol,’ hopefuls can sign up to audition face-to-face in front of producers and receive real-time feedback for a chance at making Idol history and being crowned the next ‘American Idol’ as we enter season six on ABC.”

Aspiring idols must be at least 15 years old. To sign up to audition, go to this link: https://abc.com/shows/american-idol/auditions

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May be an image of 1 person and text that says 'MISSING TALYNN RYLIE MERTZ, 15 Talynn was last seen in Eugene, Oregon on August 1, 2022. Talynn is 5'4" -5'7" and 260 pounds. She has black hair and brown eyes. f/MissingNorthwest @MissingNW IF YOU HAVE INFORMATION: National Center for Missing and Exploited Children: 1-800-THE-LOST Eugene Police Department: 541-682-5111'
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Women Missing Since May 1st 2022 between Medford, Grants Pass and Roseburg per Oregon State Police (Jackson, Josephine and Douglas County)

MAKENNA KENDALL                                   5/3/2022
ERICA LEE  HUTCHINSON                          5/26/2022                          
MARIAH DANIELLE SHARP                          6/12/2022          
KAITLYN RAE NELSON                                  6/14/2022                 
BROOKLYN JOHNS                                     6/14/2022
DONNA LEPP                                               6/27/2022  
BARBARA  DELEPINE                                    7/4/2022                     
****KENDRA MARIE HANKS                              7/7/2022 FOUND MURDERED 7/21/2022
CORI BOSHANE MCCANN                             7/8/2022
SHYHAILA SMITH 7/12/2022
ALEZAE LILYANNE MARTINEZ 7/13/2022
RAVEN RILEY                                                7/13/2022
TAHUANA RILEY                                        7/13/2022
DANIELLE NEWVILLE 7/14/2022
CONNIE LORAINE BOND 7/19/2022
KARIN DAWN RUSSELL 7/19/2022
CHEYENNE SPRINGS 7/19/2022
KAREN ANNETTE SCIORTINO 7/22/2022
MARLENE HICKEY 7/23/2022
MAKAYLA MAY VAUGHT 7/23/2022
WENDY JEAN HAZEN 7/26/2022
SHAHE SOPHIA CATRANIDES 7/27/2022
NAVEAH LEIGH BILYEU 8/1/2022
DEBI ANN HARPER 8/3/2022
CHARLIZE D GIBSON 8/3/2022

Women Missing Since May 1st 2022 in Lane County per Oregon State Police

REISA RAQUEAL SIKEL                            5/3/2022
HANNAH MARIE RHOTEN                             5/17/2022
MARISSA ALEESA DAMBROSIO                  5/18/2022
ISABELLA BROSOWSKEYOUNGBLOOD    6/7/2022             
LOUISA DAY AVA                                           5/28/2022             
AMY CHRISTINA SULLIVAN                          6/1/2022
NIKKI ELIZABETH  ZEREBNY                              6/6/2022
SHADOW STAR SEVIGNY                               6/17/2022
SHAUNA LEAH HOGAN                             6/17/2022
AIRIONNA CHEALSEY RHODES                    6/27/2022           
KARISSA RENEE ADAMS                                7/6/2000
VERONICA ESSYNCE DELERIO                    7/6/2022
AUBRIE HANNA STEPHENS                           7/10/2022     
LARA IVEY STEINMETZ                                 7/11/2022
SARA LINDSAY SCHAEFER                            7/12/2022
ANGELINA MARIE NAZAR 7/16/2022
LUCIA MARTHA PANNIER 7/17/2022
MALINA LINN COATS 7/20/2022
KATHY A VERNACCHIO 7/23/2022
JANE MARIE HOLLIMAN 7/23/2022
ASHLEY MARIE SEELEY 7/27/2022
LILLY ANNE WARMUTH 7/28/2022
MALINA LINN COATS 7/29/2022
JORDYN CLARA GOHL 7/31/2022
QAVAH ALAH TILLILIE 7/31/2022
TALYNN RYLIE MERTZ 8/1/2022
YASINIA CALLISTA GUTIERREZ 8/3/2022

As of 8/9/2022, there are now 51women missing between Medford and Eugene. Sadly Kendra Hanks has been found murdered, though that takes her off the list. We send thoughts and prayers to her family as well as the families of all missing people in our area.

51 women missing in just less than 3 1/2 months. That averages out to 15 missing per month. Something needs to be done.

This is just a small compilation of missing women and their pictures in the area. There are of course women missing all over Oregon and men and children missing too. We don’t mean to dismiss that, however, there is an inordinate amount of women who go missing each week and there could possibly be a connection with an anomaly or two here and there. Sadly most of them never get any attention. Family and friends must keep any information going and lead investigations so that they aren’t just forgotten. 

https://www.oregon.gov/osp/missing/pages/missingpersons.aspx

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https://www.facebook.com/pg/Have-You-Seen-Me-Southern-Oregons-Missing-People-161249961222839/posts/

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