Local News

Grants Pass Police arrested a man on a statewide felony warrant following a weekend welfare check in the southeast part of the city. The Police Department reports officers were requested to check on a 30-year-old male subject in the 1900-block of SE Haviland Drive on Saturday at 8:15 a.m.. Police said the subject was known to them from previous criminal encounters and they observed him trying to sneak into his father's garage. They said he was placed into custody at Taser point due to a lack of compliance and attempted flight. According to the report, the man was verbally aggressive toward his grandparents before heading toward his father's residence. The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on an Oregon State warrant for Felony Parole Violation. Jail records show he has been arrested for violating his post-prison supervision at total of 12 times since last October.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man on a local felony warrant during a weekend patrol check in the north part of the city. According to the Police Department, officers contacted a 42-year-old male subject and placed him into custody near the corner of NE 7th Street and Evelyn Avenue on Saturday at 7:38 p.m.. Police said they observed the subject, recognized him from previous contacts and knew that he was wanted on a Josephine County felony warrant for Parole Violation stemming from a 2019 conviction for an unspecified crime. The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on a no-bail detainer. Jail records show he was also arrested for violating his parole last December.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office apprehended a man on two outside felony warrants during a weekend traffic stop at or near Robertson Bridge Boat Landing. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies pulled over a vehicle containing a 28-year-old subject in the 12,100-block of Lower River Road on Saturday around 1 a.m.. Deputies said they stopped the vehicle for a traffic violation and discovered that one of the occupants was wanted on a Jackson County felony warrant for failing to appear in court for 1st-Degree Burglary and a Medford felony warrant for failing to appear in court for 2nd-Degree Burglary. Once the warrants were confirmed, the suspect was transported to the Josephine County Jail where he was booked on the warrants. He was set to be transferred to the Jackson County Jail in Medford. The driver of the vehicle was warned for violating park hours and told to move on.

 

Those who want one last turn of summer cooling at Grants Pass city parks have just two more opportunities -- today and tomorrow. The Grants Pass Parks Department has announced that Tuesday will be the final day the spray parks will operate at Riverside and Morrison Centennial parks. The forecast for today is 92 degrees, with temperatures dropping to the 80s and 70s after Tuesday. Parks workers will start the process of winterizing the spray parks on Wednesday.

 

A boating accident on the Oregon Coast claimed the life of a Medford man late last week. The Douglas County Sheriff's Office reports 9-1-1 dispatchers received an alert regarding a boating mishap in Winchester Bay last Thursday at about 2 p.m.. As deputies were responding, the United States Coast Guard advised they located an overturned boat with subjects in the water. USGS personnel were able to rescue two subjects from the water, but a third individual was still missing. Deputies learned 63-year-old James McKeane of Medford had been fishing with his son -- 36-year-old Kenneth McKeane of Central Point -- and a neighbor -- 35-year-old Anthony Knight of Medford. After a few hours of ocean fishing, James McKeane was returning to the dock due to weather conditions in his 2020 Kingfisher boat. While progressing into the bay, a large wave crashed into the left side of the boat, causing it to roll over. All three occupants went into the water without lifejackets. The vessel eventually capsized. James McKeane and Knight were pulled from the water by the Coast Guard. Lifesaving efforts were initiated on Knight who was unconscious. Both James and Knight were transported to Lower Umpqua Hospital for medical treatment. Efforts to revive Knight were unsuccessful and he was pronounced deceased. Kenneth McKeane was later located by USGS helicopter on the North Jetty and was airlifted from there to North Bend Hospital. The fatal accident is under investigation by the Douglas County Sheriff's Office Marine Division working in coordination with the Oregon State Marine Board.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office jailed a North Valley woman for violating a court order by threatening two men with a gun at a Hugo area residence. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies responded to a domestic disturbance in the 200-block of Hasis Drive late Friday afternoon. Deputies said a 37-year-old female subject called 9-1-1 to report seeing two men on her property through a ring camera. The caller said she was not home and no one else was supposed to be there. A short time later, a neighbor called 9-1-1 to report people fighting and screaming at each other. Upon arrival, deputies learned that the woman they identified as "Nicole Darleen Hollister" had used a gun to threaten her ex-husband and his friend. Deputies also learned that the woman was legally restrained in a protection order with a "no firearms" clause. They placed her into custody while seizing two firearms. Hollister was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Unlawful Use of a Weapon and two counts of Menacing plus Contempt of Court-Restraining Order Violation. She was being held without bail. According to the report, Hollister's children were left with their grandfather and the Oregon Department of Human Services was notified about the incident that was witnessed by the kids.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested an Illinois Valley woman who was wanted for past crimes committed in Cave Junction. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies contacted the 34-year-old female subject in the 5,000-block of Lakeshore Drive near Selma last Friday afternoon. Deputies said the woman they identified as "Andrea McGrath" admitted to several criminal mischiefs and attempted gasoline thefts related to two previous cases. McGrath was charged with probable cause of two counts of 2nd-Degree Criminal Mischief and one count of 2nd-Degree Criminal Trespass. She was cited to appear in court and released, but not before being trespassed from Shopsmart and another business in the 100-block of South Redwood highway.

 

Hot, dry and windy weather caused a small portion of the Salt Creek Fire to rekindle in the Eagle Point area yesterday. The Oregon Department of Forestry and Lake Creek Rural Fire Protection District responded to an estimated one-acre fire off Salt Creek and Gardner roads, north of Highway 140, on Sunday afternoon. Firefighters engaged in an aggressive initial attack that included one crew, a water tender, a bulldozer and multiple aircraft. A second 20-person crew, an additional engine and a helicopter were ordered as the blaze grew to 3-5 acres. In a 5:30 p.m. update, ODF reported crews were knocking down the active fire and holding it to less than five acres. Resources remained engaged on the fire and continued building containment line before mopping up the incident. ODF officials said the cause of the fire was under investigation. The Salt Creek Fire burned just over 4,000 acres between Eagle Point and Butte Falls earlier this summer.

 

Multiple agencies knocked down a vegetation fire in the Murphy area over the weekend. On Saturday at 5:14 p.m., Rural Metro Fire Department, Applegate Valley Fire District and the Oregon Department of Forestry responded to a grass and brush fire on Crystal Drive near Williams Highway. Rural Metro officials said forward progress of the blaze was stopped at just under a half-acre. No injuries were reported and no structures were threatened. Officials said investigators were looking into the cause of the fire, but it may have involved a powerline.