Oregon
Terrified woman pleads for help at stranger’s door after escaping from machete-wielding abductor in chilling video
Chilling home security footage captured the moment a terrified woman begged Oregon homeowners for help after she jumped out of a moving car to escape her alleged machete-wielding abductor.
The 47-year-old victim, who has not been identified, was first seen hiding in a stranger’s Portland driveway at around 1:30 a.m., Friday, just seconds after escaping her alleged abductor, Ring doorbell video obtained by KATU shows.
She then bolts for the stranger’s front porch, desperately banging on the door while the suspect’s car is seen parked at the end of the driveway.
“He’s trying to abduct me,” the woman yells as she pleads on the phone with 911.
Seconds later, her alleged abductor drives away from the house while the victim watches him take off.
The Portland Police Bureau reported that the victim was walking home when the suspect, Ra Fet, pulled over in his car and offered her a ride, which she accepted.
Fet, 25, allegedly began making sexual remarks to the victim and groped her when she entered his car, according to KATU.
Police told the outlet the suspect then pulled into a restaurant parking lot and pulled out a machete.
The victim then tried opening the door to get out of his car, but Fet “accelerated to a high speed, preventing her from leaving.”
“The victim began physically fighting the man as the man drove and he punched her in the face,” according to the Portland Police Bureau.
Fet slowed the car enough for the woman to jump out, but the suspect struck her in the nose before she made her escape.
She then ran down the road, where she was seen hiding in the driveway and banging on the stranger’s door for help.
Less than an hour later, police spotted the suspected kidnapper’s car and pulled him over.
Officers then had the victim identify Fet at the scene of that traffic stop, where she ID’d him as the man who sexually assaulted and tried kidnapping her.
He was then arrested and booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center.
The woman was treated for “cuts and bruises.”
Fet — who is from Thailand — appeared in court on Monday with a Burmese translator.
He has been charged with Kidnapping in the First Degree, Sexual Abuse in the First Degree, Coercion, Menacing, Assault in the Fourth Degree, Reckless Driving, and Recklessly Endangering Another Person.
The Thailand national pleaded not guilty to all charges and will remain at the Multnomah County Detention Center without bond, according to KATU.
Fet was arrested in May 2023 for showing up at a family’s home and threatening them with a gun, according to the outlet.
Fet reportedly shot at the tires of the family’s car during last year’s altercation and was arrested and charged with menacing and criminal mischief.
In April alone, there were 22 reported kidnappings in the city of Portland, according to KATU.
That number nearly matches the 26 reported kidnappings that the city had in 2023.
Oregon
Fireworks on sale in Oregon until July 6
PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – Fireworks are on sale in Oregon until July 6, but state and local rules limit where they can be used and what types are allowed.
In Portland, fireworks use and sales are banned year-round.
Fireworks are also banned on beaches and in state and national parks.
Statewide, fireworks that fly into the air, explode, act unpredictably or move more than 12 feet horizontally are illegal. Banned fireworks include sky lanterns, missiles, rockets, Roman candles, firecrackers, cherry bombs and M-80s.
Fountains, sparklers, ground spinners and smoke devices are among the fireworks allowed under state rules.
Officials said people should not call 911 to report illegal fireworks. They said reports should go to the non-emergency line for the area.
First responders said there were 263 fires across Portland during last year’s fireworks season, and 27 were caused by fireworks.
For more details about fireworks regulation in Oregon, click here.
In Washington, fireworks sales legally begin Sunday and run through July 4.
Copyright 2026 KPTV-KPDX. All rights reserved.
Oregon
Gray whale carcass washes ashore in Gearhart on Oregon coast
GEARHART, Ore. (KATU) — Another gray whale washed up on the Oregon coast last week, this time in Gearhart, according to Seaside Aquarium.
The 41-foot-long male had been dead for months before washing up on the beach, Seaside Aquarium general manager Keith Chandler said.
He noted that there have been 19 total whale strandings or carcasses washing up on beaches just this year on the Oregon coast region.
The Cascadia Research Collective is reporting at least 30 on Washington coastline alone. | TIMELINE
Of those deaths, more than half were at least partially attributed to malnutrition. That could have been the cause in more strandings, however, necropsies were not performed in roughly a dozen of the 30 strandings.
Chandler said strong wind from the west this year has been contributing to why coastal towns are seeing a lot of whales and other things washing up on shore. However he also noted that many of the Grey whales washed ashore were emaciated with necropsies showing signs of malnourishment.
“The food sources have been compromised. The warmer water means the nutrients that they’re getting aren’t as good, so the whole food chain is kind of not as healthy,” Chandler said.
He pointed to the warming waters with climate change as the main reason noting that warm water plankton–Grey Whale’s main food source–is thinner and has fewer nutrients than plankton in cooler waters.
Chandler says this whale will not have a necropsy done because of its level of decomposition.
“The fresher ones, the team from Portland State [University] will come down and they’ll go in and do measurements, take samples and stuff, measurements of the internal organs. But on one this decayed, you won’t gain anything from it scientifically. And it’s just kind of a mess to do when they’re this rotten,” he said.
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You can report a whale stranding to the West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network Hotline by calling 1-866-767-6114.
Oregon
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek appoints Nathan Lichvarcik to Lane County Circuit Court bench
SALEM, OR — Gov. Tina Kotek announced today that she will appoint Nathan J. Lichvarcik to the Lane County Circuit Court bench, filling a vacancy created by the upcoming resignation of Judge Debra K. Vogt.
Lichvarcik’s appointment is effective Aug. 1, 2026.
Lichvarcik is a criminal law attorney with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He has worked in the office’s Eugene branch for the past 14 years and has served as branch supervisor for the Eugene and Medford offices since 2020.
He has also taught Trial Advocacy at the University of Oregon Law School for the past 10 years.
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