Oregon
Man who escaped from Oregon prison 30 years ago found in Georgia using dead child’s identity, officials say
A fugitive was arrested this week in central Georgia after being on the run for nearly 30 years, authorities said. The man escaped from an Oregon prison in 1994 and subsequently stole the identity of a child who had died in Texas decades earlier, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
Steven Craig Johnson was taken into custody Tuesday by members of a regional task force in Macon, Georgia, who found him at around 2 p.m. at an apartment complex in the city, the Marshals Service said in a news release. Now 70, Johnson had been living under the alias William Cox since 2011.
He fled from a prison work crew in Oregon on Nov. 29, 1994, while serving a state sentence for sexual abuse and sodomy. His convictions more specifically included three counts of first-degree sex abuse and one count of first-degree attempted sodomy, CBS affiliate KOIN-TV reported.
Johnson had been serving his sentence at the Mill Creek Correctional Facility in Salem, about halfway between Portland and Eugene, the Oregon Department of Corrections said. The Mill Creek facility was a minimum security prison located just a few miles outside of the city of Salem, on an unfenced property covering around 2,000 acres, according to the department. Before it closed in 2021, the facility housed roughly 290 inmates who were within four years of release.
Johnson was wanted on an arrest warrant for escape in Oregon, where he has been listed for years among six of the state’s most wanted people. A wanted poster for Johnson issued by the Oregon Department of Corrections noted Texas as one potential location where he had fled, although authorities did not give more details as to his connection to Texas, if any. The poster said Johnson is “a pedophile and presents a high probability of victimizing pre-teen boys.” It cautioned that he “should not be allowed contact with children.”
The Marshals Service said that it took on Johnson’s fugitive case in 2015 at the request of the Oregon Department of Corrections. After spending nine years trying to find him, the agency said that “new investigative technology employed by the Diplomatic Security Service” finally helped develop meaningful leads in 2024.
In addition to adopting a fake name, the investigation also revealed that Johnson had stolen the identity of a child after escaping prison. The child died in Texas in January 1962, the Marshals Service said. Johnson obtained a copy of the child’s birth certificate and, soon after, obtained a Social Security number in Texas in 1995. The earliest record of Johnson with a Georgia driver’s license came in 1998.
Following his arrest in Georgia, Johnson was booked into the Bibb County Jail in Macon. He is awaiting extradition back to Oregon.
Oregon State Baseball Stays Alive With 9-2 Win Over Yale
Through the first four innings, the game was a pitcher’s duel, with the only base runner being Washington State’s Cam Macleod, who was hit by a pitch in the third inning. Oregon starting pitcher Will Sanford was putting on a clinic, striking out ten Cougars in the first four innings.
In the top of the fifth, the Duck bats started working. Burke-Lee Mabeus hit a double to right center, and then Maddox Molony was walked. Oregon had two base runners, but two outs on the board, and the eighth player in their rotation, Jax Gimenez, was coming to the plate. Gimenez got the job done, hitting a short single to right to score Mabeus and put Oregon up 1-0.
The Good, The Bad, and What’s Next After Oregon State’s NCAA Tournament Win Over Yale
Washington State came close to evening things in the bottom of the fifth. After striking out Dustin Robinson and forcing a ground out from Ryan Skjonsby, Sanford walked Ollie Obenour. Cam Macleod then hit a single, WSU’s first hit of the game, to put a runner in scoring position. Sanford remained clutch on the mound however, striking out Kyler Northrup, his twelfth K of the game, to end the inning.
Sanford picked up his 13th strikeout in the bottom of the sixth, and his 14th in the bottom of the seventh, but ended his day shortly after, having walked Dustin Robinson. Tanner Bradley came in for Oregon and finished off the inning, keeping the Ducks one run lead in place.
Oregon State Comeback Bid Falls Short in Eugene Regional Opener, 3-2
Washington State starter had his day end in the top of the eight, after picking up his seventh strikeout. His game will be overshadowed by Sanford, but Myers also had an impressive day, allowing five hits, two walks and one run in his 7.1 innings pitched. Scott Rienguette came in to close out the inning, giving Washington State six outs to get a run.
The Cougs didn’t get one in the bottom of the eighth, going three up three down, and got into trouble in the top of the ninth. Angel Laya led off with a single, and was replaced by pinch runner Elijah Cook. Cook moved to second on a bunt, and then Brayden Jaksa was walked. A fielder’s chocie from Burke-Lee Mabeus got Washington State a second out, but runners at the corners.
Eugene Regional Preview: Meet The Washington State Cougars
Naulivou Lauaki then came to the plate, and blasted the ball over the center field wall, giving Oregon a 4-0 lead headed into the final frame. Gavin Roy grounded out for the first out, but Max Hartman then singled to give the Cougars some hope. A wild pitch Matt Priest advanced Hartmna, but Priest struck out swinging. Dustin Robinson then struck out, sending Washington State to the loser’s bracket.
Washington State and Oregon State will play one last time tomorrow, with the winner having the tough task of taking down the Ducks twice on their home field to keep their Omaha hopes alive.
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Watch video of high seas rescue off Oregon coast
A cruise ship, the Silver Whisper, rescued a Canadian man whose vessel broke down nearly 500 miles off the Oregon coast May 26.
A cruise ship rescued a Canadian man stranded on his boat nearly 500 miles of the Oregon coast on May 26, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
The 74-year-old man, who the agency did not name, was sailing from Hawaii to British Columbia when his vessel ran into gale-force winds and 30-foot high waves. The 29-foot boat’s engine failed and the mast broke, injuring the man’s shoulder.
He’s made the same trip four times before, Coast Guard officials said, and had food, water, a life raft and a life jacket on board. The mariner used his handheld satellite communicator to contact the U.S. Coast Guard’s Northwest District, which the agency used to track him.
He was rescued 489 miles off the coast of Tillamook.
“This mariner’s experience and preparedness allowed the Coast Guard and other agencies to communicate with him and effect a rescue,” Coast Guard Northwest District Search and Rescue Program Manager Scott Giard said. “His foresight to bring a satellite communicator averted a tragedy.
Coast Guard officials deployed a C-27J cargo plane from Sacramento, California, to function as their “eye in the sky” as they coordinated the rescue because he was so far from the shore.
The plane assessed the state of the sea and the damage to the vessel. It was also equipped with life rafts, communication gear and rations that could sustain a survivor while responders coordinate the rescue, officials said.
Coast Guard officials contacted a cruise ship, the Silver Whisper, that went 120 off its charted course to rescue the stranded Canadian man. The Coast Guard found the Silver Whisper by tapping into its Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue system, a global network that tracks the positions of commercial ships that participate in the program.
Eder Campuzano is the local news editor for the Statesman Journal. He can can be reached at ecampuzano@statesmanjournal.com. Find him on Bluesky at @ederc.bsky.social or Threads @ederc.
The Oregon Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at May 29, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Mega Millions numbers from May 29 drawing
19-24-47-59-65, Mega Ball: 07
Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 numbers from May 29 drawing
1PM: 6-7-9-9
4PM: 4-3-8-0
7PM: 1-2-5-0
10PM: 3-9-9-3
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
When are the Oregon Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 7:59 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 7:59 p.m. on Tuesday and Friday.
- Pick 4: 1 p.m., 4 p.m., 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. daily.
- Win for Life: 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Megabucks: 7:29 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by an Oregon editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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