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.
ROGUE RIVER, Ore. (KATU) — Firefighters working the East Evans Creek Fire about seven miles west of Shady Cove continued making progress overnight, but predicted windy conditions are expected to test fire lines as crews push to strengthen containment.
The Oregon Department of Forestry’s Southwest Oregon District said the fire was estimated at 3,154 acres as of Sunday, July 12, with 0% containment.
Fire activity increased Saturday evening as gusty winds, dry fuels and steep terrain contributed to more active fire behavior. Coordinated ground and aerial suppression efforts limited significant growth, with air tankers used extensively to slow the fire’s spread and helicopters making water drops to cool hotspots and support firefighters in difficult terrain.
On Sunday morning, crews took advantage of more favorable conditions created by an inversion and moderate overnight relative humidity recovery. Firefighters are working to strengthen containment ahead of critical fire weather expected from Sunday into early next week. Winds were expected to gust up to 30 mph Sunday afternoon, with elevated fire weather concerns continuing through the weekend and the potential for thunderstorms on Monday. Aerial suppression operations were expected to be limited Sunday morning by the inversion but remain available as visibility improves and conditions allow.
Structural resources remained in place to protect threatened residences, with structural firefighters focused on protecting homes and critical infrastructure and improving defensible space around threatened properties. Wildland firefighters continued working at the fire’s edge where possible. In areas of extreme and steep terrain, crews also opened alternate lines from previous fires as a precaution in case direct line construction along the fire’s edge is not possible.
The fire started Friday afternoon at 2:41 p.m. after a car crashed into a power pole, sparking dry vegetation, according to ODF. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the cause of the crash.
Evacuation notices remained in effect Sunday for areas surrounding the fire, issued by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and Emergency Management.
Level 3 – Go Now: JAC-148A. All residences adjacent to East Evans Creek Road from 19385 through 21899 are included, along with residences at 21612 Antioch Road and 21615 Antioch Road.
Level 2 – Be Set: JAC-016, JAC-124, JAC-147 and JAC-148B.
Level 1 – Be Ready: JAC-003, JAC-004, JAC-017, JAC-026, JAC-036, JAC-109, JAC-126 and JAC-149B.
Evacuation areas can be seen on a map through genasys.com. Users can plug in their address and see whether they are within an evacuation zone.
An evacuation shelter for residents and domestic pets was established at Hanby Middle School, 806 6th Ave., Gold Hill.
Horses can be taken to The Expo at 21 Penninger Road, Central Point, but owners are asked to call 541-776-7206 first to confirm space is available. The Josephine County Fairgrounds can take pigs, goats and smaller animals at 1451 Fairgrounds Road, Grants Pass.
For livestock sheltering assistance, call 541-776-7206.
Traffic was closed to the public on East Evans Creek Road at Meadows Road. Officials asked the public to avoid the fire area to allow firefighters and heavy equipment to operate safely.
A temporary flight restriction was in place for the fire area daily, 24 hours a day, until further notice. Officials warned that flying a drone near or around a wildfire is illegal and can interfere with firefighting operations.
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The Olive Butte Fire is one of several blazes burning in Eastern Oregon, as of Sunday morning.
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