Oregon torture suspect using dating apps to help evade capture, police say

Salem, Ore. — A person accused of torturing a lady he held captive in Oregon, and who was convicted in Nevada of protecting one other lady in captivity, is utilizing courting apps to search out individuals who can assist him keep away from the police or to search out new victims, authorities say.

Benjamin Obadiah Foster, 36, is the topic of an intensive, round the clock search by police after a lady was discovered unconscious, sure and close to dying in Grants Cross, Oregon, on Tuesday. She was hospitalized in crucial situation.

On Thursday evening, Grants Cross police, sheriff’s deputies, an Oregon State Police SWAT workforce and federal brokers raided a property within the unincorporated neighborhood of Wolf Creek, some 20 miles north of Grants Cross, the place they seized Foster’s automobile and arrested a 68-year-old lady for hindering prosecution.

Foster managed to flee. Authorities offered no different particulars, however the space, proper off Interstate 5, is thickly forested and mountainous.

The arrested lady, Tina Marie Jones, had adopted Foster in a car earlier Thursday as he drove to a distant location in Wolf Creek, then deliberately drove his 2008 Nissan Sentra over an embankment, in line with court docket paperwork. Jones then gave Foster a trip to the property that was raided Thursday evening and the place Foster had been hiding whereas police looked for him, in line with Josephine County Circuit Court docket data.

Grants Cross police mentioned Foster “is actively utilizing on-line courting purposes to contact unsuspecting people who could also be lured into aiding with the suspect’s escape or doubtlessly as extra victims.”

Police supplied a $2,500 reward on Friday for data resulting in the arrest and prosecution of Foster, who’s charged with tried homicide, kidnapping and assault within the assault on the Grants Cross lady.

Foster’s public defender within the Las Vegas case did not instantly reply to emails from The Related Press in search of touch upon Foster’s behalf.

On Sunday, Grants Cross police cautioned that it is “attainable that Benjamin Foster might try to alter his look by shaving his beard and hair or by altering his hair coloration. The Grants Cross Police Division asks the general public to pay explicit consideration to Foster’s facial construction and eyes since these options are very troublesome to alter. Further photographs of Foster, as they turn into obtainable, will likely be launched to help in his identification.”

“Suggestions concerning sightings of Benjamin Foster proceed to flood into the division, and we’re assured this harmful felony will quickly be captured with the help of a involved citizen. The Grants Cross Police Division appreciates the engagement of the neighborhood on this investigation, in addition to the intensive media protection from throughout the nation. “

Grants Cross Police Chief Warren Hensman advised the AP on Thursday that it’s “extraordinarily troubling” that Foster was out and capable of prey on different girls as a substitute of nonetheless being behind bars for the Nevada crimes.

In 2019, earlier than shifting to Oregon, Foster held his then-girlfriend captive inside her Las Vegas condo for 2 weeks. He initially was charged with 5 felonies, together with assault and battery, and confronted a long time in jail upon conviction. However in August 2021, Foster reached a cope with Clark County prosecutors that allowed him to plead responsible to 1 felony depend of battery and a misdemeanor depend of battery constituting home violence.

A choose sentenced him to as much as 2 1/2 years in a Nevada jail. The 729 days he had spent in jail awaiting trial had been factored into his punishment, leaving Foster with fewer than 200 days to serve in state custody.

Foster’s girlfriend suffered seven damaged ribs, two black eyes and accidents from being sure on the wrists and ankles with zip ties and duct tape throughout her two-week captivity, in line with a Las Vegas police report.

The girl additionally advised police she was compelled to eat lye and was choked to the purpose of unconsciousness.

She escaped when Foster let her out of his sight throughout a visit collectively to a grocery retailer and fuel station.

Court docket data present, Foster was out of custody on the time on a suspended jail sentence for carrying a hid weapon with no allow. He additionally was awaiting trial in one other 2018 case involving home violence. However Foster’s plea cope with prosecutors in 2021 settled the home violence case, a duplicate of the settlement reveals, and he was “sentenced to credit score for time served.”

Police in Grants Cross, a city of some 40,000 in southwest Oregon, mentioned Foster is believed to be armed and “extraordinarily harmful.”

“We’re utilizing each piece of expertise obtainable to find this man,” mentioned Hensman, the police chief.

Hensman mentioned he did not have time to consider how authorities in Nevada dealt with Foster’s crimes there.

“No matter occurred previously,” he mentioned, “we are able to discuss these conditions later.”