ReportWire

Tag: linn

  • Man Arrested After Domestic Violence Incident, Gunfire Near Sweet Home – KXL

    [ad_1]

    Photo provided by the Linn County Sheriff’s Office

    A Sweet Home-area man was taken into custody late Tuesday night after allegedly assaulting his spouse and firing multiple rounds during a lengthy standoff with law enforcement, according to the Linn County Sheriff’s Office.

    Deputies were called at about 9:20 p.m. to a reported domestic disturbance in the 29200 block of Berlin Road, east of Sweet Home. Sheriff Michelle Duncan said a woman contacted 911 to report that her husband, later identified as 41-year-old James Clair Miller, had assaulted her.

    While deputies were en route, the caller told dispatchers she had four children under the age of 10 with her in a vehicle and that Miller had been seen exiting a shop while armed with a firearm. Dispatchers instructed the woman to leave the property with the children.

    As they attempted to drive away, Miller allegedly shattered the vehicle’s window and fired shots in an unknown direction. The woman and children then fled on foot down a long driveway, where they encountered responding deputies. Additional gunshots were heard coming from the property as deputies secured the family.

    Miller’s location was initially unknown. Authorities said he later began yelling and firing more rounds, prompting deputies to evacuate nearby homes and establish a perimeter. Multiple agencies responded, including Oregon State Police and the Sweet Home Police Department, with assistance from drones due to the rural terrain and limited visibility.

    The Linn County Regional SWAT Team and Oregon State Police SWAT were deployed, along with armored vehicles, as Miller continued to move around the property armed with multiple firearms. Deputies reported he fired shots into the air and ignited fireworks, some of which were only visible through drone footage.

    At one point, Miller attempted to flee into nearby woods on an ATV but crashed and returned to the residence area. When contacted by law enforcement, he was uncooperative, leading deputies and troopers to use non-lethal force, including sponge rounds and tasers, before taking him into custody. He was treated by medics and transported to the Linn County Jail.

    A search warrant was later served on the property, where deputies seized 13 firearms, including handguns, rifles and shotguns, along with live ammunition and spent shell casings scattered throughout the area.

    Miller was lodged on charges including reckless endangering, felony assault IV (domestic), menacing, unlawful use of a weapon, contempt of court for violating a restraining order, and first-degree criminal mischief. The investigation remains ongoing.

    Sheriff Duncan praised the response, stating that law enforcement personnel exercised restraint and professionalism during the incident. Officials said the use of drones played a key role in monitoring Miller’s movements and resolving the situation without the use of lethal force.

    More about:

    [ad_2]

    Jordan Vawter

    Source link

  • After 49 Years, Linn County Jane Doe Identified As Marion McWhorter Through DNA Technology – KXL

    [ad_1]


    Forensic approximation via Oregon State Police

    LINN COUNTY – Nearly five decades after the skeletal remains of a young woman were discovered near Wolf Creek in Linn County, Oregon, authorities have finally identified her as Marion Vinetta Nagle McWhorter, thanks to breakthroughs in forensic genetic genealogy.

    McWhorter, who was last seen at a Tigard shopping mall in 1974 at age 21, had been missing for over 50 years. Her disappearance remained a mystery until June 2025, when DNA analysis confirmed her identity.

    The remains were initially found on July 24, 1976, by a moss hunter in the remote Swamp Mountain area. Alongside the bones, investigators recovered a clog-style shoe, a fringed leather coat, a beaded belt, metal rings, and a pair of deteriorated Levi’s jeans. The case remained unsolved despite multiple examinations and national database entries.

    Efforts to identify her spanned decades. In 2010, a biological profile estimated the remains belonged to a white female under 35. A forensic clay facial reconstruction followed in 2011, but without strong leads, the case went cold.

    That changed in 2020 when Oregon’s Medical Examiner’s Office received a grant from the National Institute of Justice to apply advanced DNA techniques to cold cases. DNA was extracted and analyzed by Parabon NanoLabs, which created a genetic profile and facial rendering suggesting the woman was of European and Indigenous North American descent, with fair skin, brown hair, and brown eyes.

    Still, identification proved elusive—until April 2025, when a relative’s DNA was uploaded to a public database. That breakthrough allowed genealogists to trace the remains back to McWhorter. A surviving younger sister in Seattle provided a DNA sample, which confirmed the match.

    “This case was cold for 49 years. That means family members lived and died without ever knowing what happened to their missing loved one,” said State Forensic Anthropologist Hailey Collord-Stalder. “Forensic genetic genealogy allowed us to identify a woman who likely didn’t go missing voluntarily and to finally give her family some answers.”

    The Linn County Sheriff’s Office is continuing to investigate the circumstances of McWhorter’s death.

    More about:


    [ad_2]

    Jordan Vawter

    Source link