Missing Oregon teen found safe; Transient arrested
PORTLAND, Ore. - A SWAT team found a 13-year-old Oregon girl who ran away from home this week with a 40-year-old man who was described by
police as a transient with a glass eye, the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office
said Saturday night.
Sgt. Nate Thompson said Samantha Mae Dodson and
Kelsey "Patrick" McCune were discovered just outside the girl's
hometown of Oregon City. Samantha was deemed to be in good condition
following a medical evaluation and was being interviewed by detectives.
McCune was arrested on an outstanding warrant
accusing him of kidnapping. He, too, was being interviewed Saturday night.
Thompson said neither McCune nor the girl put up a
fight when they were found shortly after 4 p.m. in the woods at the north end
of a mobile home park. The SWAT team was sent to the area after a 9-1-1
dispatcher got a call from a citizen who noticed the pair matched the
description of a man and girl whose photos appeared on a heavily circulated
flier.
Samantha, who also goes by "Sami," was
last seen Tuesday night at her home, and her family reported her missing the
next morning. Investigators believed she willingly left with McCune, a friend
of Samantha's father who spent Thanksgiving with the Dodson family. The caption
on the last self-portrait Samantha posted to Instagram before her disappearance
said: "Goodbye to all my friends."
The FBI and other agencies assisted in a search
that stretched from Salem to southwest Washington and was conducted with
unusual aggressiveness for a case involving a suspected runaway. A cold snap
added to the urgency, with investigators saying they believed McCune and the
girl were sleeping outdoors with overnight lows in the teens.
McCune was described by police as a transient with
salt-and-pepper hair and a glass eye. Records show he has lived in the Portland
metro area for years. It's unclear for how long he has been homeless and what
led him to it. Though he lacked permanent shelter, investigators said he made
money doing freelance computer work.
Samantha's older sister, Sarah Dodson, said Samantha is a talented illustrator who wants to be a scientist when she grows up.