Thread: Illegal immigrants captured during search for Ore. shooter

Aug 2, 10:42 AM EDT


Illegal immigrants captured during search for Ore. shooter


GILCHRIST, Ore. (AP) -- Authorities stumbled upon six illegal immigrants while searching for a suspect who shot and wounded a 35-year-old Madras man.

Sheriff Tim Evinger of Klamath County said the six men, who range in age from 19 to 25, were being held in the county jail on a deportation hold.

The shooting happened late Tuesday in Deschutes County, and sheriff's deputies there chased the suspect's car into Klamath County. The authorities searched a 10-mile radius about 12 miles south of the Deschutes County border. A private helicopter also scoured a four-mile radius, and area residents were notified by a reverse phone calling procedure that a suspect was on the loose.

Meanwhile, people traveling in a car on Highway 97 noticed police officers and fled from their vehicle into a forest, Evinger said. Authorities captured the men because they thought they were connected to the shooting.

"They weren't connected to the shooting, but were Mexican aliens who had paid people to help them cross the border, and were heading to the Portland area and Washington," Evinger said.

Authorities stopped looking for the shooter early Wednesday following a six-hour search.


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Klamath County Sheriff's Office

Sheriff
Timothy M Evinger

3300 Vandenberg Road
Klamath Falls, Oregon 97603
Phone: (541)883-5130
Fax: (541)883-4271

County: Klamath