The deceased body believed to be that of missing person Cameron Shelden has a .45-caliber bullet wound, and a matching-caliber semi-automatic handgun and shell casing were located where the body was found.
According to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, it was determined Shelden, a 37-year-old Seattle-area railroad engineer, suffered a gunshot to the head consistent with a .45 caliber bullet. Due to the advanced state of decomposition, the Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office is continuing the examination.
The deceased subject was located Tuesday on property by its owner on Widow Creek Road in Otis and presumed to be the remains of Shelden. Positive identification is still being determined as the death investigation continues.
You know you’re in trouble when you lose your starting goalkeeper to an injury just prior to a key league home match, but during warm-ups for the game?
“Five minutes before the match was to begin, our starting goalie goes down with a shoulder injury and possible concussion,” Taft girls soccer coach Joey Arce-Torres said of the loss of sophomore goalie Nicole Reyes.
With its starting returning goalie yet to complete nine required practices since an Aug. 19 starting date, center defensive back Delayna O’daniels stepped into the role of keeper Thursday as Class 3A Taft fell 5-1 to Yamhill-Carlton in Special District 2 play.
“Nicole may be cleared by her physician to play Monday and our backup, Tristan Bradlely, still has two more practices to attend before she can suit up,” Arce-Torres said.
Trailing just 1-0 at halftime – “To say I was excited by that score is an understatement,” Arce-Torres said — Yamhill-Carlton, also nicknamed the Tigers, scored four times in the second half to ease to victory.
“Yamhill put up 10 on their last opponent, so to be down by only one after 40 minutes was a huge victory,” Arce-Torres said. “We had made some personnel adjustments on defense and it appeared to be working.”
Arce-Torres said the Tigers missed a couple of scoring opportunities in the game’s first 10 minutes, “which could have changed the entire match.”
“In the second half, our new goalie struggled to make some saves and allowed a couple more goals that shattered our fragile confidence,” he said.
Junior Veronica Jin scored her second goal in as many matches for the Tigers on an assist from senior striker Sammy Halferty to avoid their first shutout of the season.
Taft will return to action at 7 p.m. Monday for a league game at Dayton. The Tigers will also play their first junior varsity match in school history next week at Amity.
The first-place Taft High boys soccer team improved to 4-0 with back-to-back 4-0 league victories over Blanchet Catholic and Yamhill-Carlton this week.
Sophomore goalie Sam Cortes posted 12 goals combined in the shutout road victory Wednesday over Blanchet Catholic and the home win Thursday over Yamhil-Carlton.
The fifth-ranked Tigers have outscored their league opponents 30-1 this season, including 27-0 in the last three games.
“Today, we played a very strong Yamhill team,” Ulicni said. “Having played them in a jamboree, we had showed how fast-paced and aggressive we could be.”
Also nicknamed the Tigers, Ulicni said Yamhill-Carlton “came out strong and matched us pretty well for most of the game.”
“Opening up with a great back-and-forth game,” Taft scored first for a 1-0 halftime lead on a goal by junior Mauricio Rivas.
“Mauricio has gotten more confident as the season progresses,” Ulicni said.
“Going into the half, we looked to be pretty evenly matched,” he said. “These boys’ relentless pace and will to keep going to the last minute made the difference.”
Ulicni said junior William Calderon deployed “a bit of brilliant individual work and skill” to get the Tigers’ second goal.
“After that, the momentum seemed to sway in our favor,” he said.
Senior Edson Fuentes scored Taft’s next two goals on assists from junior Alex Del Valle.
“Defensively, we had a great team effort in keeping the shutout,” said Ulicni, who cited Cortes for his five saves and the complementary defense of Ethan Thomas, Adam Lascano, Adrian Moreno and Estib Hernandez.
Taft defeated Blanchet Catholic by the same four-goal margin Wednesday behind two goals by Fuentes and one each from Calderon and Del Valle on a neutral grass field being used due to construction on the regular pitch.
“With our team’s speed, it took us a few more minutes to get traction, but we ultimately controlled the pace of the game,” Ulicni said. “Blanchet played a solid defense and it took some time to break through”.
Del Valle opened the scoring off of a “great” cross from Rivas, Uiicni said. Fuentes got his two goals on 11 shots and co-captain Calderon scored off of “a wonderfully placed free kick.”
“With the help of the whole team, we had over 30 shots on their goal and very few on ours,” Ulicni said. “Defensively, Adam Lascano really put in the extra effort and helped our defense keep the shutout.”
Cortes had seven saves, “two of which he sacrificed himself to stop the play,” Ulicni said.
Taft returns to action at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Dayton.
Shake out the pom poms, strike up the band. The Taft Tigers return home Friday night with hopes of revisiting the winning feeling of a big victory to open the season following a difficult road loss last week.
Trenton Hall, Fco Ramos and JJ French scored touchdowns for the Tigers, but host Sutherlin gained a small measure of revenge last week in a 33-18 road win that evened Taft’s record at 1-1 entering Friday’s 7:30 p.m. contest against the Class 2A Loggers at Voris Field.
“I give a lot of credit to Sutherlin,” said Taft head coach Jake Tolan, whose Tigers enjoyed their only victory of the season last year with a 14-13 home victory over the Bulldogs. “They played a nearly perfect game.”
Taft committed four turnovers, while Sutherlin surrendered possession just once in the Class 3A nonconference game, which came on the heels of a 14-6 Taft home upset of Harrisburg to open the season.
7:30 p.m., KBCH (1400-AM) w/Eric Goss and Boone Marker
“Defensively, they did a solid job not giving up any big offensive passing plays, which was something that really helped us in our win against Harrisburg,” said Tolan, whose Tigers lost two fumbles, threw two interceptions and played undisciplined at times with numerous unsportsmanlike conduct and personal foul penalties. “Their coverage kept our receivers from getting behind them and their defensive line was able to put pressure on our quarterback all night.
“Even though Sutherlin played a solid game, I feel like we beat ourselves. At times, we let the emotions of the game affect us and, as a result, committed some costly penalties. We were penalized quite a few times in the first half on big plays, some of which I felt were questionable.”
Taft also played without two of its best linemen in Tony Garcia and Tyrese Hellman — “two players I’m sure would have helped slow down Sutherlin’s running attack,” Tolan said.
However, the Tigers had plenty to be excited about on their own side of the ball, Tolan said.
Logan Gilleo
“I was most pleased with our running game and felt it had the most positive impact on the game,” he said. “I thought our offense was very effective running the ball and our running backs — JJ French, Logan Gilleo and Trenton Hall — all ran hard all night.”
“We have to get back to working hard in practice and giving more effort,” he said. “We understand that our schedule is difficult and every week we play a tough opponent.”
Photos by Lon French
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Tolan said the Tigers must be wary of Knappa’s size despite its standing as a Class 2A school.
“We know they are big up front, well coached, and have a lot of weapons on offense,” Tolan said.
The Loggers’ reliance on its size and strength up front is indicative in its designation of leadership roles to Ryson Patterson and Jaxson Goodman. The senior linemen share team captain roles with speedy, shifty senior running back Eli Takalo.
“Knappa is coming off of a loss to Toledo, so we know they have extra motivation for this game,” Tolan said. “Our commitment in practice will be to continue getting better on our offensive line, as well as putting the best defensive game plan together for a totally different offense than the one we faced against Sutherlin.”
Note from the publisher: We have redacted the name and address of the property owner who found the body believed to be that of missing person Cameron Shelden on her property. The story has been changed to reflect a need for privacy and to minimize harm.
Shelden was found in dense vegetation, not buried, according to the Lincoln County Sheriff Office’s news release.
The body of Seattle-area railroad engineer Cameron Shelden, missing from Rose Lodge for over two weeks, was found Tuesday by the property owner on her property.
Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office received a call from the property owner Tuesday advising a deceased subject was located on the property.
Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office deputies and detectives responded to the property and were directed to a location outside of the area previously searched with the excavation equipment.
Detectives located the remains of a highly decomposed subject in dense vegetation. The body was preemptively identified as missing person Cameron Shelden.
LCSO Search and Rescue was activated Monday, Sept. 2, after Shelden was reported missing a day earlier and performed several search operations over multiple days with ground search volunteers, specially trained K9s and drones.
Sheriff’s deputies returned to the home Saturday, Sept. 14, with search and rescue, cadaver dogs, volunteers and three detectives. They also hired a contractor to dig with an excavator.
This slope on the property is where neighbors said authorities were digging and searching
Deputies and detectives left the property after the second search and said they “had very little to go on,” but were “continuing the investigation and following up on leads.”
“I loved him. He was my best friend,” the property owner said in a phone interview with Homepage Monday night.
She said she was interviewed multiple times by detectives and said she was “ruled out as a suspect.” She said she gave authorities permission to search her property and “cooperated fully” with detectives.
“There was no fight that morning,” she told Homepage, “The last time I saw him, he was walking down my driveway with his bag on his shoulder.”
Friends and family of Shelden searched for him in the woods around the property on multiple occasions and started a GoFundMe page to hire a private investigator.
The Lincoln County Sheriff requested the Oregon State Police Forensics Services Division respond for scene processing.
More forensics analysis will be conducted.
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According to a Lincoln County Sheriff news release:
On September 14, 2019 the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, along with members of Lincoln County Search and Rescue, and the Lincoln City Police Department, resumed searching a property on Widow Creek Road for missing person Cameron Shelden. Searchers utilized drone technology and dogs trained to detect human remains and excavation assistance from the Lincoln County Road Department. The search was done with the consent of the property owner. The team searched extensively in the large area of difficult terrain and heavy brush, but Mr. Shelden was not located.
On the morning of September 17, 2019, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office received a call from the property owner advising a deceased subject was located on the property. Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office deputies and detectives responded to the property and were directed to a location outside of the area previously searched with the excavation equipment. Detectives located the remains of a highly decomposed subject in dense vegetation. The subject was presumptively identified as missing person Cameron Shelden.
The Lincoln County Sheriff’s requested the Oregon State Police Forensics Services Division respond for scene processing. More forensics analysis will be conducted. The case remains as an open death investigation.
The Lincoln County Fire Defense Board and nine fire protection agencies are opening burn season Thursday, September 19 due to recent rain and precipitation in the forecast.
“The risk of fire spread has decreased and is expected to remain at a low level,” Newport Fire Department Fire Chief and Lincoln County Fire Defense Board Chief Robert Murphy said in a news release. “This summer’s weather was not as dry as the previous two summers and this kept fuel moisture levels higher and moderated fire danger throughout our region.”
Many Lincoln County fire agencies require a permit to burn yard debris — also known as open burning and we encourage the public to contact their local fire agency for specific regulations regarding burning of yard debris. Below is contact information for all Lincoln County Fire Agencies:
North Lincoln Fire & Rescue – 541-996-2233
Depoe Bay Fire District – 541-764-2202
Newport Fire – 541-265-9416
Seal Rock Fire – 541-563-4441
Central OR Coast Fire – 541-563-3121
Siletz Valley Fire – 541-444-2043
Toledo Fire – 541-336-3311
“We thank the public for adhering to the burn regulations this summer,” Murphy said. “Their cooperation, along with the quick response of all of our Lincoln County firefighters helped keep wildfires to a minimum.”
The public is invited to attend Oregon Coast Community College Board of Education and Lincoln County School District’s Board of Directors joint work session Tuesday, Sept. 24, at the Teaching and Learning Center in Newport.
“Lincoln County School District and Oregon Coast Community College have a long history of partnering for the benefit of our mutual students,” Oregon Coast Community College (OCCC) President Birgitte Ryslinge said. “To a large extent, that can be credited to the leadership of the respective elected boards. Having the boards periodically hold a joint meeting allows for coordinated planning and the opportunity to make significant strategic advances for education in Lincoln County. I’m really looking forward to this upcoming meeting.”
The meeting takes place from 5:15-7:15 p.m. at 1212 NE Fogarty Street in Newport.
Thanks to cooperation between the school district and the college, Lincoln County School District (LCSD) students can earn college credit while still in high school by choosing from a wide variety of dual credit courses. Available courses this year include Biology 101, 102 and 103, a variety of math and writing courses, plus classes in early childhood education, communications and more.
The school district and college are also working closely together on the Teacher Education Pathway program, funded last year by a grant from the Meyer Memorial Trust. The program allows LCSD students to begin studying towards an eventual four-year degree in teaching while they are still in high school. Later, they will transition to OCCC for two years of study, then transfer to Western Oregon University for one academic year, to return to Lincoln County for the fourth and final year of the program, including student teaching assignments. Graduates of the program will receive preferential treatment when applying for teaching positions in the School District.
The district and college area also working with the Port of Toledo and other partners to bring welding instruction to Lincoln County, a program set to welcome its first students in February.
Taft’s junior midfielder Veronica Jin scored her first high school goal Monday off a pass from Senior Autumn Ellis in a 1-4 league loss at 16th ranked Blanchet Catholic.
Blanchet Catholic scored three of four goals on routine corner kicks, Coach Joey Arce-Torres said, prompting him to focus the next practice on defending against them.
Arce-Torres said sophomore Jaelyn Olmeda, who normally plays striker and wing, will anchor the defense going forward as she effectively stopped any further scoring after Blanchet Catholic’s fourth goal.
“Claira [Tolan] had her strongest performance year to date and appears to be finding her stride,” Arce-Torres said. “She anticipated passes and was able to drive the ball deep when needed. She played with tenacity and confidence — exactly what I’m needing right now.”
Arce-Torres said he would be showing a different lineup for Thursday’s home game against Yamhill-Carlton.
“One that will represent the passion of our program, not those who have more experience.”
Investigators have determined Gleneden Beach Christian Church was deliberately set on fire Sunday, Sept. 15 as the alleged arsonist turned himself in to authorities.
Jordan James Savariego
Deputies, with the assistance of the Toledo Police Department, contacted the suspect in the case, Jordan James Savariego age 29, who is transient. Mr. Savariego was subsequently taken into custody without incident.
Savariego reportedly confessed to setting the fire. He is lodged at the Lincoln County Jail on charges of criminal trespassing, criminal mischief, burglary and arson with bail set at $357, 500.
Depoe Bay Fire, North Lincoln Fire & Rescue and Newport Fire responded to heavy smoke and flames coming from the church Sunday and doused the blaze after a three hour battle.
No injuries were reported as the building was unoccupied.
Lincoln County Sheriff deputies, Pacific West Ambulance and the Oregon State Police also responded.
“The mutual aid training we have done these past months has paid off,” Depoe Bay Fire Chief Bill Johnson said. “Crews were able to operate smoothly and minimize damage to the structure.”
According to sources, the church, 7185 Church Ave., Gleneden Beach, had recently had a new roof installed and the fire took place in an older part of the building, leaving much of the newer part intact.
The Lincoln County Fire Investigation Team, comprised of members from the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Office, North Lincoln Fire and Rescue, Newport Fire Department, Toledo Fire Department, and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office were activated and through the course of the investigation, it was determined that the fire was intentionally set.
Lincoln City Police are looking for a man wanted in connection with the Sept. 11 theft of Game Over Arcade’s master keys and approximately $15 in quarters from a pinball machine.
“This doesn’t make sense,” Game Over Arcade owner Christopher Donner said. “I was raised if it’s not yours don’t touch it.”
On Wednesday, Sept. 11, Donner noticed his master keys were missing and went to check his surveillance system to see where they went. Donner saw a man enter the arcade and take money from his Family Guy pinball machine on video.
“He grabs the keys while nobody is looking,” Donner said. “He opens a pinball machine, takes the money and leaves with the money and the keys.”
The man can be seen getting into and driving away in a white Honda Ridgeline truck, but the license plates could not be made out on the video. Donner believes the man was possibly on a lunch break from a job site as the man can be seen wearing work boots and pants and it was just after 1pm.
The cost to replace all of the locks at the arcade, 2821 NE Highway 101, is upwards of $3,000 Donner said. Labor and time to install them not included.
Police are seeking the public’s help in identifying the suspect and anyone with information is encouraged to call 541-994-3636.
Trenton Hall, Fco Ramos and JJ French scored touchdowns for the Tigers, but host Sutherlin gained a small measure of revenge last week in a 33-18 road win that evened Taft’s record at 1-1 entering Friday’s 7:30 p.m. contest against the Class 2A Loggers at Voris Field.
“Even though Sutherlin played a solid game, I feel like we beat ourselves. At times, we let the emotions of the game affect us and, as a result, committed some costly penalties. We were penalized quite a few times in the first half on big plays, some of which I felt were questionable.”
