The girl was rescued from an Oregon City home where suspect Vince Edgar Chavez had rented a room for about four months.
OREGON CITY, Ore. — A roommate of the man accused of kidnapping a 10-year-old Canby girl says he had no idea the child was inside their Oregon City home until heavily armed officers descended on the property and arrested the suspect.
Colin Williams told The Oregonian/OregonLive that Vince Edgar Chavez, 35, had been his roommate for about four months before the Oct. 28 police operation. Williams said he returned from his garbage truck route at about 1:40 p.m. that day and was showering before taking his wife out for her birthday when the house suddenly shook and he heard breaking glass. Authorities arrived as part of an urgent search for the child, who had been taken from her Canby home hours earlier.
The U.S. Marshals Service said officers located Chavez in the 500 block of Pleasant Avenue in Oregon City. Members of a regional violent offender task force, the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team, Oregon City police, a tactical negotiations team and the FBI took part in the operation. Federal officials said Chavez tried to escape from the rear of the residence as officers entered but was arrested without further incident.
Inside the home, authorities found the 10-year-old restrained in a closet, according to the Marshals Service. She was taken to a medical facility for treatment and evaluation. Prosecutors later said in court that the girl had been restrained with duct tape and placed in a duffel bag. Williams has said he did not know the child was in the house and was deeply disturbed to learn what investigators allege happened there.
The case began shortly before 2 a.m. Oct. 28 in Canby, about 10 miles south of Oregon City. Canby police said officers were called to an apartment complex at about 1:47 a.m. after a reported kidnapping. Investigators said a man had entered the apartment minutes earlier, assaulted a 12-year-old girl and taken her 10-year-old sister by force. The girls’ mother called 911, prosecutors said.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Chris Owen said during Chavez’s first court appearance that the 12-year-old was struck in the head numerous times with a hammer. She suffered severe injuries and remained hospitalized when authorities briefed reporters the following day. The younger girl was found at the Oregon City residence at about 2:45 p.m., roughly 13 hours after the reported abduction.
Investigators identified a suspect vehicle during the search and also used information connected to Chavez’s phone to locate him, Owen told reporters. Authorities have said there appeared to be some connection between Chavez and the family, but they have not publicly explained the nature of that connection or announced a motive. Prosecutors also said investigators found no evidence of forced entry at the Canby apartment.
Chavez was arraigned Oct. 29 in Clackamas County Circuit Court on 10 felony charges: first-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, first-degree kidnapping, first-degree sexual abuse, two counts of first-degree sodomy, first-degree burglary, second-degree assault and two counts of unlawful use of a weapon. The charges are allegations, and Chavez has not been convicted in the case.
Circuit Judge Jeffrey S. Jones granted prosecutors’ request to hold Chavez without bail at the Clackamas County Jail. Prosecutors said the attempted murder and assault allegations concern the attack on the older sister, while the kidnapping and sexual abuse allegations concern the 10-year-old. The Clackamas County District Attorney’s Office has credited local, state and federal investigators with finding the younger child and making the arrest within hours of the abduction.
For Williams, the police raid left another set of questions inside the home where Chavez had been living. The roommate told reporters he had seen nothing in Chavez’s behavior that warned him such allegations might follow. He said the possibility that a kidnapped child could have been held inside the residence without his knowledge has continued to trouble him and his family.
Chavez remains jailed as the criminal case moves forward. Clackamas County officials said he is scheduled to be arraigned on an indictment Nov. 5. Authorities have not publicly announced additional information about a possible motive or the precise nature of Chavez’s alleged connection to the girls’ family.