Gresham-to-Portland I-84 police pursuit ends after reported kidnapping call; four people taken into custody

What happened

A vehicle pursuit that began in Gresham and continued westbound into Portland on Interstate 84 ended with four people taken into custody, including a 13-year-old girl and two teenage boys, along with an adult man. Police later determined the girl had not been kidnapped, after an initial report described a family member’s car being taken with the child inside.

The incident began just before 6 p.m. Saturday when officers were dispatched to the Sky Zone Trampoline Park area near Northeast Stark Street and Northeast Hogan Drive in Gresham. The call reported a stolen vehicle and raised concerns that the 13-year-old granddaughter of the reporting party was trapped inside the car.

Officers attempted to stop the vehicle in Gresham, but the driver fled, heading toward Portland on I-84. With the call initially treated as a possible kidnapping in progress, multiple agencies joined the response as the vehicle traveled into Portland.

How the pursuit ended

Police stopped the fleeing vehicle using tire-deflation devices and then boxed it in with patrol vehicles. All four occupants were taken into custody at the end of the incident.

• One adult man (name not released at the time of reporting)
• Two teenage boys
• A 13-year-old girl

After the arrests, police said they determined the 13-year-old had not been kidnapped. Investigators said the three teens and the adult man were suspected of working together in a plan to steal the vehicle from the girl’s family.

What is known—and what remains unclear

Authorities had not publicly detailed the connection between the 13-year-old and the other suspects, beyond the allegation that the group acted together. Police also had not released information on the adult suspect’s identity or specified charges for any of the four people as of the latest available official account.

Because the incident began as a report of a child trapped in a stolen vehicle, the initial public-safety assessment differed from the circumstances police described after the arrests.

Editors’ note: All suspects are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

Context: police pursuit tactics in Portland

In Portland, vehicle interventions such as boxing in a suspect vehicle and deploying spike strips are defined in bureau directives as tactics that may be used when reasonable under the totality of the circumstances, factoring in suspect behavior, speeds, road conditions, and the underlying offense. Spike strips are treated differently from certain contact-based interventions in policy review requirements.

Police have not released additional details on speeds, exact locations of the intervention, or whether any injuries or crashes occurred during this incident.