Sisters manhunt finds hiding Sweet Home murder suspect

(Update: OSP trooper reports suspect found hiding in yard debris bin)

A major manhunt in the Sisters area involving several police agencies Sunday evening resulted in the capture of a hiding 25-year-old man wanted in a shooting early Friday in Sweet Home that left one man dead and another wounded, police said.

Detectives in Sweet Home had identified Page Lee Butterfield as the suspect in the shooting and issued a statewide bulletin while searching for him. They also learned Butterfield had stolen a red 2008 Ford Edge from an acquaintance in Albany.

Oregon State Police Trooper Colin Tracy said in a log entry he spotted the suspect while patrolling the Sisters area around 4:45 p.m. Sunday, having just pulled into a parking space in the McDonald’s parking lot, driving the stolen SUV.

Tracy said Butterfield went into the McDonald’s, which is connected to a convenience store, then ran out the back door.

Several Bend-area OSP troopers, a Bend Police K-9 team, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies, Redmond police and off-duty Warm Springs police officers helped search for the suspect, who was found hiding in a yard debris bin several blocks away. He was taken into custody without further incident, he said.

Sweet Home police and Linn County sheriff’s deputies had responded around 2:30 a.m. Friday to a report of two people being shot in the 500 block of Surrey Lane in the Linn County community.

Police said Corey Burdick , 43, of Sweet Home was pronounced dead at the scene while a second shooting victim, Ervin Larry Smith, 65, of Sweet Home, was taken to the hospital.

The shooting occurred in and around Smith’s travel trailer on the Surrey Lane property, police said.

Sweet Home Police Chief Jeff Lynn told The Nugget Newspaper they believe a dispute had turned physical in the area where the shootings occurred. He said a statewide ” attempt to locate ” bulletin listed Butterfield and the stolen vehicle.

Butterfield was booked into the Linn County Jail and remained held without bail Sunday on charges of murder, attempted murder, felon in possession of a firearm and unlawful use of a motor vehicle.

The investigation is continuing, police said, and anyone with information was asked to call Sweet Home police Detective Cyndi Pichardo at 541-367-5181.

Court records show Butterfield has been arrested several times in recent years, with a felony conviction in early 2016 for fourth-degree assault and menacing. Last month, he pleaded not guilty to meth possession, car theft and resisting arrest and was granted conditional release May 2, pending an Aug. 6 court appearance.

Michael Wills told NewsChannel 21 he spoke with an OSP trooper on his way home in Sisters Saturday evening about what was going on.

Wills said he was told of the ongoing manhunt for the Sweet Home homicide suspect, who was considered armed and dangerous.