Redmond PD release names in 2 weekend deaths

Police on Monday identified a 21-year old man whose body was found in a car that burned on a northwest Redmond street late Friday night and a 19-year-old woman found dead in a dry irrigation canal Sunday morning off South Highway 97.

They sought information from the public in both active investigations but said they have no indication the incidents are related.

Around 11 p.m. Friday, Redmond firefighters and police responded to a car fire on Northwest 21 st Street near Larch Avenue, said Detective Sgt. Jesse Petersen. After putting out the fire, they found the body of Samuel Villa, 21, of Redmond in the car, he said.

Shortly before 11 a.m. Sunday, Redmond police responded to a report of a woman’s body in the Central Oregon Irrigation District Canal north of Southwest Xero Lane, behind the Big R store and Timber’s Bar and Grill, Petersen said. She has been identified as Jamie Garr, 19.

Garr, who lived northwest of Redmond, last had been seen in the area around 11 p.m. on Saturday, the detective said, and friends, family and police had been trying to find her, without success.

Both cases are under investigation by Redmond police, assisted by the Deschutes County medical examiner’s and district attorney’s offices, Petersen said. The fire department also is investigating the car fire incident.

Police again stressed they are aware of no connection between the two incidents.

“There is no danger or risk to the community,” Petersen added.

However, they are seeking the public’s help in both investigations. Petersen said anyone with information regarding the deaths of Villa or Garr was urged to contact Redmond police through county dispatchers at 541-693-6911.

Citizens also can report crime and provide tips to Redmond police at 541-504-3400, completing an online incident report at the department’s Web or Facebook pages.

In Sunday’s incident, unlike the body found after authorities responded to a car fire Friday night, police appear to be clearer about the sequence of events.

“We have a very good idea of what has taken place,” Sgt. Curtis Chambers said.

The cause of the car fire and Villa’s death is under investigation by Redmond police and fire, Oregon State Police and the Deschutes County district attorney’s and medical examiner’s offices.

Chambers said the car doesn’t belong to anyone in the neighborhood, and police were not looking for anyone else or other vehicles. But he said the cause of the fire also is under investigation.

Chambers also said police canvassed the area and talked to residents at a couple of nearby homes. Residents reported seeing a police tactical team and OSP forensics unit working on scene for several hours Saturday.

Chambers said police want to hear from anyone who was in the area of Northwest Larch Avenue between 19 th and 21 st Streets after sunset Friday and “observed a vehicle and/or a person not belonging to the neighborhood or anything suspicious.”