Man takes own life at PGE facility near Madras

A reportedly suicidal Portland General Electric employee who showed up with a gun prompted evacuation of the utility’s Pelton-Round Butte Dam headquarters Tuesday afternoon and later took his own life, authorities said.

The incident began around 2:20 p.m. at the hydroelectric facility west of Madras, Jefferson County Undersheriff Marc Heckathorn said. A deputy nearby at the time of the report arrived while coworkers were evacuating the building.

Heckathorn said the man went into his office and deputies soon established a perimeter, also calling in the Central Oregon Emergency Response Team.

After a drone was used outside a window to confirm the man was not moving, the CERT Team breached the locked door and used a robot to go in, learning he had taken his own life.

No one else was injured. Heckathorn praised PGE staff for quickly getting other workers to a safe location and providing information that helped officers on the scene.