Two K-9s help Bend police find car theft suspect who ordered passenger out of parked car

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A pair of K-9 teams helped police find and arrest a woman who allegedly ordered a passenger out of a car parked at a northeast Bend business and drove off Wednesday afternoon, abandoned the car about three blocks away.

Police responded just before 12:30 p.m. to the reported vehicle theft near the 7-Eleven at Eighth Street and Greenwood Avenue, Lieutenant Bob Jones said.

A Bend woman called Deschutes County 911 to report that an unknown woman approached the car she was a passenger in and ordered her to get out, Jones said, then drove away. The car’s driver was inside a business at the time.

Officers found the car within three blocks and established a search perimeter. Dispatchers with 911 notified nearby residents of the manhunt by emergency message.

Officers found the woman in a backyard of a home on Eighth Street, two blocks north of where the car was found. Deschutes County sheriff’s K-9 Ronan and Redmond police K-9 Niza and their partners tracked the woman, but she was not injured by either dog, Jones said.

The woman was taken into custody and taken to the St. Charles Bend Emergency Department for treatment unrelated to her arrest, the lieutenant said, adding that criminal charges of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle are pending. Officer also told NewsChannel 21 that mental health issues may be involved.

Police later learned that after the car theft, the suspect physically harassed a female employee at the nearby Masonic Lodge, Jones said.