Bend woman pulled over, jailed on charge of trying to flee with teen daughter into Canada

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A Bend woman was pulled over by Oregon State Police near Salem and arrested Saturday on a charge of custodial interference, accused of failing to bring her teen daughter to her ex-husband, as a court directed, and instead trying to cross the Canadian border with her, police said.

Bend police were contacted around 6 a.m. by the father of the 17-year-old girl, who he said has Down syndrome and suffers from medical conditions that if not closely monitored and tended to could lead to serious health complications, Sergeant Tommy Russell said.

The Bend man, 60, told police his 50-year-old ex-wife failed deliver their daughter on Friday at a court-designated time, Russell said. He said he was contacted around 5 a.m. by the Canada Border Services Agency, which informed him his ex-wife had tried to cross the border into Canada near Blaine, Washington around 4:35 a.m., but they were turned away for several reasons.

The father told police he believed his ex-wife was trying to flee the country with their daughter to deny him his parental rights, Russell said.

Bend police asked Deschutes County 911 to begin a “ping” of the woman’s phone and it indicated she was in Washington state, near the Oregon border and possibly on Interstate 5. Bend police and county 911 dispatchers coordinated with other Oregon agencies to search the I-5 corridor, Russell said.

Around 10 a.m., 911 received an updated location from the cellphone provider, indicating her phone was on I-5 near Salem. The information was shared with agencies around the state, with special attention to those working the I-5 corridor.

An OSP trooper soon spotted and pulled over the Jeep Wrangler being driven by the woman. The 17-year-old was in the Jeep and appeared fine, Russell said, but she was taken to a nearby hospital for further evaluation.

Troopers detained the woman and Bend police met them in Marion County and took custody of her. She was later booked into the Deschutes County Jail on a charge of first-degree custodial interference. The teen was reunited with her father in Salem, Russell said.