Tumalo assault suspect faces 3 charges after 3-mile barefoot run in the snow prompted major manhunt, area alert

(Update: Formal charges filed, suspect's name)

TUMALO, Ore. (KTVZ) – A Tumalo domestic assault suspect who ran barefoot for three miles, sparking a large manhunt and warning to hundreds of residents to lock their doors, was arrested Saturday night and arraigned Monday afternoon on three felony charges.

Garrett Robert Parker, 23, made it three miles running in the snow before being detained and captured after knocking the door of a resident who had received an alert from the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office, Sheriff Kent van der Kamp said.

Parker was arraigned Monday on one count of second-degree assault, a Class B felony, accused of hitting the woman in the face with a mug, court records show.

He also was charged with two counts of fourth-degree assault constituting domestic violence, both Class C felonies. The second count indicates Parker knew the victim was pregnant. The third charge refers to a conviction on the same crime in 2022 in Lane County involving the same victim.

Parker remained at the county jail in Bend after his arraignment, held on $55,000 bail. He is scheduled to be back in court on Feb. 14 for arriagnment on an expected formal indictment.

Deputies were dispatched around 4:30 p.m. Saturday to the reported domestic assault at a home on Couch Market Road, the sheriff told KTVZ News that night.

When deputies arrived, they found that Parker's girlfriend and two young children had locked themselves in a vehicle outside the home, where deputies extracted them from the scene, van der Kamp said. She was taken to St. Charles Bend with serious injuries, leading to probable cause for a charge of first-degree assault. The children were unharmed, the sheriff said.

The sheriff’s office SWAT team was activated and obtained a search warrant for the home, believing Parker might be barricaded inside.

“We thought we had him contained," van der Kamp said. “They flew some drones in there first, didn’t spot him with the drones, then hand-cleared the house” and determined that he had fled.

At that point, deputies and a K-9 team tracked Parker’s bare footprints in the snow and were not far away from him when a homeowner on Snow Creek Road, within the alert area, heard a knock on the door.

“It sounds like he called a neighbor and said, ‘There’s a strange guy over here with white dreadlocks and no shoes on,’” van der Kamp said. “He didn’t let him in,” but kept him from leaving the property while the neighbor called 911.

After his arrest, Parker was treated by Bend Fire medics for cold-related “injuries to the feet” before an expected trip to jail, van der Kamp said.

“We recovered a weapon” allegedly used in the assault, the sheriff said, describing it as “a blunt instrument.”

On Sunday, DCSO posted this update on their Facebook page:

Assault suspect taken into custody without incident by the DCSO SWAT Team.

In a feat of athleticism that would make even a polar bear question its life choices, the suspect has allegedly set a new land speed record for barefoot running in the snow (approx. 3 miles).

Thank you to the citizen who kindly turned the suspect over to the SWAT Team!!

The citizen received information from Deschutes Alerts, which was sent out to residents in the area of the increased Law Enforcement presence.

If you haven't yet, go to https://sheriff.deschutes.org/ and sign up!

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Earlier Saturday night, Van der Kamp told residents discussing the situation on the Nextdoor social app that deputies and a K-9 team were searching for an assault suspect in the area of Tweed Road and Couch Market Road.

“He fled a home after a domestic dispute and is believed to be on foot,” van der Kamp wrote.

Minutes later, around 9:40 p.m., the sheriff posted an update: "I can now confirm that the assault suspect has been taken into custody by the DCSO SWAT team."

A Deschutes Alert was sent by text and phone call to hundreds of area residents shortly before 9 p.m., describing the suspect as a white male, 23 years old, 6-feet tall and 135 pounds, with “long blonde dreads and barefoot.”

Anyone who saw anything suspicious was asked to call the county’s non-emergency dispatch number at 541-693-6911.

Later, a new message to area residents said the "subject has been located and there is no further threat to the public. Thanks for your assistance."

In an earlier Facebook post, the sheriff’s office asked the public to avoid the area of Highway 20 West and Tweed Road due to a heavy police presence.

“At this time, there is no danger to the public,” they said. “However, there is a large number of law enforcement and emergency vehicles.”

Residents on the Nextdoor social media app reported a standoff in the area of Tweed and Coach Market roads and seeing a SWAT team and drones at work.

People over a large area reported getting the subsequent DCSO automated text and phone call, from Reservoir and Hunnell roads to the Saddleback subdivision.

Viewer John Rahm told KTVZ News about having seen a large armored vehicle following police in the area a mile west of Tumalo around 5 p.m.