Oregon Torture Suspect Using Dating Apps to Lure New Victims, Police Warn (Update: Police Caught the Guy)
Updates Below
(Link): Man accused of torturing woman he held captive is using dating apps while on the run, police warn
(Link): Oregon torture suspect using dating apps to lure new victims, police warn
January 28, 2023
By Patrick Reilly
Oregon police have warned the public that an attempted murder suspect accused of holding a woman hostage is using dating apps to potentially lure new victims.
Benjamin Obadiah Foster, the subject of a multi-agency manhunt, could also be using the apps to recruit others who will help him evade capture, the Grants Pass police department said Friday.
The search for Foster, who was convicted in Nevada of keeping another woman in captivity, comes after he allegedly bound and severely beat a woman into unconsciousness near Grants Pass, Oregon on Tuesday, police said.
On Thursday, Grants Pass police, sheriff’s deputies, an Oregon State Police SWAT team and federal agents raided a property in the unincorporated community of Wolf Creek — about 20 miles from Grants Pass — where they believed Foster was hiding. Foster’s car and other evidence were seized, cops said.
After a “lengthy manhunt,” police say Foster, 36, evaded arrest with the help of 68-year-old Tina Marie Jones of Wolf Creek, who was arrested and charged with hindering prosecution. It’s not clear exactly how he escaped, however the area is heavily wooded.
Jones had followed Foster in a vehicle earlier Thursday as he drove to a remote location in Wolf Creek then intentionally drove his 2008 Nissan Sentra over an embankment, according to court documents.
Investigators discovered that the convicted felon was using online dating apps to lure unsuspecting people to help him escape or possibly as additional victims.
“The Grants Pass Police Department wants the community to be extra safe while this predator is still at large and also advises that anyone assisting Ben Foster with his escape will face potential prosecution,” the department said in a statement.
Police in Grants Pass, a town of some 40,000 in southwest Oregon, said Foster is believed to be armed and “extremely dangerous.” Officials said they are using all technology available to locate him.
Foster is wanted by the police for kidnapping, attempted murder, and assault. Police have offered a $2,500 reward for information leading to his arrest and prosecution.
In 2019 before moving to Oregon, Foster was convicted in Nevada of holding his girlfriend captive in her own apartment for more than two weeks where he threatened to kill her and forced her to eat a sandwich with lye because he was convinced she was having him followed.
Foster — whom law enforcement officials said is a trained martial artist — allegedly used zip ties and duct tape to bind the woman at the wrists and ankles, shaved her head and beat and choked her until she was unconscious. He threatened to kill her with a knife and handgun, officials said.
At one point, Foster forced the woman to eat a sandwich with lye — a strong chemical typically used for cleaning — that burned her hands and throat, the Las Vegas Sun reports.
Foster also allegedly prevented the woman from using the bathroom and only untied her at night. Still, he held onto her as they slept, she told police. The woman managed to escape after convincing Foster that the couple needed food and water. He took her with him to a gas station, where she fled and found help.
He was initially hit with five felonies, including assault and battery, and faced decades in prison. However in August 2021, Foster made a plea deal with Clark County prosecutors that allowed him to plead guilty to one felony count of battery and a misdemeanor count of battery constituting domestic violence.
Feb. 1, 2023 – Update
(Link): Oregon kidnapping suspect dies of self-inflicted gunshot
February 1, 2023
by Associated Press
GRANTS PASS, Ore. — A suspect in a violent kidnapping in Oregon died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound Tuesday night after being taken into custody following a standoff with law enforcement, a police spokesman said.
Grants Pass Police Department Lt. Jeff Hattersley told KTVL-TV that Benjamin Obadiah Foster, 36, died at a hospital hours after he was taken into custody in Grants Pass, Oregon.
Foster barricaded himself under a house as officers from four agencies concentrated in the area, set up a command post and assembled a SWAT team while attempting to secure his surrender beginning Tuesday afternoon.
Feb 1, 2023
by Alyssa Guzman
An Oregon man who used dating apps to lure women and ‘tortured and attempted to kill’ his latest victim has died after been taken into custody following a police stand-off at his victim’s home.
Benjamin Obadiah Foster, 36, of Wolf Creek – located 60 miles north of the California border – succumbed to a self-inflicted gunshot wound at a hospital hours after he was taken into custody in Grants Pass, Oregon.
Foster had led police on an hours-long stand-off where he reportedly barricaded himself under victim Justine Siemens’ home on Shane Way, where he ‘bound and severely beat’ her until she was unconscious. She remains in the ICU in critical condition.
Officers from four agencies concentrated in the area set up a command post and assembled a SWAT team while attempting to secure his surrender beginning Tuesday afternoon. He was eventually arrested but was then hospitalized from his gunshot wound and died hours later.
The alleged abuser had fled Siemens’ home on January 24 after her friend stopped over to check on her after he was unable to get in contact with her. He reportedly ‘interrupted’ the torture and after police arrived, they described the scene as ‘absolutely disgusting’ and ‘horrific.’
Related:
(Link): Lundy Bancroft: How to Spot Red Flags When Dating
(Link): Is Your Online Date Deadly? Here’s How To Spot The Red Flags -from InfoMania
(Link): Stop Telling Your Single Friends to Try Dating Sites – Please
(Link): Florida Man Murdered By Woman (and her friends) Whom He Met On a Dating Site
(Link): Ask Amy: These Sex-Crazed Weirdos Turned Me Off Internet Dating
(Link): For Richer Or Poorer? Romance Scams Are Leaving More Online Daters Broke
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