Oregon City man charged in federal court after girl found in bedroom

A 10-year-old girl reported missing from her Canby apartment early Oct. 28 was found hidden in a bedroom in Oregon City, and the man accused of taking her now faces a federal kidnapping charge. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon filed the complaint against Vince Edgar Chavez, 36, of Oregon City on Tuesday.

The girl was reported missing at 1:39 a.m. from the Orchards Apartments on Southeast Township Road in Canby. Investigators found signs she had been taken. Officers from local police, the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office and the FBI Portland Field Office joined the search. During the break-in, the girl's 12-year-old sister was struck repeatedly with a hammer, knocked unconscious and hospitalized.

Interviews and prior contacts led investigators to name Chavez a person of interest. Because the girl faced immediate danger, investigators obtained emergency cellphone records. The FBI's Cellular Analysis Survey Team studied that data while Oregon City police searched streets, and officers reached a house near Pleasant Avenue and Sommer Street where they saw a white van connected to Chavez.

At 1:46 p.m., FBI agents watched Chavez walk to the van and then return inside. Officers forced entry, found the child in a bedroom, and arrested Chavez as he ran toward the back door. Paramedics took the girl to a hospital for evaluation. Other people in the house told investigators they did not know she was there.

A federal affidavit states Chavez drove the girl across local boundaries using public roads and a cellphone, which put the case under the federal kidnapping statute. Chavez had already been charged in Clackamas County with attempted murder, assault and first-degree kidnapping.

U.S. Attorney Scott Bradford said the speed of the recovery came from teamwork among agencies. "When a child is taken, we act immediately," Bradford said. Chavez is held without bail at the Clackamas County Jail, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kate Rochat is prosecuting the federal case.