On July 31, 2023 at about 9:00 AM, Lincoln City Police responded to the Pelican Brewing restaurant after receiving a report from an employee, Denali Cox, stating she was robbed outside the restaurant. Officers responded to the area and began an extensive area search for the described suspect, but no suspect was located. The employee reported she was taking a deposit for the restaurant to the bank when a suspect accosted her and stole the deposit bag containing an undisclosed large amount of money and receipts. The suspect was reported to have fled the area on foot.
Lincoln City Police Detectives responded and began investigating the incident. After several months of investigation, detectives were unable to substantiate the reported robbery and it appeared the report was a ruse to cover a theft of money from the restaurant by the employee. On September 28, 2023 the case investigation was presented to a Lincoln County Grand Jury for review. After reviewing the information, the Grand Jury issued an indictment for the arrest of 34-year-old Denali Cox for the crimes of Aggravated Theft 1, a class B Felony and Filing a False Police Report, a class A Misdemeanor.
Cox had moved to Maui, Hawaii two days after the reported robbery. Lincoln City Police Detectives contacted Maui law enforcement authorities and advised them of the felony warrant for the arrest of Denali Cox. On Oct. 11 Maui law enforcement authorities served the warrant on Denali Cox arresting her and transporting her to their local jail. Cox is currently in custody awaiting extradition back to Oregon.