Police took a 32-year-old military deserter, described by the U.S. Army as armed and dangerous, into custody Thursday morning after a call from the Cape Perpetua Visitors Center about a suspicious person.
Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were dispatched at 8:24 a.m. Thursday to make a welfare check on a suspicious person at the center. The caller said the man’s name was Chris Gardner.
Joint Base Lewis-McChord had issued a bulletin early Thursday to Washington and Oregon police agencies about a deserter named Christopher Lee Gardner, the sheriff’s office said.
The sheriff’s office said in a news release Thursday evening that the Army considered Gardner armed and dangerous and that the description and details surrounding Gardner’s activity provided by the caller matched the information in the bulletin.
Police later said Gardner was from Corvallis, where his wife lives.
Deputies, assisted by two Oregon State Police Troopers, then closed off access to the visitors center and evacuated the area.
Deputies observed Gardner and confirmed he was the man listed in the Army bulletin, the sheriff’s office said. Deputies and troopers formed an arrest team and were able to take Gardner into custody without incident. After a brief medical evaluation, Gardner was booked into the Lincoln County Jail on a federal detainer, the sheriff’s office said.
State police later found Gardner’s vehicle at Neptune State Scenic Viewpoint south of Cape Perpetua and recovered a firearm from inside it. The car was returned to his wife.
Neither the sheriff’s office or the Army gave details of how long Gardner had been missing, his rank and other circumstances of his leaving the joint Air Force and Army base south of Tacoma, Wash.
how bout some recognition for the workers at the forest service visitors center!!