An Oregon man wanted on attempted murder and other charges after a woman was found tied up and severely beaten last week was in custody Tuesday evening, police in Grants Pass said.
Benjamin Obadiah Foster, 36, of Wolf Creek, was in custody after a standoff that lasted several hours, police said in a short statement.
A press conference was scheduled for Wednesday. Police officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment or more details because the situation was ongoing.
Foster has been the subject of an intense manhunt since Jan. 24, when Grants Pass police officers raided a home and found a woman “tied up and severely beaten into unconsciousness,” police said at the time.
Foster was wanted for kidnapping, attempted murder and assault, police said.
The victim is said to be in critical condition.
Foster attempted to kill the woman while “deliberately torturing” her, Josephine County District Attorney Joshua Eastman wrote in a court document.
“I am disgusted by what I know has happened,” Police Chief Warren Hensman said last week NBC affiliate KOBI of Medford. “This was an evil deed.”
Police said in a Facebook post Tuesday that Foster was seen in the Grants Pass area, apparently walking a dog.
Police had warned that Foster was still using dating apps while police searched for him, and that he could do so to contact unsuspecting people to help him.
Two years ago, Foster was convicted in Nevada of imprisoning another woman.
In 2019, Foster held his then-girlfriend captive in her Las Vegas apartment for two weeks.
He was initially charged with five felonies, including assault and battery, but reached a deal with Clark County prosecutors in 2021 to plead guilty to misdemeanor and felony charges.
He had been convicted to between one year and 2 1/2 years in prison, but he had already spent 729 days in jail awaiting trial and was released.
Grants Pass is a town of about 39,000 people in southwestern Oregon, about 25 miles north of the California border.
Law enforcement had surrounded a home in the city on Tuesday and a crisis negotiator had been on the scene before police announced that Foster had been taken into custody. Medford’s NBC affiliate KOBI reported.
Hensman, the police chief, described the attack as brutal last week and said their condolences go out to the victim and her family. He said it happened over “an extended period of time”.
“We usually think this can’t happen in our small community of 40,000 people, but it can happen anywhere,” he said.
This is a develop story. Check back later for updates.