A 46-year-old Sisters man was jailed on a list of charges after police found $225,000 worth of stolen construction equipment at his home. After receiving several community tips and a report from a Deschutes County Sheriff's Office Deputy, the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team (CODE) identified the man as a suspect in a series of construction and heavy equipment thefts around the Portland, and Vancouver, Washington areas. The suspect was previously arrested for trafficking methamphetamine and fentanyl in November 2022. After a multi-day surveillance operation, CODE Detectives applied for, obtained, and executed a search warrant for his home on the 16700 block of Peterson Ridge Rd. At approximately 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, he was contacted during a traffic stop on Highway 20 west, near Dayton Rd. The initial investigation alleges the suspect stole dump trailers, a car trailer, side-by-side ATVs, a skid steer loader, a bucket loader, and a tractor from various locations around the P
Released by: Dep. Joshua Westfall, Assistant Search And Rescue Coordinator
Occurred: 12/14/2020 6:09 PM
Location: Near Taghum Butte off the 1820 Rd (In between China Hat Rd/Paulina Lake)
Rescued: Sipe, James, Bend, OR, 48 yo male
NARRATIVE:
On 12/14/20 at about 1809 hours, Deschutes County Dispatch received a 911 call from a stuck motorist off the 1820 Rd near Taghum Butte (in between China Hat Rd and Paulina Lake). The caller, later identified as James Sipe, reported that he and two other family members had been driving on the 1820 Rd when their vehicle had gotten stuck in the snow. After becoming stuck, Sipe hiked about a half a mile to an elevated location in order to call 911 due to having poor cell phone reception in their remote location.