Search For Cody Myers; Arrest of Murder Suspects in California
Salem, Oregon – The following information was shared during a news conference held Wednesday, October 5, 2011 at 6:30 p.m. in Salem, Oregon. The news conference was held by Oregon State Police Lieutenant Gregg Hastings, Cody Myers’ family members, Marion County Sheriff’s Office PIO Don Thomson, and Yamhill County Sheriff’s Captain Ken Summers.
The Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office conducted an autopsy Wednesday afternoon, October 5, on a body found late Tuesday afternoon in the Mary’s Peak area of Benton County. The State Medical Examiner’s Office positively identified the deceased as Cody Myers, age 19, from Lafayette. The cause of death is the result of homicidal violence. The manner and further information related to his death is being withheld pending the ongoing investigation and pending interviews.
The case in Oregon began this weekend when Cody was reported missing to the Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office after he was last seen leaving home for a jazz festival in Newport. During the following days, his disappearance brought it a vast number of law enforcement and investigative resources leading to a connection with an Everett Police Department homicide investigation. Several local, county, state and federal agencies quickly stepped in to help try to find Cody and the suspects.
The ongoing investigation and intensive interagency cooperation led to the arrest Wednesday afternoon of two suspects sought in connection with an Everett, Washington murder investigation and as persons of interest in Cody’s disappearance and death.
According to the California Highway Patrol (CHP), on October 5, 2011 at approximately 1:06 p.m. a CHP officer was traveling on Marysville Road southbound in the Marysville area when he spotted a white 1999 Plymouth Breeze stopped on the west shoulder. The officer saw a white female standing outside the vehicle on the driver’s side. The officer asked if they needed help and was told by the woman she was just stretching.
As the officer pulled away he remembered a BOLO broadcast of a stolen vehicle with Oregon plates occupied by a male and female wanted out of Oregon and Washington. The officer turned around, passed the vehicle again and noted the license plate (025 CCH), and requested CHP dispatch run it for wants. The officer turned around again and got behind the vehicle, affirming it was the stolen vehicle and followed it requesting for backup. About two miles later the vehicle was stopped and the officer initiated a felony stop. Both occupants were arrested without incident and positively identified as suspects David Joe Pedersen, age 31, and Holly Ann Grigsby, age 24, from Portland, Oregon.
The suspects are being detained in California as Fugitives from Justice on authority of Oregon felony Parole Violation warrants and local charges including “Theft & Unlawful Taking or Driving of a Vehicle”. Additional charges are pending in Oregon and Washington related to both state’s ongoing investigations.
Detectives from Oregon and Washington will be traveling to California to continue their investigations.
Investigators urge everyone to continue to be on the lookout for the black 2010 Jeep Patriot displaying Washington license plate ABZ7996 on the rear and a red US Marine plate placard on the front. This vehicle was known to be driven by the suspects south from Everett, Washington and is believed to be abandoned in Oregon. We ask the media to continue to show photos of this vehicle and the license plates to help the public help us find it.
Anyone with information to assist in the ongoing investigation or with information about the black 2010 Jeep Patriot is asked to call Oregon State Police Northern Command Center dispatch at 800-452-7888 or 9-1-1. The TIP LINE was shut down this afternoon following the arrest of the suspects. During a 25-hour period, a total of 68 tips were phoned in, a few considered critical to the investigation.
The following law enforcement agencies involved in the ongoing Oregon investigation includes:
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