Local News

The Grants Pass Police Department is requesting the public's help in locating a missing person. Cheyne Blydenburgh, a 32-year-old male of Grants Pass, has been missing since March 10th, 2026. He is 5 feet 11 tall, weighs 134 pounds, and has brown hair and brown eyes. He has been reported to be in the Southern Oregon area since his disappearance. Blydenburgh may be driving his dark colored Infiniti coupe. Please contact your local law enforcement agency if you see Mr. Blydenburgh, so that his welfare can be assessed.

 

Walmart loss prevention alerted Grants Pass Police to a shoplifter Monday morning.

The suspect was reported to be in the 135 NE Terry Lane parking lot near the Taco Bell at 10:36 a.m. He was wearing a grey baseball cap, a blue t-shirt over his face, and a red sweatshirt. Dispatch learned he had stolen anywhere between $50 and $200 worth of merchandise.

Loss prevention then reported the suspect in the WinCo parking lot, but officers initially couldn't locate him inside. Video evidence showed the suspect, whom officers recognized as Ely Smith, committing the crime, stealing jewelry and garden tools before passing all points of sale.

Smith was contacted outside the grocery store and taken into custody for a charge of Second Degree Theft. He voluntarily handed officers a pack full of stolen merchandise, as well as a baggy of crystal residue he advised was methamphetamine.

Smith admitted to smoking earlier and stealing the Walmart merchandise. After a positive field test, officers lodged Smith at the Josephine County Jail for Meth Possession and his theft charge. He was later released due to a lack of jail resources.

 

Effective immediately, the Josephine County Emergency Manager has stepped down from the position.

According to a release from the Board of County Commissioners, there will be no interruption to emergency services. County Sheriff Dave Daniel has agreed to temporarily step into the role.

The board said the city has agreed to help in any way necessary to support the community during this transition period, and the process of selecting a new Emergency Manager begins. Public safety remains their highest priority.

 

The Medford-based non-profit Oregon Stewardship has been named Organization of the Year by Oregon Community Trees (OCT).

According to a release, each year, OCT honors one organization in the state for outstanding work to engage Oregonians in caring for their urban forests and natural areas.

This year’s recipient, Oregon Stewardship, works with school districts and teachers on watershed projects involving students in Jackson, Josephine, Curry, and Coos counties.

Oregon Stewardship leads students on hands on projects near their schools. On these projects, they can plant trees and gardens and create nature trails. Students design and build the trails, create an informational brochure, and place sign along the trails. Projects that students create are maintained in following years by later students at the same school.

High school students that work with Oregon Stewardship are eligible for scholarships for college or vocational education.

 

The Grants Pass Cavemen lost to Century 5 to 1 in their 1st game in the Mountainside Spring Break Tournament. The Grants Pass offense could only generate 5 hits off the bats of Treyton Powers, Evan Valenzuela, Nate Bassett, Cruz Carnes and Jayr Dominguez. Max Hays went four innings and was charged with the loss. The Cavemen again have the early game tomorrow against the Putnam Kingsmen at 11 a.m.

 

After a cat was reported to be stuck in a tree, the Illinois Valley Fire Department made a quick response.

This afternoon around 1:11, I.V. Fire made their way to the 500 block of South Junction Avenue in Cave Junction.

Upon arrival, it was confirmed that a cat was elevated in the tree. Firefighters deployed a ladder to reach the feline, whose tail had become entangled in a branch, preventing it from moving.

The firefighters successfully retrieved the cat, and returned it to its very grateful owner.

 

A man yelling at Morrison Park was arrested by Grants Pass Police.

Late Sunday night at 11:56, a call from the property in the 1000 block of Fruitdale Drive reported someone yelling. The caller wasn't sure where the noise was coming from, but that it could be in the complex, or in Morrison Park.

The disturbance had been ongoing 15 minutes prior to the 911 call. Officers soon tracked down the source of the noise, Adam Jansen, looking disheveled and under the influence in the park.

After contacting his parole officer, law enforcement took Jansen into custody on a requested detainer. He was transported and lodged in the Josephine County Adult Jail Facility.

 

Dispatch received calls regarding the same woman due to her disorderly behavior downtown.

One call to 911 reported a woman that appeared to be under the influence walking in the street. She didn't appear to be aware of her surroundings and was going through trash on 6th and I Street. The caller requested a welfare check.

Another call reported the same woman banging on the glass at NAPA Auto Parts at 229 SW H Street. She didn't cause any damage but spread trash around the parking lot, blocking vehicle access. She then fled the scene towards the railroad tracks

A trespass request was made, and Grants Pass Police officers were able to locate her in the Grasshopper Lot. The suspect, Cierra Powers, was taken into custody. Her parole officer was contacted, and a detainer was issued.

While officers transported Powers to the Josephine County Jail, she began intentionally hitting her head against the cage in the patrol vehicle. She was lodged on her detainer, and charges of Offensive Littering, and Second Degree Disorderly Conduct.

 

Officers with the Grants Pass Police Department were alerted to a man causing damage at the Redwood Garden Inn.

On Sunday at 7:13 p.m., an employee of the 815 NE 6th Street inn reported a man walked into a vacant room. He was described as being in his mid-30s with a full black beard, beanie, and tan clothing. He was not currently a guest, and the employee didn't believe he had been trespassed before.

Officers learned the suspect, later identified as Matthew Barnett, had been coming onto the property, entering vacant rooms, and causing damage. In one instance he had broken into the pool house, and fallen through the roof into the break room.

Staff had told Barnett not to come back multiple times prior to Sunday's call for service, and earlier attempts to locate him had been unsuccessful.

Officers arrived and made announcements at the door of the room Barnett had entered. He was told he was going to be placed under arrest, and he attempted to escape by running out the back door. Law enforcement stopped Barnett at taser point.

Barnett was taken into custody while officers checked the hotel room. It was messy, and empty syringes that tested positive for methamphetamine were located in a trash bin. Barnett was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Possession of Meth, First Degree Criminal Trespass, Third Degree Criminal Mischief, and Escape in the Third Degree.

His parole officer was contacted, and a detainer was also placed on Barnett. He was trespassed from the inn.