Author: KTVZ

Barney Lerten

SISTERS, Ore. (KTVZ) — Engel & Völkers recently announced its newest shop in Sisters. Leading the venture are license partners Marcel Dolak and Michelle Rea, who also co-own Engel & Völkers Bend, and collectively bring more than four decades of real estate experience in Central Oregon and reciprocal markets.

Dolak also independently owns and leads Engel & Völkers’ Kirkland and North Cascades Cle Elum shop in Washington, and is a partner in the Palm Desert, California shop.

“Sisters is a natural next step for our growing footprint across the Pacific Northwest,” said Stuart Siegel, president and CEO, Engel & Völkers Americas. “Marcel and Michelle have built an impressive business rooted in the collaboration that defines the Engel & Völkers network. As a recognized Land and Ranch real estate specialist and Private Office Advisor(Dolak), and as members of the Engel & Völkers Development Services group(Dolak & Rea), they are uniquely able to service the distinct needs of home buyers and sellers in the region, as well as its complementary and feeder markets.”

Engel & Völkers Sisters will be located at 101 W Main Ave., serving the markets of Sisters, Camp Sherman, Black Butte, Tumalo, and Redmond. Attracting residents from all walks of life, Sisters is known for the wellness and outdoor lifestyles that characterize Central Oregon. The area offers premier skiing and snowboarding, golfing, fly fishing, biking, hiking, and horseback riding, while also offering daily flights from the nearby Redmond Airport to Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, and other metropolitan areas. 

“We pride ourselves in creating lifetime relationships with clients and providing luxury real estate service at the top of the market and at various price points,” said Rea. “Since its establishment in 2020, our Bend shop has grown to over 30 real estate advisors. Simultaneously, Sisters’ housing market has experienced substantial growth driven largely by new subdivision construction. Based on our relationships with builders and within the community, it became clear that a dedicated location in Sisters will be important to serve an increasing demand and further create a seamless and interconnected real estate experience for our clients throughout the Central Oregon region.”

“With an ownership stake in five Engel & Völkers shop locations on the West Coast, I have witnessed firsthand the power of the network,” added Dolak. “We operate independently on the local level to bring each community we serve a local and intimate experience, but with the resources and connections of a global brand with over 1,000 locations worldwide. The ability to connect clients up and down the coast through our West Coast collective of shops with area real estate experts and quality listings, from California to Central Oregon and Washington, to Canada, has been invaluable to our growth. We strive to create a curated real estate experience for each of our clients, and to do so with integrity, professionalism, and passion.”

For more information, visit sisters.evrealestate.com.

About Engel & Völkers

Engel & Völkers is a global luxury real estate brand. Founded in Hamburg, Germany, in 1977, Engel & Völkers draws on its rich European history to deliver a fresh approach to luxury real estate in the Americas with a focus on creating a personalized client experience at every stage of the home buying or selling process for today’s savvy homeowner. The Engel & Völkers Network currently operates approximately 300 shop locations with approximately 6,000 real estate advisors in the Americas, contributing to the global network of over 16,000 real estate professionals in more than 30 countries, offering both private and institutional clients a professionally tailored range of luxury services, including real estate and yachting. Committed to exceptional service, Engel & Völkers supports its network of advisors with an array of premium quality business services; marketing programs and platforms; as well as access to its global network of real estate professionals, property listings, and market data. Each brokerage is independently owned and operated. For more information, visit www.evrealestate.com.

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Claire Elmer

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — An official recall effort has been started against Oregon Governor Tina Kotek by La Pine resident Bill Minnix. The Secretary of State’s Office approved Minnix’s petition filing on Friday, giving the green light for Minnix and others to start collecting voter signatures.

Minnix is part of the political group Oregon For The People, which is supporting the recall effort.

Supporters will need to collect 292,933 signatures of registered voters by October 27th. If that goal is met and the Secretary of State’s election office is able to verify the signatures, a special recall election would be held, if Kotek does not resign within five days.

KTVZ’s Claire Elmer is speaking with Minnix Monday and has reached out to the governor’s office for their response to the recall effort. Her full report will air tonight on KTVZ News at 5:00 p.m.

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Barney Lerten

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Firefighters responded to 39 new wildfire starts around Central Oregon over the weekend, burning a total of nine acres, officials said Monday. Most of the fires were kept small, at about one-tenth of an acre in size, and have been contained or controlled.

“This was the result of the quick response of initial attack resources, both on the ground and from the air. Air resources consist of not only aircraft but also smokejumpers and rappelers,” Monday’s Central Oregon fire update said.

The storms that occurred in the last few days brought light rain to the area on Friday and Saturday, with widely scattered showers and hail on Sunday. These storms also resulted in widespread lightning.

Firefighters will continue to work on suppressing the remaining fires, including the Stevens Fire, which is burning about 6 miles northeast of Sisters. It’s estimated at 7.6 acres and is 80% contained.

“Today, firefighters are prepared and well-staffed to respond to any new starts and any holdover fires from earlier in the week,” the update said.

Visit the official source for wildfire information in Central Oregon at centraloregonfire.org for wildfire updates or follow fire information on X/Twitter @CentralORfire. Call 9-1-1 to report a wildfire. For smoke and air quality information, visit fire.airnow.gov.

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Barney Lerten

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A Bend man facing numerous child sexual exploitation and drug charges after a 2024 raid on his home fled to Florida, then to Thailand before his trial, authorities said Monday. The FBI located him, and he has been extradited to Deschutes County, where he’s being held on $1.5 million bail.

Here’s a news release issued Monday by Deschutes County Sheriff’s Sergeant Thomas Lillenthal, who works in digital forensics with the agency’s Internet Crimes Against Children unit:

Arrestee: Simon Lesley Hannes, 37-year-old Male

Charges:

2x Using a Child in Display of Sexually Explicit Conduct ORS 163.670

10x Encouraging Child Sex Abuse in the First Degree ORS 163.684

1x Luring a Minor ORS 167.057

12x Encouraging Child Sex Abuse in the Second Degree ORS 163.686

1x Failure to Appear ORS 162.205

1x Unlawful Manufacturing of a Schedule I Controlled Substance ORS 475.752(1)(a)

1x Unlawful Possession of Psilocybin ORS 475.752(7)(a)(B)

In February 2024, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) unit received an ICAC Cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The Cybertip detailed an unknown user who shared imagery of Child Sexual Abuse Material on the chat application Discord within Deschutes County. ICAC Detectives began investigating this Cybertip and determined that the person operating the account was Simon Lesley Hannes of Bend.

On March 7th, 2024, Hannes was contacted, and a search warrant was conducted to seize digital devices from Hannes and his residence. During the execution of this search warrant, it was discovered that Hannes was actively growing a substantial quantity of dried and actively growing psilocybin mushrooms in his residence, along with multiple firearms. ICAC Detectives were assisted by the Deschutes County Illegal Marijuana Market Enforcement (DCIMME) teams in the proper seizure of these items.

Hannes was placed under arrest for one count each of Encouraging Child Sex Abuse in the First and Second Degree, Unlawful Manufacturing of a Schedule I Controlled Substance, and Unlawful Possession of Psilocybin and lodged at the Deschutes County Adult Jail.

In the following weeks, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Digital Forensics Lab (DFL) analyzed devices seized from Hannes. Digital Forensics Detectives discovered that Hannes had communicated sexually with a juvenile female and also obtained sexual images of this juvenile female for purposes of sexual gratification, as well as several multimedia items on his devices that depicted the sexual abuse of children on the devices, and were shared in conversations discussing the sexual abuse of children. After a grand jury indictment, Hannes was placed back under arrest on March 20th, 2024, for the rest of the above-listed child sex crimes and lodged at the Deschutes County Adult Jail.

While awaiting the trial date for this case, ICAC Detectives and the Federal Bureau of Investigation learned that Simon Hannes was currently in Florida. Hannes’s pretrial release conditions explicitly stated that he was not to leave Oregon. Hannes failed to appear for his April 2025 trial dates for his original arrests, as detectives were investigating the reasons he was in Florida. They refocused their investigation into locating Hannes, determining that he had fled the country and was now in Thailand.

In May of 2025, ICAC detectives isolated Hannes’s location in Thailand and coordinated with the FBI and law enforcement authorities in Thailand to take Hannes into custody. Hannes was held in custody in Thailand until extradited to the United States by the US Marshals Service. On July 25th, 2025, Hannes was transported back into custody at the Deschutes County Adult Jail.

On July 28th, 2025, Hannes went before the court in Deschutes County and was given a $1.15-million-dollar pretrial bail, partly due to fleeing the country.

The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the FBI for their continuing partnership in our fight to protect children in Deschutes County, the Thailand Law Enforcement for their cooperation and swift apprehension of Hannes, and the US Marshals Service for their assistance in extraditing Hannes to the United States.

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Claire Elmer

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) — The final day of the Deschutes County Fair and Rodeo was capped off by the Buckaroo Breakfast. After another memorable year, people celebrated the best way this community knows how — with good food, great company, and small-town tradition.

The Buckaroo Breakfast is a nearly 80-year old tradition in Redmond. It’s an early morning meal served by volunteers — complete with pancakes, coffee, and bacon — cooked outdoors in casket-iron skillets over open flames.

Nita Borzath and Sara Vollmer are twin sisters. They organized this year’s breakfast, but it’s not their first rodeo — they have been involved in this event since birth.

“It’s based on tradition. We’ve done this since we were born,” shared Borzath.

“I believe three generations, maybe four generations of our family and many of the other volunteers here, generation after generation,” said Vollmer.

The food is hot, the music is live, and the atmosphere is filled with laughter, old friends, and fresh memories. Borzath and Vollmer say they couldn’t do it without the support of volunteers.

“We had the helpers that start our fires at midnight… So by the time we woke up, about 3:30, everything was ready to cook, the stoves were hot,” said Bozarth.

“Everyone is equally valuable. Equally important. It seems like it just happens — people are amazing,” said Vollmer.

The breakfast draws people of all ages — families, first-time visitors, and longtime locals. Many were enthusiastic and eager to share their own favorite part…

“It’s really fun. A lot of people get to meet a lot of people and have a lot of fun,” said Ayda Tompkins of Redmond.

For 4-H kids, it’s a chance to relax and celebrate after a busy week showing animals.

Kane Robinson of Bend looks forward to the breakfast as a pick-me-up. “The breakfast is amazing. So that’s a good thing about after the auction. You might be a little sad, but it was good to have some pancakes after,” said Robinson.

Colton Spalding of La Pine had his first year in 4-H with Kids and Kids. Spalding told KTVZ about his goats, and his favorite part of the breakfast festivity.

“I’m raising a dairy goat and a market goat. My favorite part is probably just having fun with my friends over there and just talking and having fun,” said Spalding.

The breakfast also includes local, family-owned businesses, like R&M Firewood, who help keep the fires hot and the food cooking. 

Jeremiah Harris of Redmond assisted in his family business by keeping the wood stocked.

“I am here with my family for the Buckaroo Breakfast. It’s fun. Maybe next year everyone watching should come and try it out,” said Harris.

For others, it’s more than just a meal. It’s a reunion.

Tim Satterfield is a Redmond High Alum who loves attending the breakfast each year to catch up with old friends.

“We have a class reunion — ’65 — and we were supposed to come out to eat together. It’s a good place to meet people you haven’t seen all year,” said Satterfield.

With fun and full bellies had by all, the longstanding tradition was clearly a success.

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Tracee Tuesday

BEND, Ore. {KTVZ} — Thunder, lightning, and bursts of heavy rain rolled across Central Oregon on Saturday evening, bringing dramatic skies—and power disruptions—to several neighborhoods in Bend.  The fast-moving storms began around sunset and continued on and off into the night, prompting weather alerts and keeping first responders and utility crews busy.  In Southwest Bend, over 390 customers were left without power due to the extreme weather.  

Pacific Power crews are working to restore electricity and estimate full service will return by midnight.  Meanwhile, a separate outage is affecting around 90 customers near NE 18th Street and Cooley Road. Pacific Power says electricity for those residents is expected to be restored between now and 10:30 p.m.  No major damage or injuries have been reported as of yet, but authorities urge residents to stay indoors during periods of lightning and be prepared for potential additional outages as storms continue to move through the region.  Stay with us for updates as conditions evolve. 

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Claire Elmer

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) — While Central Oregon fairgoers are focused on having fun at the Deschutes County Fair and Rodeo, local law enforcement is working behind the scenes to make sure everyone stays safe.

The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) has deputies on patrol for assistance and safety, but they also have a booth to meet with community members. 

Sgt. David Turkington, a patrol sergeant with DCSO, spoke with KTVZ at the fairgrounds about their ‘official’ roles, and more. 

“We mainly try to be a presence for people for answering questions or just responding to any kind of incident. Just making sure people are having a good time with safety in mind,” said Turkington. 

From keeping an eye out for suspicious activity to helping people find their lost items, deputies say they’re not just here for safety — they’re also here to connect with the community.

“We love connecting with the community, especially at the fair here. Most people come here looking for a good, fun day. It’s easy to jump on that wagon and either give out stickers, high fives, answer questions, or take photos. We love interacting with them all the time out here,” said Turkington. 

DCSO wants their presence to be visible, approachable, and ready to act if something goes wrong.

“The number one thing that we’re looking for is making sure that people are staying happy and safe — and that would look like making sure that they know where they’re going, answering questions about where things are. Or if somebody is looking like they could use some hydration or first aid, we’re there for that,” Turkington said. 

Turkington says the fair gives the sheriff’s office a chance to build relationships and help answer questions people may have, either for or about law enforcement.

“People ask a question like, ‘hey, I had this question about something going on with my neighbor’. So it’s a good time just to get ahead of things that we may encounter later out in the community. But we get started here,” said Turkington.

When it comes to operations, preparation for the fair takes plenty of planning and communication. DCSO works with Redmond Police and Fire as well as an independent security company to help keep all things covered, and safe. 

“I have a couple different radios that we talk on all the time. And just make sure that when there’s something going on, whether it’s our call or their call, we all know about it. And we try to coordinate to provide the best service possible. Everyone’s out here to help, and we’re all a big team to make that make that happen,” said Turkington. 

So while you’re enjoying concerts, rides, and great food, know that the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office is there to make sure that your experience is both a fun and safe one.

And if you need anything — “just flag somebody down and we’ll get you help,” said Turkington. 

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KTVZ

(Update: fire is now 100% contained)

SISTERS, Ore. (KTVZ) – Crews are responding to the Stevens Fire, burning about 6 miles northeast of Sisters. Watch Duty reports the size is approximately 7 acres.

Interagency resources, including engines, are on scene, and a helicopter is available for bucket drops. An initial attack crew has also been requested to support suppression efforts, according to CentralORFire on X.

This comes after crews responded to smoke reports following Friday’s lightning.

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Barney Lerten

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — A 24-year-old Bend man suspected of stealing a car and wanted on two probation violation warrants was arrested Friday evening after a manhunt while riding a bike in southeast Bend, police said. 

Shortly before 11 a.m., officers responded to a report of a stolen 1996 Toyota Tercel in the 100 block of SE Third Street. At that time, officers identified the car theft suspect as Carlos Miguel Harpole, a 24-year-old Bend resident, Bend Police Communications Manager Sheila Miller said.

Harpole also had two warrants for his arrest for probation violations, Miller added.  

Shortly after 3 p.m., a caller reported a possible domestic abuse incident involving two people in the 20400 block of Murphy Road. When officers arrived, they found the stolen car, unoccupied, and began searching for Harpole.

“There was a large police presence in the area as officers created a perimeter to search for Harpole, who was seen jumping fences and running away from the scene,” Miller said.

Around 5:23 p.m., a Bend Police officer found Harpole riding a bike near SE Wye Lane and Fifth Street. Miller said he did not initially stop for officers, but ultimately was taken into custody without incident in the 400 block of SE Railroad Street.  

Harpole was arrested on suspicion of the unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and the two in-state warrants and was transported to the Deschutes County Jail.  

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Barney Lerten

AG Dan Rayfield: ‘If someone tells you to buy gold to keep your money safe, it’s a scam—full stop.’

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) – The Oregon Department of Justice is issuing an urgent warning to Oregonians as reports of a sophisticated “gold bar scam” continue to climb in the Pacific Northwest. In the latest case, an Oregon woman was defrauded out of tens of thousands of dollars after scammers convinced her that her bank accounts were compromised and her money would only be safe if converted into gold.

This comes just weeks after another victim lost $600,000 in a nearly identical scheme in Eastern Oregon, while another person in the same county lost $60,000 involving silver bars—just two of countless cases under investigation across the country.

In almost all of these cases, the scammers impersonate financial institutions or government agencies, creating a sense of urgency and fear. Victims were told their money was at risk of being frozen or stolen, and that purchasing gold was the only way to protect their savings. Once the gold was handed over to a so-called “courier” for safekeeping, the scammers vanished.

“These scams are cruel, calculated, and financially devastating,” said Attorney General Dan Rayfield. “If someone tells you to buy gold to keep your money safe, it’s a scam — full stop. No government agency, no bank, no tech support line will ever ask you to liquidate your assets into gold or cash and hand it over to a stranger. Hang up and report it to law enforcement.”

How the Gold Bar Scam Works

Federal and state law enforcement agencies have documented a clear pattern in these schemes:

Initial Contact – Scammers reach out by phone, email, or text, often posing as a government agency, financial institution, or tech company.

False Emergency – They claim your financial accounts are compromised, frozen, or under investigation.

Asset Conversion – You are told to withdraw your money and convert it to gold or other valuables for “protection.”

Courier Collection – A courier arrives to pick up the gold, promising it will be stored safely.

Disappearance – Once the gold is handed over, it—and the scammers—are gone.

No legitimate government agency or bank will ever:

Ask you to buy gold or convert assets to protect them.

Send a courier to your home to collect valuables.

Pressure you to make urgent financial decisions on the spot.

To protect yourself and others:

Hang up immediately if you receive suspicious calls about your finances.

Call local law enforcement

Never share personal or financial information with strangers.

Report suspected scams to the ODOJ Consumer Hotline at 1-877-877-9392 or file a complaint at OregonConsumer.gov.

File reports with the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.FTC.gov.

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