Category: ktvz-local-news

Barney Lerten

(Update: Adding video, police update, comments by resident)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Bend Police alerted area residents late Thursday morning and began a large manhunt in northeast Bend for two men – one possibly armed – who ran from officers at a traffic stop. By late afternoon, they said the two likely had left the area.

Bend Police Communications Manager Sheila Miller said that around 10:33 a.m. Bend Police attempted a traffic stop on a silver Kia Rio in the area of Deschutes Market and Yeoman roads. Officers believed a person in the car, a 46-year-old Bend man, was associated with a weapons offense that took place on NE Bellevue Drive around 3:30 a.m.   

The driver, accompanied by a male passenger, did not stop for officers, instead driving into the Solis at Petrosa apartment complex at a high rate of speed, Miller said. The driver and passenger then ran southbound from the car. As of 1:30 p.m., they have not been taken into custody.  

The suspects in this incident are described as adult white men; Miller told KTVZ News it’s not yet clear who was driving at the time.

The weapons offense suspect has a shaved head and may be armed with a firearm. The other person, whom officers have not yet identified, reportedly was wearing a black flat-billed baseball cap.  

Miller said the Bend man faces these charges: Fleeing or Attempting to Elude Police Officer, Burglary I, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Unlawful Use of a Weapon and Menacing.

In an updated Deschutes Alert to residents, sent just after 4 p.m., police said:

“Most law enforcement has left the area, general patrols will continue. Police believe the suspect is no longer in the area and there is no immediate danger to the public. If you see any suspicious activity, please call 911.”

Area resident Michael Chrisman told KTVZ News what he’d witnessed: “There was an armored carrier out here and about 20 police officers with a dog. There was a drone.”

Officers also went door to door, letting neighbors know what was happening and asking if they’d seen anything suspicious.

Chrisman was pleased by the big response he witnessed: “I’m glad that they were as attentive as they were, and was responsive as they were. So it’s good to know that we have an active police force to protect us.”

Around 11:20 a.m., Deschutes County 911 dispatchers put out two emergency alerts to people in a half-mile radius of the traffic stop, alerting them to the suspects, warning that one could be armed, and directing anyone who may see the pair to call 911 and not approach them.

Both Trinity Lutheran School and Eastmont School were alerted to the incident. Other nearby schools were not in session today.  

“The public should expect a continued large police presence in the NE Bend area as the investigation continues,” Miller said.

KTVZ News had crews on the scene, also livestreaming on the web, our KTVZ News app and KTVZ+.

At one point, officers were blocking off access to the trail along an irrigation canal, then shifted their search to a nearby neighborhood.

A 12:15 Deschutes Alert update said: “Confirmed sighting of suspects near Thornhill Lane and Amherst Place just north of Nasu Park Loop off Butler Market Road”

Here’s the full text of the initial Deschutes Alert, sent out at 11:21 a.m.

Bend Police in the area of Deschutes Market Rd and Butler Market Rd: Law Enforcement Activity

2025-04-17 11:21:38 PDT

Bend Police in the area of Deschutes Market Rd and Butler Market Rd: Law Enforcement activity in the area of Butler Mrket Rd & Deschutes Market Rd. Law enforcement is in the area of Deschutes Market Rd and Butler Market Rd looking for two suspects who fled on foot. One suspect is a white male adult with a shaved head. The second suspect is a white male adult with a black flat bill hat. The suspect with the shaved head is reported to be armed with a firearm. If you see subjects matching this description or any suspicious activity in the area, please do not approach and call 911 right away.

Barney Lerten

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Mary Thomas has been selected as the next principal of Realms Middle and High School, beginning in the 2025-26 school year, Bend-La Pine Schools announced Thursday.

Thomas currently serves as assistant principal at Summit High School, a role she has held for six years, and previously served one year as interim principal at High Desert Middle School.

“We are thrilled to welcome Mary Thomas as the next leader of Realms,” Superintendent Steven Cook said. “Mary’s diverse experience — spanning large comprehensive high schools, alternative settings, and smaller private schools — makes her exceptionally well-suited to carry forward the school’s powerful Expeditionary Learning mission. Her leadership will help ensure that Realms continues to offer students transformative, hands-on learning experiences.”

Zach Harju, who stepped into the role of interim principal at Realms this year, will return to his role as assistant principal next year.

Thomas was a classroom teacher for middle and high school students for 17 years in Bend, Sisters, Indonesia and the Portland area. She also has 10 years of experience as an educator for outdoor schools in the Portland area. 

“My philosophy is to lead with kindness and listen to understand and support all voices,” Thomas said. “I am excited to join a passionate team of EL educators who put students first and create inspiring learning experiences. I look forward to collaborating with the entire Realms community to support a safe, welcoming and inviting environment for learning.”

Barney Lerten

SUNRIVER, Ore. (KTVZ) — Viewer Paul Evenson often encounters elk on the move in Sunriver and shared with KTVZ News a video he took Tuesday evening.

“I call it the showdown at the OK Corral,” Evenson told us. “I was stuck for about 20 minutes near the river in Sunriver. It’s fun watching them jump the fence on the right of the screen.”

KTVZ – News Team

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) — From airport parking fees to development plans and community concerns about the upcoming China Hat Road clearing in Bend, Redmond Mayor Ed Fitch talked Thursday with the KTVZ News at Sunrise team in our studio, answering viewers’ questions.

Fitch appears on KTVZ News at Sunrise in the 6:30 a.m. segment on the third Thursday of every month. Make sure to submit your questions for the mayor here for next month’s segment. You can remain anonymous if you wish.

You can also pose a question for Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler on this page – she joins us at Sunrise on the second Thursday of every month.

Triton Notary

BEND, Ore.– (KTVZ) – Today, people trying to fill their prescriptions at Bend’s Rite Aid got an unpleasant notice. The store is closing. Many customers were bit surprised by the news after noticing an increasing number of empty shelves inside the store.

In October of 2023, Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy, and last fall it had closed 1,300 locations. Customers of this Rite Aid also got a notice in the mail announcing its closure. Its final day is the 29th of April.

Sophia Bel told KTVZ News, “Well, it seems really inconvenient. That’s where they have my prescriptions, which I can’t find anywhere else, so it’s going to be really unfortunate. I don’t know where else I’m going to find certain prescriptions that I need, only because this Rite Aid typically has the ones that I need.”

Off-camera, one person told KTVZ News they’ve been shopping at this location for 40 years, long before it was a Rite Aid. Customers will have their prescriptions transferred to the nearby Fred Meyer pharmacy, unless they make other arrangements.

Isabella Warren

(Update: Adding video)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ)– Commissioner Phil Chang is sharing his disappointment as controversy continues to swirl around Deschutes County’s new Sheriff Kent van der Kamp.

“Sheriff van der Kamp has really done important things in these 100 days,” Chang told KTVZ News on Wednesday. “And that’s part of what makes all of this so sad for me. “

Chang says the first 100 days of the sheriff’s term have been successful: “Inspiring sheriff’s office personnel and raising morale, and improving fiscal responsibility and management. Reintegrating the sheriff’s office into the county.”

But this week, the community learned that van der Kamp has been placed on the county’s Brady list, meaning he is barred from giving testimony in future cases as an expert witness because of issues regarding his truthfulness.

District Attorney Steve Gunnels made the decision last week after determining the sheriff may have lied under oath multiple times, including two DUII cases.

Van der Kamp has denied the allegations and told KTVZ News Wednesday he is meeting with his legal team and will have more to share next week.     

Police expert Dr. Thomas Shea says public trust may never be the same: “He’s the sheriff. He’s getting accused of lying. How’s it going to impact the men and women who serve under him? No one’s going to trust them, too, or they’re going to have to deal with the consequences of his own untruthfulness.”

Some residents on social media are demanding that van der Kamp resign.

When asked if the sheriff could gain back public trust, Shea said: “You can’t.”

The Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training is reviewing the reports submitted by the DA’s office, but a spokesman told KTVZ News they cannot specify when that report could be released.

Commissioner Chang says if the sheriff’s certification is revoked, commissioners will decide who takes over. “In the case that the sheriff can no longer serve or in the case that the sheriff resigns, our job will be to appoint someone to serve as sheriff until the next election.” 

Barney Lerten

(Update: Adding video)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — A 25-year-old Bend man was sentenced Tuesday to more than eight years in prison and permanent loss of his driver’s license after pleading guilty to criminally negligent homicide, DUII and assault in a 2023 rollover crash that claimed a La Pine man’s life. 

Bryce Tanner Lupton was arrested in February of 2024 on manslaughter, DUII and assault charges in the crash that occurred late on a Saturday night in September of 2023, when police said his 2023 Ford Focus left Southeast 15th Street near Bear Creek Road and overturned. 

Passenger Jacobic Lee Barnhill, 23, of La Pine, was killed in the crash. Lupton and a second passenger, a 22-year-old Redmond woman, were injured and taken to St. Charles Bend for treatment. Police said at the time that speed and alcohol were believed to be factors in the crash. 

After a settlement conference, Lupton signed a guilty plea petition on April 3 to the lesser, but still Class B felony charge of criminally negligent homicide, as well as third-degree assault and DUII. Prosecutors agreed to recommend a 100-month prison term, which Deschutes County Circuit Judge Wells Ashby accepted at Tuesday’s sentencing, along with imposing permanent revocation of his driver’s license.

Barney Lerten

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Researchers at Oregon State University–Cascades have received a $2 million grant from the National Park Service to monitor and analyze data gathered by the agency, assess the ecological health and resilience of parks and better understand management practices that can help parks adapt to changing conditions.

With the grant, announced Tuesday, scientists at OSU-Cascades will harness data collected by hundreds of NPS scientists across thousands of projects at more than 280 national park sites.

Scientists within each network track a unique set of resources that are considered vital signs for a given region. For example, within the Upper Columbia Basin network, vital signs include water quality, sage grouse health and populations, and the persistence of the Lemhi penstemon, a rare flowering plant at risk of extinction due to habitat loss.  

Led out of the Human Ecosystem Resilience and Sustainability Lab at OSU-Cascades, the new research analysis unit will analyze data from networks that track terrestrial, freshwater and marine specimens and conditions. 

The five-year project is led by Matt Shinderman, a natural resources instructor and co-director of the HERS Lab. 

“The idea is to provide park managers with the best information possible to steward national parks and resources,” he said. “It’s also to build a body of knowledge that can be helpful to land managers, conservation practitioners, and policy makers confronting widespread threats to native biodiversity in our national parks.” 

HERS Lab experts will also assess ecological monitoring studies and determine if improvements can be made to current approaches.

Shinderman anticipates that the project will offer educational opportunities at OSU-Cascades in ecological and data science for post-doctoral researchers, faculty, graduate students and undergraduate students.

The HERS Lab has previously collaborated with NPS on studies throughout the Pacific Northwest on persistence and extinction risks facing park natural resources.