An eight-month-old girl was safely recovered and a suspect taken into custody Monday morning after an alleged abduction in southern Josephine County triggered a statewide AMBER Alert following a reported domestic violence incident along Redwood Highway.
The search for Kaydence Patterson began after authorities received a report that the infant had been taken overnight from a residence at 32429 Redwood Highway, south of Cave Junction. The Josephine County Sheriff’s Office requested activation of Oregon’s AMBER Alert system after investigators identified the person suspected of taking the child as James Patterson, a noncustodial parent who authorities reported was believed to be armed.
Oregon State Police activated the statewide alert at 11:19 a.m. Monday, August 31. The emergency notification distributed the infant’s name, the suspect’s identity, a description of the vehicle and information about the location from which the child had reportedly been taken.
Authorities identified the vehicle as a silver 2006 Infiniti M30 displaying Oregon license plate OEO422. Patterson was described as 5 feet 10 inches tall with a thin build and brown hair. His direction of travel was initially unknown, prompting the alert to reach residents and law enforcement agencies across Oregon.
The search ended almost as quickly as the statewide notification began.
At 11:27 a.m., eight minutes after Oregon State Police activated the AMBER Alert, Josephine County authorities notified the agency that deputies had located both Patterson and the infant. Patterson was taken into custody and Kaydence was recovered unharmed. The statewide alert was subsequently canceled.
Additional information released Monday indicated that the search remained concentrated close to where the incident originated. Josephine County Undersheriff Travis Snyder reported that Kaydence was located in the same community where she had disappeared and had not been taken far from the residence. After her recovery, the infant was safely returned to her mother.
The rapid recovery brought an end to a potentially dangerous search that had begun with allegations involving both domestic violence and an armed suspect. Authorities have not released further information detailing the circumstances of the reported domestic violence incident or the events immediately preceding the infant’s disappearance.
Investigators also have not publicly disclosed precisely where Patterson was apprehended, how deputies located him or whether a firearm or other weapon was recovered when he was taken into custody. No injuries to the infant were reported.
The Josephine County Sheriff’s Office remains the lead investigative agency. Oregon State Police administered the statewide AMBER Alert at the Sheriff’s Office’s request but directed questions concerning the underlying investigation to Josephine County authorities.
Information available Monday afternoon confirmed Patterson had been taken into custody, although authorities had not publicly detailed the criminal charges that may result from the investigation. An arrest and placement in custody do not by themselves establish the specific offenses that prosecutors may ultimately pursue. Formal charging information is expected to become clearer through law enforcement or Josephine County court records as the case proceeds.
The incident originated along the Redwood Highway corridor south of Cave Junction, a rural portion of Josephine County extending toward the Oregon-California border. Because authorities initially did not know the suspect’s direction of travel, the disappearance met circumstances serious enough for Josephine County officials to seek immediate statewide assistance.
Oregon’s AMBER Alert program is administered by Oregon State Police and is reserved for qualifying child-abduction emergencies in which rapidly distributing identifying information could assist law enforcement in locating a child. Alerts can be transmitted through multiple public warning systems, allowing information concerning a suspected abduction, vehicle and license plate to reach residents well beyond the jurisdiction where an incident originated.
Monday’s alert supplied identifying information necessary for residents and law enforcement officers to recognize the vehicle while Josephine County deputies continued their investigation locally. Before the statewide search could develop into a prolonged operation, deputies located the infant and suspect within the Cave Junction-area community.
The timeline between activation and recovery was exceptionally brief. The 11:19 a.m. statewide notification was followed by confirmation at 11:27 a.m. that the search had ended safely, leaving an eight-minute interval between the activation of Oregon’s AMBER Alert system and notification that the child had been found.
By Monday afternoon, the central concern that prompted the statewide emergency notification had been resolved. Kaydence Patterson was safe, James Patterson remained in custody, and the Josephine County Sheriff’s Office continued investigating the domestic violence incident and circumstances surrounding the reported abduction.
Further details, including potential criminal charges and additional information concerning Patterson’s arrest, had not been publicly released as the investigation continued Monday.