SALEM, Oregon — A man accused of torturing a woman he held captive in Oregon, and who was convicted in Nevada of holding another woman captive, is using dating apps to find people who can help him avoid the police or to find new victims. , authorities said Friday.
Benjamin Obadiah Foster, 36, is the subject of an intensive search by police after a woman was found unconscious, bound and near death in Grants Pass, Oregon, on Tuesday. She was hospitalized in critical condition.
On Thursday night, Grants Pass police, sheriff’s deputies, an Oregon State Police SWAT team and federal agents raided a property in the unincorporated community of Wolf Creek, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of of Grants Pass, where Foster’s car was impounded and a 68-year-old woman arrested for hindering the prosecution.
Foster managed to escape. Officials did not provide further details, but the area, just off Interstate 5, is heavily forested and hilly.
The arrested woman, Tina Marie Jones, had followed Foster in a vehicle Thursday as he drove to a remote location in Wolf Creek and then intentionally drove his 2008 Nissan Sentra over an embankment, according to court documents. Jones then took Foster to the property that was raided Thursday night and where Foster had been hiding while police searched for him, according to Josephine County Circuit Court records.
Grants Pass police said Foster «is actively using online dating applications to contact unsuspecting individuals who may be enticed to assist in the suspect’s escape or potentially as additional victims.»
Police offered a $2,500 reward Friday for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of Foster, who is charged with attempted murder, kidnapping and assault in the attack on the Grants Pass woman.
Foster’s public defender in the Las Vegas case did not immediately respond to emails from The Associated Press seeking comment on Foster’s behalf.
Grants Pass Police Chief Warren Hensman told the AP on Thursday that it is «extremely concerning» that Foster went out and was able to take advantage of other women instead of remaining behind bars for Nevada crimes.
In 2019, before moving to Oregon, Foster held his then-girlfriend captive inside his Las Vegas apartment for two weeks. He was initially charged with five felony counts, including assault and battery, and faced decades in prison upon conviction. But in August 2021, Foster reached a plea agreement with Clark County prosecutors that allowed him to plead guilty to one felony assault and one misdemeanor assault constituting domestic violence.
A judge sentenced him to up to 2 1/2 years in a Nevada prison. The 729 days he spent in jail awaiting trial were included in his sentence, leaving Foster with less than 200 days to serve in state custody.
Foster’s girlfriend suffered seven broken ribs, two black eyes and injuries from being bound at the wrists and ankles with zip ties and duct tape during her two-week captivity, according to a Las Vegas police report.
The woman also told police that she was forced to eat bleach and suffocated to the point of unconsciousness.
She escaped when Foster lost sight of her during a trip together to a grocery store and a gas station.
Court records show Foster was out of custody at the time with a suspended prison sentence for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit. She was also awaiting trial in another 2018 case involving domestic violence. But Foster’s 2021 plea agreement with prosecutors settled the domestic violence case, a copy of the agreement shows, and he was «sentenced to credit for time served.»
Police in Grants Pass, a town of about 40,000 in southwestern Oregon, said Foster is believed to be armed and «extremely dangerous.»
“We are using all available technology to locate this man,” said Hensman, the police chief.
Hensman said he didn’t have time to think about how Nevada authorities handled Foster’s crimes there.
«No matter what happened in the past,» he said, «we can talk about those situations later.»