1/3/2024
In late December 2023, the United States Marshals Service led Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force (PNVOTF) tracked down and arrested a man wanted out of Kansas on a felony warrant for child sex abuse. The suspect, Ben J Baxter, 51, of Kansas, was wanted on a felony charge of sodomy with a child who was under 14 years of age. The crime occurred between June 27th and July 1st of this year. He is now lodged in the Jackson County Jail awaiting extradition back to Kansas.
The arrest occurred at 2:33 p.m. today, December 22, when investigations led PNVOTF and Jackson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) deputies to a remote residence on Murphy Gulch Road west of Wimer, Ore. Investigators located Baxter leaving the residence, and arrested him without incident. Although Baxter wrapped multiple phones in aluminum foil to avoid detection, he was unsuccessful in avoiding capture.
Over the last few days, PNVOTF tracked Baxter from Josephine County to the arrest location. The task force was assisted by Oregon State Police, Josephine County Sheriff’s Office, Grants Pass Police Department, and Rogue River Police Department.
PNVOTF includes personnel from the U.S. Marshals, JCSO, and Central Point Police Department. The task force specializes in locating and arresting fugitives wanted for offenses including, but not limited to, murder, assault, sex crimes, failure to register as a sex offender, firearm violations, and probation violations. There is no further information available for release.
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