Salem, OR. — Detectives with the Salem Police Department arrested a Salem man Sunday in connection with a kidnapping investigation that began earlier in the day in southeast Salem.
The investigation started the morning of December 28, 2025, when officers responded to the 2100 block of Baxter Road SE after an 18-year-old reported his mother missing. The son told police his 36-year-old mother had left the night before and did not return. He later located her vehicle at a nearby park, where he found torn clothing and shoes believed to belong to her.
The woman later contacted police and reported she had been kidnapped and held at gunpoint by someone she knew. She identified the suspect as Luis Pantoja-Guzman, 39, of Salem. Investigators said evidence and vehicles located during the investigation corroborated her account.
Salem patrol officers later located Pantoja-Guzman driving eastbound on Kuebler Boulevard and conducted a traffic stop. He was detained on a felony warrant and transported to the Salem Police Department.
Police said Pantoja-Guzman became combative with detectives while at the station and had to be restrained before being transported to the Marion County Jail.
Detectives with the Violent Crimes Unit served multiple search warrants related to the case and recovered a .380 caliber handgun, ammunition, magazines, and other evidence.
Pantoja-Guzman was lodged at the Marion County Jail on multiple charges, including first-degree kidnapping, fourth-degree assault, menacing, coercion, unlawful use of a weapon, first-degree criminal mischief, hit and run (property), reckless driving, reckless endangering, and interference with making a report.
The investigation remains ongoing. Further inquiries have been directed to the Marion County District Attorney’s Office.
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