Follow-Up: Oregon Man Charged Federally With Kidnapping a Minor After Missing 10-Year-Old Was Found Safe
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon announced on November 3 that Vince Edgar Chavez, 36, of Oregon City, Oregon, has been charged by federal criminal complaint with kidnapping a minor. The charge is the latest step in the case GSM first reported on October 28, when a missing 10-year-old girl from Clackamas County was found safe and Chavez was taken into custody at the scene.
According to the complaint, during the early morning hours of October 28, 2026, a 10-year-old child was reported missing from her home in Clackamas County. Responding officers discovered signs the child had been taken and immediately initiated a multi-agency search. Through interviews, investigative leads, and prior contacts, law enforcement identified Chavez as a person of interest.
Investigators obtained emergency cellular records due to the immediate threat to life. Analysis by the FBI's Cellular Analysis Survey Team (CAST), combined with a grid search by the Oregon City Police Department, directed officers to a residence on Pleasant Avenue in Oregon City, where a white van associated with Chavez was located nearby. At approximately 1:46 p.m., FBI agents observed Chavez accessing the vehicle and returning to the residence. Based on probable cause and the risk to the missing child, law enforcement executed an exigent entry into the home, located the child concealed in a bedroom, and safely recovered her. Chavez was taken into custody at the scene. The child was transported for medical evaluation, and other individuals present in the residence told investigators they had no knowledge of the child's presence in the home.
"The speed with which this child was found is the result of extraordinary teamwork and relentless determination by law enforcement," said U.S. Attorney Scott Bradford. "When a child is taken, we act immediately—and we do not stop until that child is safe and the offender is brought to justice." The affidavit further alleges that Chavez transported the child by vehicle across multiple jurisdictions, using public roadways and a cellphone in furtherance of the offense—factors that establish federal jurisdiction under the kidnapping statute.
The case is being investigated by the FBI Portland Field Office, the Oregon City Police Department, the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office, and other local law enforcement partners, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kate Rochat. A criminal complaint is only an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于 Washington 的美国司法部大楼。GSM联邦机构固定图库照片，摄影 APK，CC BY 4.0，来源 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: U.S. Department of Justice headquarters in Washington. GSM federal fixed image library photo by APK, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
- 2026-10-28Kidnapped 10-Year-Old Found Bound in Oregon City Closet; Marshals Task Force Arrests Suspect Vince Edgar Chavez
- 2026-11-03Follow-Up: Oregon Man Charged Federally With Kidnapping a Minor After Missing 10-Year-Old Was Found SafeThis story
