Man attempts kidnapping, police seek any link to Wilberger case
LEBANON Law enforcement officials are seeking any possible connection between a recent attempted kidnapping and the disappearance of Brooke Wilberger.
A man with a goatee, wearing a sweat shirt bearing the letter A, lured a 17-year-old girl into his car Friday in Lebanon 18 miles from where Wilberger went missing May 24.
The girl in the latest attempted kidnapping managed to escape unscathed, officials said.
A hunt is on for the abductor, who last was seen driving a silver Honda Accord with a gold tint. The news comes after Corvallis discounted a possible connection between a Washington parolee and Wilbergers disappearance.
Lebanon police Det. Kim Hyde said that police do not know if the abduction last week has any connection to the disappearance of Wilberger, 19, who is thought to have been kidnapped from the parking lot of an apartment in Corvallis.
Lebanon and Corvallis are sharing information about the cases and will pass along any leads, she said.
The Lebanon incident occurred around 1 p.m. Friday, when the suspect driving the Honda Accord passed the girl on the street and shouted at her to get into his car. She complied, thinking he had a weapon, police said.
He drove a few blocks and then received a call on his cell phone, which the victim told police appeared to agitate him. He pulled over and let the girl out. She was not hurt.
Hyde said that eight hours later, a man matching the suspects description pulled up to a woman in her late teens or early 20s who was riding a bicycle in approximately the same location. The man was in a Honda that matched the earlier description.
This time, he only talked to the young woman and did not try to get her to enter his car, Hyde said.
Dan de Carbonel
http://news.statesmanjournal.com/article.cfm?i=81903
Benefit concert held to thank volunteers
CORVALLIS Family and friends of Brooke Wilberger gathered Sunday for a benefit concert in Corvallis to thank the thousands of volunteers who helped comb the college town in the search, which began 21 days ago, for the missing college freshman.
And on Saturday, Corvallis police said it doesnt appear likely that a Washington parolee was involved in Wilbergers disappearance
Richard Wilson, 39, had interested the Corvallis police because the Walla Walla resident is thought to have been on a crime spree throughout the Northwest after his release from prison in February, including a rape in Biggs Junction, a three-hour drive from Corvallis. Wilson killed himself Wednesday after running into a police roadblock in Utah.
We have not developed any evidence that suggests Mr. Wilson has been in western Oregon, much less the Corvallis area any time recently, Corvallis police Lt. Ron Noble said in a statement released Saturday.