08/20/2002

By KGW and AP Staff

Ward Weaver will be evicted next week from the house he rents, allowing police to search the entire property for evidence in the case of two missing Oregon City girls.

Steve Hopkins, owner of the house where Weaver has lived for about three years, said Monday that police have not asked for permission to search more of the property. If asked, he said he would also allow police to look beneath a concrete slab Weaver poured in the back yard.

"I wouldn't be concerned about a warrant," Hopkins said. "I am certainly not trying to hide anything."

Ward Weaver appears in court on a video screen. (KGW File Photo)

Police need to obtain a search warrant if the owner of a property denies them access to a site they want to search. A search warrant requires police to show probable cause.

The Portland Tribune newspaper is reporting that the FBI plans to dig up the concrete slab behind Weaver’s home as soon as the law allows. However, the FBI would not confirm that information during an interview with KGW.

Weaver apparently put in the concrete a short time after the girls disappeared and it has become the focus of suspicion.

“Listen for the jackhammers,” Oregon FBI Chief Charles Matthews said in the article. “We’re just waiting to cross all the t’s and dot all the i’s.”

Weaver has denied any involvement in the disappearances of Ashley Pond and Miranda Gaddis. But when he was arrested on Aug. 13 after his son's girlfriend accused him of raping her, it gave investigators another opportunity to scrutinize him.

Although Weaver's son, Francis, told police that his father admitted killing two missing girls, investigators said they haven't made any connection between the rape case and the disappearances of Ashley and Miranda.

"I can't say exactly what's going to happen," said Lt. Mike Jarvis, Oregon City police. "But once he is out, there are options available to us."

Weaver was notified in a letter dated Aug. 7 that his $600 monthly rent was past due for July. The letter also said that his landlord planned to terminate the rental agreement if he did not pay it within 72 hours.

On Friday, while Weaver sat in jail on the rape charge, an eviction notice was taped to the front door of the house on South Beavercreek Road. A hearing is scheduled for Aug 26.

Generally if a tenant is unable to show up for an eviction hearing, control of the property reverts to the owner. In most such cases, the sheriff's office has the authority to remove the tenant.

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Hopkins said Monday that Weaver's family cleared the rest of his belongings from the house last weekend.