PORTLAND, Ore. -- A man accused of posing as a police employee and kidnapping two women from downtown Portland after a concert late Thursday night was also the suspect in a sexual assault in Wilsonville, days earlier..
Portland Police Detectives have identified the suspect in a downtown Portland kidnapping last week as 42-year-old Paul Evans Winklebleck, a registered sex offender with an outstanding warrant for sex abuse and a parole violation.
Wilsonville police said an emotionally distraught woman told them on February 25 she was sexually abusedby a man she knew. But when she tried to call 9-1-1, detectives say he aggressively went after her grabbed her phone and then took off
According to police, just before midnight two women left the Snoop Dogg show at the Roseland Theatre and were heading to their car at Southwest 2nd and Ash. An approaching man told them that he was a "spotter" for the police and that he needed to escort the two women out of the area so that they did not get stopped and arrested for driving drunk.
One of the women told police they declined and got in their car, but said the stranger came back, stating the police were waiting for them if they drove away. And that if they left their car in the lot, it would be towed.
According to detectives, the two said they let the man drive their car because he claimed "he worked for the police and it was his job to get them home."
Portland police added that they have no such officers working for the bureau.
A photograph was taken during the first few minutes of contact with the women, police said.
The women said the suspect drove them around the city, eventually getting on I-5 southbound and at one point showed that he had a knife. They also said while driving, he forced one of the women to take several pills.
The driver got off the freeway at the Detroit Lake exit and stopped the car on a gravel road when the suspect threatened them and assaulted one of the women, according to the alleged victims.
One woman was able to run to a nearby home and the people inside called 9-1-1.
Detectives said the other woman escaped and hid in the woods until Marion County deputies arrived. "They're extremely fortunate and the fact that they were able to escape is amazing and we're taking this very seriously," said Detective Mary Wheat.
The vehicle was found Friday about 10 miles from where the woman called for help.
The suspect was described as a white male, in his late 30s, about 5'11" tall, with a stocky build, short, reddish brown hair and a thick goatee. "He was armed with a knife, gave one of them pills, and so we're concerned he could be looking for other victims and someone else might not be so lucky to get away," said Wheat. He also has a tattoo on the back of his neck and back that says "Combative for God". The word combative may be visible above a shirt line, police say.
Police said Winklebleck may be driving a dark green GMC Sonoma pickup with an Oregon license plate of 289EPF.
Anyone with information concerning the investigation was asked to call Detective Michele Michaels at (503)823-0635.
According to court records, Winklebleck was sentenced to eight years in prison in 1999 after pleading guilty to sodomy and was ordered to register as a sex offender. Court documents also show that he pleaded guilty in October 2009 for failing to report as a sex offender, and he was given 18 months of probation in that case.
Crime Stoppers offered a $1,000 reward for help leading to an arrest Monday. Winklebleck also uses the last name of Sullivan and Rose.
Anyone who sees Winklebleck was asked to call 9-1-1 immediately.
(KGW Reporter Anne Yeager contibuted to this report)
