At approximately 1:15 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 16, Bend Police developed information that 38-year-old Bend resident Ethan Russell Christensen was staying at the Home 2 Suites hotel in the 21200 block of Livingston Drive. The Central Oregon Emergency Response Team was activated, and officers took Christensen into custody without incident at approximately 4 a.m. Bend Police wish to thank the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance in this case.
Police had been looking for Christensen since January 10th after Bend Police took a report of an attempted robbery at the Red Carpet car wash in the 2600 block of NE Twin Knolls Drive that had taken place at approximately 10:45 p.m. the night before. Officers learned the victim had parked in a car wash bay to clear snow off his truck. The victim reported that two men parked in the bay next to his and approached him. One of the suspects pointed a gun at him and the suspects demanded he give them his wallet and money. The victim and the suspects fought before the victim was able to get into his truck and drive away.
Officers have identified Christensen as one of the suspects in the incident.
At approximately 5 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 11, an officer located Christensen driving a black Jeep Grand Cherokee eastbound on Arizona Avenue near Wall Street. Officers attempted to stop the vehicle at SW Bond Street and Bluff Drive in the Old Mill, but the vehicle sped away into oncoming traffic, hitting two vehicles as it fled the area.
Officers located the unoccupied vehicle minutes later parked at Farewell Bend Park. Detectives wrote a search warrant to seize the Jeep Grand Cherokee, and officers set up a perimeter and searched the area with multiple K9s and drones, but were unable to locate Christensen.