Local News

Grants Pass Police are seeking the public's help in locating a missing elderly man. Scott Smith, 68, was last seen Friday, May 22nd, at his NE A Street residence prior to leaving in his white 2006 Ford Taurus, Oregon license plate #008RBW. He's described as 6'2" and weighing 250 pounds. If you know or have seen Mr. Smith since his disappearance last week, contact your local law enforcement agency or the Grants Pass Police Department at 541-450-6260. Reference Case #2026-18040.

 

State Police troopers arrested a man Thursday after he and a woman were reportedly vandalizing a gray Lexus.

Only the male suspect was located going through the vehicle at milepost 66 on Interstate 5 around 6:53 p.m. He told troopers that he was helping a friend with the reportedly broken down vehicle. A call to the registered owner proved that wasn't the case, and that the owner and suspect didn't know each other.

Charges weren't pursued for Unlawful Entry into a Motor Vehicle and Criminal Mischief at the owner's request, and the vehicle was towed from the scene. The suspect, identified as Jack Lavine II, 33, of Glendale, was found to have an outstanding Failure to Appear Bench warrant out of Douglas County.

Troopers arrested Lavine, and subsequently lodged him in the Josephine County Jail.

 

Deputies with the Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested a man on a Parole Violation Detainer Thursday morning.

The suspect was tracked down behind a property in the 25,000 block of Redwood Highway. Three additional suspects were run through dispatch according to police logs, but only Joseph Ainsworth was detained at 11:40 a.m.

He was charged for the detainer and taken into custody, later to be lodged in the Adult Jail Facility at 12:35 p.m.

 

Two traffic stops Thursday resulted in the arrest of suspended drivers, one by Grants Pass Police, and the other by the Josephine County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies pulled over the first suspect, Julian Hall, at 12:33 a.m. The driver of the white Honda Accord was found to be Driving While Suspended, and was taken into custody at the intersection of Williams Highway and Grays Creek Road.

Sheriff's deputies lodged Hall for his misdemeanor charge and a detainer at the request of his Parole Officer. Hall's brother picked up the Accord later that morning.

That night, Police officers conducted a traffic stop on a gray BMW sedan driven by Timothy Garcia at the corner of Rogue River Highway and Maple Lane. He was stopped and warned for improper display on account of his missing license plate.

Officers learned Garcia was driving while suspended, and had no emergent reason to be behind the wheel. He was taken into custody around 8:30 p.m., after the sedan was legally parked to be picked up later.

His Parole Officer was contacted, and a detainer was requested. Police transported Garcia to the Josephine County Adult Jail Facility for the detainer in addition to his charge of Misdemeanor Driving While Suspended.

 

Officers with the Grants Pass Police Department arrested a man for a warrant after he was contacted for littering.

The suspect, Joshua Weathers, was seen littering at the 111 Union Avenue Walgreens. Upon contact, officers found him to be wanted on a valid and serviceable warrant out of the Josephine County Sheriff's Office.

The warrant charged Weathers with Probation Violation for a Weapon Offense, and he was promptly taken into custody. Officers transported him to the Josephine County Jail and lodged him.

 

The Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) launched a new round of funding through its Small Forestland Grant Program to help landowners reduce wildfire risk before and after the 2026 fire season. This year, ODF awarded funds to 11 projects to mitigate wildfire risk on 1,023 acres by reducing hazardous fuels, improving community preparedness, and supporting long-term landscape resilience. Most of the funded work is in Southern and Central Oregon, where wildfire risk is especially high. One example of success comes from the Applegate Partnership and Watershed Council, based in Jacksonville, Oregon, which received Small Forestland Grant funds to complete significant fuels reduction and community engagement work. ODF also coordinates with state and federal partners to maximize the impact of investments for landscape resiliency. The project used about $269,000 to significantly improve

 

Even though the weekend forecast won't inspire anyone to take a cold plunge, the Spray Park at Riverside Park and the splash pad at Morrison Centennial Park will operate daily from noon to 7 PM, starting tomorrow (today.) Each Splash Pad has a control button that is pushed by the participants to make the sequencer run the features for three-minute intervals. Water-conserving versions were selected for many of the features. Smaller Kid’s Splash Pad-Highlights are: the Flower Shower, the Ride & Spray Horse, Ride & Spray Zebra, Water Weave and the Pop Dropps. The larger pad features: a 3 Bucket Fill N Spill, Mission Hill Showers, a Water Fence. A Water Arch, and Several varieties of ground sprayers. The highlight of the larger pad is the Tidal Barrel, which has a "big splash" effect. The barrel fills and then spills its contents around the base of the tank, creating a circular sheet of water with a 16-ft radius.

 

Grants Pass City Police Officers were summoned to Family Court Wednesday afternoon at the report of a woman discarding all of her clothing, then walking around the building leaving the juvenile department to clean up her clothes. The woman, now identified as 38-year-old Danielle Renee Osborne, was described as having a tattoo on her back with her hair in a bun. It was fairly easy to determine she was not armed as she was headed north yelling and screaming to "call the police now." Multiple callers documented Osborne's trip from Family Court to Women's Crisis where she was detained after challenging the staff there to combat. She was arrested and transported to the Adult jail where she was lodged on a charge of disorderly conduct II. She has since been released.

 

An alleged shoe theft from Famous Footwear were not fast enough for the alleged perpetrator to avoid jail time. Shortly after 2 p.m. Wednesday the Grant Pass Police were dispatched to the shoe outlet in the shopping center to the report of disorderly conduct and a theft of shoes valued at $64.99. The suspect, identified as Gregory Anthony Lacki, 35, led investigators away from the shoe store, headed to the high school area, changing his appearance as best he could, dropping his ball cap and headlight, and was detained at "A" and Olive Streets at 2:35 p.m. Lacki was lodged in the adult jail facility on a charge of theft III and trespassed from Famous Footwear.