Bloody person found hog-tied with shoelaces and rope on Oregon bridge
10/25/2022 2:45 pm PDT
NEWPORT, Ore. (TCD) -- A 34-year-old man was arrested after police found a person calling for help who was hog-tied and covered in blood.
According to the Newport Police Department, on Oct. 21 at approximately 11 p.m., officers were called to the Yaquina Bay Bridge because of construction materials in the road. When police arrived, an officer heard a "person yelling for help" and saw they had "blood all over their face and head, a laceration to the back of the head, and their hands were tied tightly behind their back."
Officers freed the person’s hands and transported them to Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital.
Police did not identify the victim’s gender.
Newport Police and Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office deputies reportedly searched the area for witnesses or a suspect but did not find anyone.
Police said the victim was "escorted by the suspect down a discrete trail off of the main pathway within the Yaquina Bay State Park."
The suspect, Thomas Brannies, allegedly hit the victim over the head with a weapon and "tackled" them to the ground. Brannies reportedly told the victim "not to fight back" or they would "continue to be assaulted."
The victim was reportedly hog-tied with shoelaces and rope, then Brannies allegedly fled. The victim freed their feet and made their way to the Yaquina Bay Bridge. They were able to share a description of witnesses as well as Brannies and his car.
According to Newport Police, on Oct. 22 at 3:13 a.m., police found the vehicle at JC Thriftway and found Brannies and the witnesses. The witnesses reportedly "confirmed Brannies and the victim had entered the park together and Brannies returned later without the victim."
Some of the victim’s personal belongings were also found in the car.
Brannies was arrested and booked into the Lincoln County Jail on charges of second-degree assault, second-degree kidnapping, unlawful use of a weapon, second-degree theft, and an outstanding misdemeanor warrant.
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