First Published:
9:26 AM PST, February 1, 2023
After being on the run for one week, torture and kidnapping suspect Benjamin Obadiah Foster is dead from a self-inflicted gunshot following an hourslong standoff with Oregon police, authorities said.
Foster, 36, had been described as armed and “extremely dangerous” by police, who said he was using dating apps to hunt victims. He was wanted for attempted murder, kidnapping and assault, according to the Grants Pass Police Department.
Police said last week they had found Foster’s former girlfriend bound and beaten nearly to death in her home. The 35-year-old woman had been held captive and tortured for a “protracted amount of time,” Police Chief Warren Hensman told reporters.
A nationwide manhunt, aided by the U.S. Marshals Service, was launched, but Foster did not go far.
Grants Pass Police officers, acting on a tip, found Foster hiding underneath his former girlfriend’s home late Tuesday, authorities said. Police and SWAT negotiators tried for hours to get him to surrender as the entire neighborhood was blocked off, authorities said.
The standoff ended when Foster shot himself, police said. He was transported to a hospital and died there late Tuesday night, authorities said.
Before the standoff, as officers were still searching Tuesday, the police chief warned the public to be vigilant.
“A man that has displayed the horrific acts of violence that he has done thus far, I wouldn’t put anything past this man,” Hensman said. “That’s why it’s absolutely critical that we get this man in custody, and ASAP. Time is of the essence, and we need to get this man in custody, and we need to get him in custody yesterday.”
