Shooting suspect still at large
Search focused on narrow peninsula
PORTLAND – The search for the Portland man accused of shooting a police officer before fleeing into the woods moved past its fifth day Thursday, while the victim’s daughter says her dad is improving.
Lincoln City Officer Steven Dodds has been hospitalized at Portland’s Legacy Emanuel Hospital with multiple gunshot wounds since Sunday’s shooting.
Megan Dodds said Thursday her father has turned his head toward her and squeezed her hand.
“He’s a strong guy and so stubborn. I know he’s not going to let himself down on this one,” she said.
Authorities are still looking for David Anthony Durham, who they believe shot Dodds on Sunday night before leading police on a speed chase on the Oregon Coast. Durham fled on foot and is still at large.
Durham is described by his brother, Michael, as an avid outdoorsman who designed his own camouflage clothing. Police say he may be holed up in a vacation home in a secluded neighborhood less than a block from the Pacific Ocean.
Officials have searched more than 250 homes for Durham, a 43-year-old former landscaper who family members say had become delusional after taking pain medication for an injured shoulder.
Police have not been able to search locked homes without the permission of the owners, leading some to believe Durham could have broken into a home and is hiding behind a locked door.
Authorities believe Durham is armed because he fired at a crab fisherman from a peninsula in north Waldport early Monday morning.
Trauma surgeon Dr. Seth Izenberg said Dodds’ injuries were mostly to the pelvis and abdomen. A bullet wound had severed a major vein.
Durham was seen 30 minutes before the shooting in security video from a Lincoln City convenience store, which was released Wednesday. The footage shows him decked head to toe in green camouflage and a dark beret.
Searchers are focusing on a 3-square-mile strip of land that pokes into the Pacific Ocean. Twenty-five members of the Oregon State Police SWAT team are doing around-the-clock patrols of the area and checking houses on the peninsula.
Police issued a warrant on Tuesday for Durham, 43, on charges that include attempted aggravated murder.