Thursday, April 21, 2011

Yachats, OR: Wanted OR fugitive found dead with girlfriend

YACHATS -- A man wanted after a gunfight with Oregon police officers was found dead south of Yachats, along with his girlfriend, who police think he murdered.
The bodies were found April 9 and then identified weeks later as Nathan Miles Dix, 31, and Annie Jo Welch, 31, both of the Eugene area. Police believe Dix shot Welch in the head and then shot himself.
The identification was made through items at the scene and skeletal evidence, according to Oregon State Medical Examiner Dr. Karen Gunson.
The couple was last seen on Dec. 24, 2008. Dix had failed to appear in Lane County on Dec. 29 after making bail six days earlier.
Dix was arrested back in September of 2008 after a gunfight with police responding to a report of a suicidal person with a shotgun. Dix was injured in the exchange of gunfire. He was jailed and later posted bail, then fled.
On Dec. 30, the Lincoln County sheriff's office found a vehicle registered to Welch parked at the Cape Perpetua Lookout. The car had been there four days. A search of the area yielded nothing and the vehicle was towed. Police were searching for Dix as a wanted fugitive.
An arrest warrant had been issued for Dix, who had been in custody after being charged with two counts of attempted murder and unlawful use of a weapon against a person.

No comments: