David Durham (fugitive)

At approximately 10:58 pm on January 23, 2011, Lincoln City police officer Steven Dodds pulled over a 1984 Dodge pickup truck{{cite web|work=ABC News|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/oregon-town-fearful-manhunt-alleged-cop-shooter-continues/story?id=12758279|title=Oregon Town Fearful as Manhunt for Alleged Cop Shooter Continues|date=January 25, 2011|author=Goldman, Russell|accessdate=November 8, 2017}} owned by David Anthony Durham, of Sauvie Island, Portland, Oregon, for a routine traffic violation in Lincoln City, Oregon.{{cite web|url=https://www.thenewsguard.com/news/just-how-did-david-durham-escape/article_5ab59ad8-2e58-11e0-85ec-001cc4c002e0.html|work=The News Guard|location=Lincoln City, Oregon|title=Just how did David Durham escape?|date=February 1, 2011|accessdate=November 7, 2017|author=Alexander, Patrick}} During the interaction, Durham told Dodds that he was driving to a military base in California.{{cite news|url=http://projects.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/web/updates/25849696-46/durham-police-lincoln-van-officer.csp|work=The Register-Guard|page=A1|title=Tips temporarily raise hopes in search for fugitive|date=February 4, 2011|author=Moran, Jack|accessdate=November 6, 2017}} At some point during the traffic stop, Durham shot Dodds multiple times in the chest, critically injuring him, and then fled in his vehicle, heading south on Highway 101.

Responding police officers spotted Durham's vehicle in Newport, and disabled his vehicle with a spike strip near Waldport, just north of the Alsea Bay Bridge. Unable to further drive his vehicle, Durham fled on foot into the woods on the west side of the highway; Durham's dog, which was in his vehicle, fled to the east. Shortly after, two crab fishermen working by spotlight on Alsea Bay reported gunshots originating from the spit, but could not see the gunman in the darkness. Three days after Durham's disappearance, his dog was found wandering in Waldport.

An extensive search for Durham took place in the days following his disappearance by local, state and federal law enforcement officers; SWAT teams were also instated. Police performed a house-by-house search across Waldport and Bayshore, a community immediately north of Alsea Bay. Despite the extensive search, authorities were unable to locate Durham, and there have been no verified sightings of him since the evening of January 23, 2011.{{cite web|author=Harger, Stover E. III|url=http://portlandtribune.com/scs/83-news/18800-the-disappearance-of-david-durham|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205183258/http://portlandtribune.com/scs/83-news/18800-the-disappearance-of-david-durham|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 5, 2016|title=The disappearance of David Durham|work=Portland Tribune|date=January 25, 2012|accessdate=November 7, 2017|via=Pamplin Media Group}}{{cite web|work=The Oregonian|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2011/01/fugitive_warrant_issued_for_suspect_david_durham_in_shooting_of_lincoln_city_officer.html|title=Fugitive warrant issued for suspect David Durham in shooting of Lincoln City officer|date=January 31, 2011|accessdate=November 8, 2017|author=Tobias, Lori}} Initially, law enforcement theorized that Durham may have been hiding in an abandoned house in the woods or in one of the area's numerous vacant vacation homes. Another possibility raised by law enforcement was that Durham had attempted to swim across Alsea Bay and drowned.

A friend of Durham's said that in the months prior to his disappearance, he had been acting erratically and displaying signs of paranoia:{{cite web|work=MassLive|title=Friends: Oregon officer shooting suspect is paranoid|date=January 25, 2011|accessdate=November 8, 2017|url=http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2011/01/friends_oregon_officer_shootin.html|publisher=Associated Press|location=Springfield, Massachusetts}} "He was definitely going through something. We just didn't know how serious it was." She also added that she believed Durham was dead. Durham's brother Michael told The Oregonian that Durham had sustained a shoulder injury in the months prior to his disappearance, and had been prescribed pain medication that altered his mental state.{{cite web|work=The Oregonian|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2011/01/suspected_gunmans_family_urges_david_durham_to_turn_himself_in_to_police_peacefully.html|title=David Durham's family urges the suspected gunman to turn himself in peacefully|date=January 25, 2011|accessdate=November 7, 2017|author=Jung, Helen}} He also stated he believed Durham may have been hiding at a house in Manzanita owned by his employer. Prior to his disappearance, Durham had told several friends and family members that he was planning on relocating to the Caribbean. His employer at Willamette Print & Blueprints Co. Inc in Portland notified police that he had failed to show up to work on Friday, January 21, and that he had not been heard from since.

A federal arrest warrant for Durham was issued January 29, 2011 and as of February 2024 remains outstanding. Durham was profiled on the television series America's Most Wanted shortly after his disappearance.{{cite web|work=The Oregonian|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2011/01/search_for_david_durham_scaled_back_but_not_over_as_the_case_goes_national_tonight_on_americas_most.html|title=Search for David Durham scaled back; case goes on 'America's Most Wanted' tonight|author=Tomlinson, Stuart|date=January 29, 2011|accessdate=November 8, 2017}}

• Donald Eugene Webb
• List of fugitives from justice who disappeared

{{Reflist|30em}}

• [https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/additional/david-anthony-durham David Anthony Durham] at FBI.gov
• [http://amwfans.com/thread/867/david-durham-oregon-2011 David Durham] at the America's Most Wanted fan website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Durham, David}}

Category:1967 births

Category:Crimes in Oregon

Category:Criminals from Portland, Oregon

Category:Fugitives wanted by the United States

Category:Living people

Category:People from Lincoln City, Oregon