Bend Police investigate ‘suspicious death’ of injured woman found in road
Published 7:45 am Wednesday, August 30, 2023
- A Bend Police cruiser.
Bend Police are investigating the death of a woman who was found injured on a road in Bend on Monday morning and later died.
Jeri Lynn Davies, 51, of Bend, was found with “multiple injuries” and her death is considered “suspicious,” Bend Police spokeswoman Sheila Miller said in a news release. Davies died at St. Charles Bend at around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, Miller said.
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Davies is the latest of several Bend residents experiencing homelessness to die this year.
A former Bend mayor died homeless. What happened to Craig Coyner III?
Police could not yet disclose Davies’ injuries, Miller said. An autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday. “That should provide more insight into the cause of Ms. Davies’ death,” said Miller.
Police responded to NE Second Street near DeKalb Avenue just after 6:30 a.m. Monday after receiving reports that a woman was lying in the road, Miller said. Emergency personnel took Davies to St. Charles Bend where she later died, Miller said.
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Police have interviewed residents and are seeking video footage and other witnesses “who would be able to shed some light on what may have led to Ms. Davies being found in the road,” Miller said.
She had sought help
Evan Hendrix, associate director of Lighthouse Navigation Center, a nearby homeless shelter on Second Street, said Davies was chronically homeless and had sought help at the center.
Hendrix said he met Davies about two years ago through previous outreach work for people experiencing homelessness, talking to her near a shower truck. He didn’t know much about her story, but said she was sweet, shy and reserved. He said she was a mother and that she struggled with substance abuse.
She’s the center’s second loss in less than a week, Hendrix said. Michael Mitchell died at St. Charles Bend on Thursday, he said. Another person who receives the center’s services is currently in the intensive care unit, Hendrix said.
In February, Craig Coyner III, 75, who was once the mayor of Bend and received help at the center, died from a stroke after he was hospitalized with frostbite at St. Charles Bend. In July, Joseph Taylor Keeton, 56, who lived in the Juniper Ridge homeless encampment near Bend, died after he was severely mauled by three dogs.
Dogs in fatal attack at Juniper Ridge had bitten others
At least 19 people died while experiencing homelessness in Central Oregon in 2022, according to state data.
Dangers of homelessness
The deaths underscore the inherent dangers facing people experiencing homeless and highlight the challenges faced by the people who are trying to help them.
Two staffers who knew Davies well took days off on Tuesday to take care of their mental health. The center was already planning a staff meeting to share positive memories of Davies that day.
“There are moments that make it worth it, but there are other days like this that are unbearably difficult,” said Grace Pell, 19, who does peer support at the center.
Davies had a lengthy history in the criminal justice system stretching back to 1989, including three felony convictions for theft and tampering with drug records, according to court records. Since 2016, she had been convicted of more than a dozen misdemeanors: theft, disorderly conduct, criminal mischief, criminal trespassing, resisting arrest and assault and more.
Pell said she met Davies in recent months and got to learn about the many struggles she had faced in her life. She said Davies’ resolve in the face of that hardship was inspiring, adding: “I felt lucky that I got to connect with her.”
But she said the staff often worries about the people they haven’t seen in days. “The uncertainty is really tough,” she said.
On Tuesday, she said of the staff, “It sucks because we’re still in there thinking about what we could have done.”
James Ray Mcgaughey, 28, who lived in a van nearby and was at the Lighthouse center on Tuesday, added: “It could’ve been one of us.”
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