A kidnapping charge against a La Pine Uber driver was dismissed after a grand jury refused to indict the driver, Rocky Eugene Heath, according to court documents.

Heath was accused of driving a 19-year-old woman around Bend for around 30 minutes instead of taking her home. The grand jury’s decision prompted a Deschutes County Circuit Court judge to dismiss the case March 15.

Megan Morstatter ordered a ride from Uber’s ride-sharing app in order to go home from work on Feb. 13 — an approximately five-minute ride. Heath, 48, picked her up in a 2023 Polestar 2 at 6:26 p.m.

Heath canceled the ride three minutes later and “drove her around for 25 to 30 minutes despite her requests to take her to her house,” police said at the time. He then dropped her off at home. Morstatter called 911 at 7:21 p.m., police said.

Police searched the area and stopped Heath while he was driving in downtown Bend around 11:18 p.m. He was arrested and booked into the Deschutes County jail.

Heath, who was reached by phone Wednesday, said things happened differently. He said Morstatter asked him to take her downtown after he picked her up from work.

“She seemed upset,” he told The Bulletin.

He decided to cancel the ride in the Uber app after Morstatter said she’d pay Heath cash instead, since he wasn’t taking her directly home, Heath said. Heath eventually took Morstatter home when asked, he said. He also gave her his name and number, which he said he does frequently with customers to encourage regular business. Heath said he dropped her off around 6:47 p.m. and went straight to pick up another rider.

Heath was on his way to pick up a passenger in downtown Bend when he was arrested.

Heath, a disabled veteran who drove Uber solely at night for extra income, said the accusation has now made it difficult for him to trust people. His Uber account was deactivated, and he no longer drives any of his regular customers on the side, he said.

“No one’s ever getting in my car again. Ever,” Heath told The Bulletin.

A spokesperson for Uber, Gabriela Condarco-Quesada, said the company has completed its investigation into the incident, and Heath’s account remains deactivated.

“Removing a driver’s access to the Uber platform is a serious decision, and we do not take it lightly,” Condarco-Quesada wrote in an email. “We conducted our investigation and have taken appropriate action.”