Human remains found in Washington County

Washington County deputies are investigating the discovery of human remains in a wooded area south of Tualatin Valley Highway, officials confirmed Saturday.

A passerby called police after coming across the remains, said Detective Mark Polvony, a sheriff’s office spokesman. It was clear to detectives that the remains had been there for some time, he said.

He declined to provide more specifics about the condition of the body or say whether detectives knew anything about the person’s age or gender.

The remains will be taken to the state medical examiners office, where pathologists will try to identify the person and how they died, Polvony said.

It is the second time in the past week that someone has called to report that they had found human remains in Washington County. But in the case of the “remains” found earlier this week, police later determined the skull was fake.

Pacific Northwest rocked by strong winds

High winds wreaked havoc on the Pacific Northwest on Sunday, closing a stretch of an interstate freeway in Oregon and toppling a large tree that crushed a man sleeping in an apartment complex in Washington state.

Interstate 84 was closed in both directions between Pendleton and La Grande in Northeast Oregon because of a downed power line. Several other smaller state highways in Oregon were closed because of windy conditions and blowing debris in lanes.

Oregon and Southwest Washington saw high winds, with gusts of up to 55 mph along the Oregon Coast. Winds gusted at 20 mph or more in the Portland metro area.

A high surf advisory was in effect Sunday along the Oregon Coast, and the National Weather Service warned beachgoers to be wary of sneaker waves.

A man was critically injured in Renton, Washington, after a tree fell on a six-unit apartment building during a morning of high winds and heavy rain. The man was sleeping on a couch when the 200-foot tree came crashing down. It took about 45 minutes to rescue the man, who had the tree across his pelvis and was critically injured.

6 trafficking victims found in Portland hotel

Six teenage girls, including two recently reported missing from Eugene, have been recovered after they were found in a Portland hotel, in what police believe was a human trafficking operation.

Two men were arrested on Thursday, but police said they are still working to identify them.

Eugene Police said the investigation started Tuesday, when officers responded to the 400 block of E. 15th Avenue regarding a report of shots fired, and the possible abduction of youths. Police couldn’t confirm that when they arrived, but they opened an investigation.

On Wednesday, officers responded to a related call and learned that there were two missing or runaway teens who were believed to have been taken to Portland, possibly for human trafficking. On Thursday, Portland and Eugene police found the hotel room where one of the teens was. Portland police found six teen girls in the room. Four of them were from Eugene, including the two who had been reported missing.

— Bulletin wire reports