FBI Task Force Asks Public For Help In Train Derailment Case
Railroad Offers $5,000 Reward for Information

The FBI's Violent Crimes Task Force is asking citizens to report any suspicious activity that may have led to an April train derailment in North Plains, Oregon. The Willamette & Pacific Railroad and Portland & Western Railroad run trains from North Plains to the Linton area (near St. Helens, Oregon). During each trip, logs are returned to North Plains for processing.

On one such trip in the early morning hours of April 6, 2003, four cars were derailed and three others were damaged after someone vandalized a switching mechanism. The derailment caused more than $30,000 in damage to the tracks and other equipment.

The person responsible cut a lock to the switching mechanism, moved the mechanism so the train would derail, and then disabled a warning system that would have alerted the train's engineer. Because of the seriousness of the crime, railroad officials are offering a $5,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible.

The tracks lay between NW Commercial Street and NW Hillcrest Street in North Plains. They run East/West across NW Glencoe Road, and this particular switching mechanism is located about 500 feet west of Northwest Glencoe Road. There are several homes and a business building in the immediate area.

Those with information are asked to call the FBI at (503) 224-4181.