New clue surfaces in sex offender search

Police said they’ve got their hands on missing sex offender Paul Winklebleck’s cell phone, which they said could help track him down.

A driver found the phone along a highway in the southeast corner of Washington state near Clarkston, which shares the border with Idaho.

Police said a woman who was driving on Highway 12 pulled over and found the phone which police said was apparently tossed out of a car.

“She advised me that she called some numbers on the cell phone and was told that he was a wanted fugitive from the Portland, Ore. area,” said Sgt. Richard Muszynski of the Clarkston Police Department.

Police said Winklebleck, 42, pretended to be an officer last week in Portland near The Roseland Theatre. They said he convinced two women in their 20s, who had just left the theater after attending a concert, that he needed to drive them home because he thought they might be drunk. He said he was a “spotter” for the Portland Police Bureau and was there to make sure they weren’t pulled over for drunken driving.
 
At first the women refused but Winklebleck persisted and the women let him drive their car. Instead of taking them home, police said Winklebleck drove them south on Interstate 5 and took the Detroit Lake exit near Salem where he stopped on a gravel road near the freeway.

Police said Winklebleck threatened them with a knife, physically assaulted one of the women, and made one take several pills. Both women got away and one was able to get to a nearby residence where someone called 9-1-1.

Police in Clarkston said Winklebleck’s phone was turned off on March 5, the day after the alleged kidnapping. Police are warning people in the Clarkston area, because they said Winklebleck could be carrying weapons and is dangerous.

Police said Winklebleck is stocky and about 5 feet 11 inches tall with thick, short, reddish brown hair. He also has a short, thick goatee and mustache. He was wearing a camouflage shirt or jacket with a hat that matched.

Police said Winklebleck may be driving a dark green GMC Sonoma pickup truck with an Oregon license plate number 289-EPF.

They say he also goes by the last names of Sullivan and Rose.

Police said that Winklebleck is currently wanted for third-degree sex abuse and also has a warrant on an outstanding probation violation. He is also a registered sex offender, according to police.

Portland police advise that anyone who sees Winklebleck to call 9-1-1 immediately. And anyone with information about this case is asked to call Detective Michele Michaels at 503-823-0635.