Police: Teen shot dead along Hwy 6, suspect kills himself
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TILLAMOOK, Ore. – A girl found dead along Highway 6 east of Tillamook late Friday night was shot to death, state police said.
Investigators said 16-year-old Kayla Ann Hendrickson was from the Beaverton, Ore. area. An autopsy done Sunday morning confirmed Hendrickson died of gunshot wounds.
Beaverton School District officials confirmed she attended Sunset High School for a short time during the last school year.
Police also identified a person of interest in the case as Jacob Allen Green, 24, of Newport, Ore. They said Green shot himself on Saturday, Jan. 19 along the Northern California Coast.
He was taken to a hospital but later died.
"Green was operating a vehicle matching the description of one which was sought as a vehicle of interest in connection with the Highway 6 death investigation," police said in a press release. They said Green knew Hendrickson.
Lt. Gregg Hastings said an Oregon State Police trooper found Hendrickson’s body late Friday after a witness reported suspicious circumstances on the highway two miles east of Jordan Creek Road.
About 25 minutes before the discovery, the witness saw a full-size pickup stopped on the shoulder of the westbound lane, and a man and a woman were seen outside the vehicle.
Police said Green was seen in Humboldt County, Calif. in a vehicle matching the suspicious vehicle’s description.
So far, investigators have not said why Hendrickson was shot or what may have caused Green to take his own life.
A half-dozen law enforcement agencies in Oregon and California are investigating the deaths.
Green's family released a statement on Monday:
"The family of Jacob Green acknowledges that this is a terrible tragedy for everyone involved. It asks the public to respect its privacy and extends its deepest sympathy to the family of Kayla Ann Hendrickson."
Hendrickson's family did not wish to make a statement.
Such a sad sad ending for such a beautiful young lady. I'm sure she could have had a great life ahead if it hadn't been taken prematurely.
Before people start making accusations and criticizing the family - they need to think about how much it hurts to lose a child and who may be reading the posts. Kids do not tell their parents half the things they do and sometimes they do things without fully understanding what the consequences could be. Kids do stupid things! For those of you who want to cast a stone or pass judgment, don't do so unless you are perfect. I know that I use to drive to the beach with friends all the time when I was almost 17. Many of the times my parents didn't "let me" got with places or meet up with certain people - I just did it. Fortunately, I always made it home. I turned out OK as many of us who did things as teens that our parents didn't know.
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By the way, Kayla was 16 - almost 17.She did grow up in Sherwood. She was a vibrant, beautiful, intelligent girl. Everyone loved her and she loved everyone. She was trusting and saw the best in people. Blake is not her father's name - Hendrickson is. Blake is the last name of the man who raised her most of her life when her own father didn't want to live up to the responsiblity. She went by Blake so that her name would match all of her other siblings. By the way - to those of you who wish to continue criticizing the family - those other siblings are hurting tremendously. None of us can make any sense of this.Â
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For those of you that send your kinds words...Thank you.
I would like to start by saying that this is obviously hearbreaking. I can not express the pain I feel for the familes of both sides of this tragety. I am not trying to discount anyones pain or loss. I will step up and say that I have known thre Green family for many years. I have many question about how this could have happened.  I can honestly say that I would have trusted my life in the hands of Mr Green, without second thought, and that only leaves me to question even more. It would be easy to understan if he were a monster, was ill tempered or an obviously troubled young man, he was none of those things.  I am sure that others who knew him are left as confused as I am.  For those people throwing around accusations of poor parent by the Green family and/or  psychotic tendencies, questinging upbringing and mental health issues will not lead any of us to understanding . There are endless questions to be answered, and without being able to blame this tragety  on someone simply being "psychotic" or of poor upbrining, the answers are even harder to come by.  I am a mother and could not imagion losing my little girl. Both families will be in my prayers.
 @wallflower We also know the Green family and know they are not poor parents.  This young man was raised in a loving family and no one knows why he did this.  Unfortunately this could have happened in any family.  My heart goes out to both families during this time and I know no matter what anyone says to them will ease the hurt.
@wallflower "I can honestly say that I would have trusted my life in the hands of Mr Green" And if you had upset him when he was near the gun, your trust might well have been misplaced. If he hadn't had the gun Saturday, maybe he kicks her out of the truck. Maybe he beats her up. But no bullet holes.
I am a gun owner, as are many people in this area. He had access to a gun every time he was in my home.  I never felt the need to hold my tounge around him, I did not fear him. I did not come on here to argue with anybody, but simply to make the point that he was a typical young man, with decent parents and nobody that I know would think him capable of such a act. Obviously something happened, something to take him out of his right mind, we could play the "what if" game, as I have a million times in my head, trying to figure out what I could have noticed, or what I missed.. but speculating doesnt bring anyone back or ease any pain. And you are right, my trust may have been misplaced, with no big red warning signs of danger.
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I knew her... I know her friends... Its different when you see someone you recognize in the news instead of just some girl. My heart goes out to everyone that knew her or were close to her....
Well, here we go again. Someone a little immature gets a little ticked. He has a gun. He uses the gun and does something tragic, stupid, and utterly preventable. Then he comes to his senses and, in an effort just as tragic, to atone for what he has done, he kills himself. What a waste all the way around, and what a tragedy for the youngsters' friends and families
 @Mechanic It's just that simple, huh Mechanic?Â
The parents should be brought up on murder and rape charges for letting their little girl go out with a man
@RCrandall I don't think it's rape if the girl is 18, which she was, the news got her age wrong
Lots of opinions burning up the web, nothing can fill the hole left by the loss of a daughter, sister or friend. My heart goes out to the family.
 @The Resistance How does some cop go tell her parents without almost crying? Been there too many times and there really was nothing I could tell them,but the truth and be bummed when I left...
Trouble often begins at home. I wonder what kind of parents Mr. Green had, and what sort of upbringing they provided. But judging by the end results, it looks bad. Really bad.
Mr. Green had very respectable, loving, kind parents. Nobody that knew him would use the word psycho to discribe him. those who knew him are in disbeleif.
 @Whobeke Wow, way to judge something you have no information about. Judge the parents, why because there the only ones alive you can blame?
 @Shilo8  @WhobekeÂ
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It's what we might call "an educated guess." Your kid turns out to be a psycho murderer? Then yeah, there will be some questions about how you raised him.
KATU, you have several things WRONG in this story.... First of all Kayla was known as Kayla BLAKe, her fathers last name. Kayla was 18 not 16 and she went to Sherwood high school until she quit school and got her GED. Kayla lived most of her life in Sherwood Oregon and had MANy friends there... Please check your facts!
Actually she WAS 16. News outlets are correct. So maybe you should stop spreading incorrect facts Laura.
 @Wonka-Hardisty Laura KATUs article is essentially identical to that published in the Oregonian. Ragging on KATU appears as ill advised as a lot of the other comments here. They only report what they are given. Nothing requires anyone to visit this web site.
 @Wonka-Hardisty Laura Thank you for posting this, I agree with you.
 @Wonka-Hardisty Laura BLAKe with a the first four letter capitalized and the last letter lower case? That's crazy!!! I've never seen that before. I should change my name from Kerslake to KeRsLaKe!!
@SoundersCougzBravesPackers soooo sorry my fingers slipped BEFORE I hit send.... I should have spell checked myself... This was an error on my part. iPads and iPhones are often less easy to type on than a traditional keyboard.... I heartily apologize... It's actually Blake.....
@Wonka-Hardisty Laura While any gun violence is bad by the criminal perps, it's even worse that media has to skew the facts and print false reports to drive their political agenda, and for profit, which drives the "first to report" whether right or wrong, is a sad one at the least. Sorry for the loss of your friend!
@flyroy I just can't believe they got soooo many facts so completely wrong... And actually she was not my friend she was the friend of several of my young friends that went to school with her... Though I am still saddened by her loss... "News" reporting used to HAVE to get the facts right BEFORE they went to press... I am NOT making a judgement on guns or gun control or any other political agenda... I AM, however, making a judgement on the media... PLEASE correct your story KATU!,,,
 @Lisa  @Wonka-Hardisty Laura Just look back to the Sandy Hook shooting.  The police initially reported the shooter was Ryan Lanza because his brother, Adam, had his ID for some reason (I don't think they've determined why he had it or what he might have been using it for).
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Ryan had to find out that (a) his mother was murdered by his brother and (b) his brother was responsible for killing countless children and adults via Twitter and Facebook posts while he was at work!!! Â I can't even begin to imagine all that went through his brain!
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It took almost a day before they acknowledged that the shooter wasn't Ryan but was actually Adam. Â Damage had been done and probably beat Ryan down even more emotionally.
 @Wonka-Hardisty Laura So remember this next time you see a story of someone accused. Don't be quick to judge. For now you've seen first hand how the media misrepresented a story with incorrect information. This false information/ power can destroy someones life. Yet little thought is often given to this and often those MERELY accused of a crime are victims of public lynching thanks to the 24/7 media.Â
Yes you are correct CTWU! I am just remembering when I was a journalism student in college wayyyy back in the day (1980's) and we had it constantly pounded  into us that we HAD to fact check absolutely everything before we put it out there... I am frequently appalled by the media and their lack of fact checking.... That said, I would be remiss if I did not mention that this is a far far different age, everything is moving FAST and sometimes there's not enough time to get everything Perfect and still scoop the rest of the media hounds! Not to mention that we're ALL human and therefore given to mistakes of all kinds all of the time.. Though the media should be held to a higher standard than the rest of us mere mortals!  So really I can see both sides. My ONLY goal in this post was to get KATU to check the facts of their story, wrong or right...And I'm happy to say that it appears that they are doing just that. I just received an email from KATU in which they say they are looking into the story in more depth. Additionally, they said that the police reported her last name as Hendrickson and so that is what they are beholden to go by, though they do know that she has been known as Blake. So I feel moliffied as of this moment :-)
Funny you should say that because I just emailed them :-)
 @Wonka-Hardisty Laura  @flyroy Better yet, email the news desk of the facts.  They certainly don't read the postings here.
 @Wonka-Hardisty Laura  @flyroy Nope.  News stories are never 100% accurate.  As of late, the bulk of the KATU stories are either coming from the AP newswire or from the police bulletins.  Having been involved in several stories that have made news in the past, I'd say they rarely get their facts correct unless they want it to fit into a neat little profile piece for another article they are working on.  After apparently cutting staff even further, this certainly appears to be true (and not just on KATU).
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Just remember, according to the Chicago Tribune, Dewey, not Harry Truman won the 1948 presidential election (the infamous "Dewey Defeats Truman" headline). Â Yep, that was certainly fact-checking.
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These inconsistencies are part of the reason I frequently tell (especially close) friends and families to not even bother posting on forums like these. Â The truth will eventually be revealed to those who deserve to know it.
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Kayla probably also had some type of ID on her with the last name of Hedrickson that at least one family member verified even if she used Blake as her last name (one could also be the legal last name she had to provide on legal documents like driver licenses).
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I'm just sorry her life had to end this way.Â
 @flyroy How does mistaking an age and high school drive a political agenda?
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It's even worse when people have to skew their facts and make false assumptions to drive their political agenda.
Huh, that is interesting Rawdog... I can only assume that's because the information went out on the AP wire in an incorrect fashion, so ALL of the news outlets are getting the same information, be it correct or incorrect....
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 @Wonka-Hardisty Laura  @deejm2112  @flyroy Laura, first, sorry for the loss of your friend.
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My comment was directed at flyroy who is accusing KATU of deliberately reporting incorrect facts to further their agenda when I expect the incorrect facts are more related to sloppy reporting than anything (assuming they are incorrect).
@deejm2112 @flyroy I was just saying I am not seeking any political agenda.. I have no idea what KATU is trying or not trying to do, other than getting their facts incorrect...
The more I see and hear of the anti-gun wave, the more I feel like we're approaching a real V for Vendetta moment.
 @Morticae The more I see and hear the pro-gun wave, the more I feel like we're finally identifying the people who enable murderers.
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 @TheUglyTruth It's a weak argument, at best. There is much greater chance of escape with those other types of weapons. Guns make killing too easy. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure that out!
@correct @TheUglyTruth With regards to "those type of guns". If someone enters my home with one of "those type of guns", you think I will be able to adequately defend myself with a single shot weapon? For all the hype about "those type of guns", the focus seems to be on the responsible gun owners who, by the way, legally possess their registered weapon, not a dang thing about those who have these weapons and are legally prevented from possessing weapons. Those are the people the rest of us are worried about, because even though they arent' supposed to have any weapons, they do. How is the governent going to decide who can have what weapon, and who is a responsible gun owner? How will they know if someone in the household is a ticking time bomb and shouldn't have access to weapons? How will the government track these weapons when they cannot track the weapons they are supposed to be tracking? When there is a discussion about this, and their intent is more defined, then we can respond more appropriately. Using a blanket remedy isn't the answer, but then, knee jerk reactions usually aren't the appropriate response.
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 @correct  @TheUglyTruth Kind of a non sequitur.
 @portlandborn83 Great idea!
 @correct  @Liberty4_WA  @TheUglyTruth How about installing a gunshot detection system nationwide, what do you think about that correct?
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https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=3f9c01700994211389e0cb07b3eb66f1&tab=core&_cview=0
 @Liberty4_WA  @TheUglyTruth Not really. Guns are like "boom-dead" - a knife would be more like "stab-stab, try to get away, bleed-bleed, maybe wrestle a little, stab-stab" etc. It would take MUCH longer to use any other type of weapon. Guns are immediate, powerful, and thorough. Comparing them to other weapons is a weak argument in the gun debate.
 @correct  @TheUglyTruth Talk about a weak argument...
I cant decide which is more disheartening to me. The fact that a 16 year old girl has had her life taken from her, or the fact that either side of the gun debate attempts to hijack the story and make it about the weapon of choice in the murder/suicide. Probably 50/50. They're equally as disgusting in my mind.Â
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My thoughts and prayers are with Ms Hendricksons family.Â
Ya because "this isn't the time to talk about guns" even though one was used !
@sargerator This isn't the time to talk about politics.
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 @sargerator Do you think her parents care what type of weapon was used?Â
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Do you think that, just perhaps, a bit of compassion for them and the deceased are in order?
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Make no mistake, there are those who are all too willing to embrace their 1st amendment rights to freedom of speech and expression. While I may disagree with what you say, I will make no efforts to restrain you from saying it. I said my piece about it, I'm just saddened that there are so many here who have such stunning disregard for the emotional wounds that have been suffered.Â
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But, I suppose I should consider the complete lack of character demonstrated almost daily on this forum.Â
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"As a dream comes when there are many cares, so the speech of a fool when there are many words."
Was Green allowed to have a gun legally?
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What is a 16 year old doing with a 23 year old? Where were the parents in all of this?
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@RalphCramden I agree with you regarding the 16-year-old with the 23-year-old. Far too many breeders and far too few parents. As for your gun comment, why don't you just focus on the story. Before you know it, people are going to be thinking you are a gun nut.
 @I812 Â
I don't worry what others think of me. Since I retired I can now say what ever I want to and don't have to play the political BS I did when I was working.
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As for the breeders, they are like the plague and in our intentionally designed dependent society this is the predicted result. I look forward to the financial collapse of the US so that we can get back to basics and stop enabling the entitlement society.
 @RalphCramden I'm surprised you didn't ask why the 16-year-old didn't have a gun to protect herself.
 @correctÂ
Because I know the gun laws and she is not legally able to protect herself until she is 21 outside of her home.
 @Sundowner LE is one of the toughest jobs in the world, equal only to the G.I . Anyone who suits up everyday with a target on their back, anyone who takes an oath to protect you, me and our families...has my respect and my thanks.
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I implore you to reconsider your remarks, one bad apple doesn't mean the whole bunch is rotten.
 @RalphCramden Kinda like Mr. CrazyCop from Hillsboro.  I sure feel better when I know LE has a gun at home to protect and defend his family against bad guys.