July 18, 2023 11:20 a.m. 

Roseburg Police detained a man in the South Umpqua River for alleged thefts, early Tuesday.

An RPD report said at 5:40 a.m. a neighbor on West Oriole Drive called and said a suspicious man was paddling down the river in a kayak, while towing another kayak and two paddleboards. When officers tried to talk to the 32-year old, he quickly paddled to the middle of the river and away from them.

The suspect went several hundred yards down river and ultimately got out of the kayak on the Northwest Troost Street side of the water. The man would not come out of the thigh deep water so an officer waded in and took him into custody.

During that time, the owners of the kayaks and paddleboards were located and notified of the theft. Their property, worth just over $1,000, was returned to them.

The man is on the parole and his parole officer authorized that he be detained for committing a new crime. He was charged with first-degree theft and for a parole violation. The suspect was detained without bail.