October 2, 2026 10:50 a.m. 

Sutherlin Police are seeking the public’s help as they try to recover a historic steam whistle that was cut from the city’s 1921 Cooke Oil-Fired Steam Locomotive on September 15th.

Police Chief Troy Mills said an investigation into the theft led officers to a suspect who lives in California. Mills said an arrest warrant was issued for 18-year-old Brenden Miller of Redding along with a search warrant for his home. SPD officers traveled to Redding and with the assistance of the Redding Police Department, contacted Miller at his residence. He was ultimately taken into custody and charged with first-degree counts of theft and criminal mischief.

Mills said unfortunately the whistle was not recovered at the residence, and no information was given to law enforcement to help determine the known whereabouts of the whistle. The whistle is a Star Brass steam whistle, which was cut from the locomotive while it was on display in Central Park.

Mills said the locomotive is an important piece of Sutherlin and Douglas County history. The Cooke locomotive represents the type of steam engine used during the region’s logging era to haul logs and other timber products from the Cascade Mountains above Sutherlin. The locomotive is part of a historic display that also includes a coal car and an original caboose that once traveled through Sutherlin and Douglas County.

Mills said the removal of the whistle is not simply the loss of a piece of equipment. It is the loss of an artifact connected to the history of Sutherlin and the region’s logging heritage.

SPD is asking anyone who may have information about the theft, the whereabouts of the whistle, or who observed suspicious activity around the locomotive on or around September 15th to contact them at 541-459=2211.