Oregon daily emerald., October 19, 2004, Page 8, Image 8

11-year-old credited with finding missing boy
Taylor Kahn home and unharmed, his alleged
kidnapper dead thanks to young Matthew Dixon
020477
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SWEET HOME — Ever since he
can remember, 11-year-old Matthew
Dixon has hoped to become a police
officer someday.
And in training for his future ca
reer, he’s accustomed to keeping his
eyes and ears open for anything that
might be out of the ordinary.
Last week, it paid off. It was
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because of Dixon’s sharp eyes and
good memory that police in Linn
County were able to track down 11
year-old Taylor Kahn who had alleged
ly been abducted by his mother’s
boyfriend, Jeffrey Eggiman; police had
issued an Amber Alert for Kahn.
Dixon had been out hunting
with friends last Thursday when
they first encountered Kahn and
Eggiman parked in a black pickup
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on an isolated logging road north of
Sweet Home.
Dixon and his friends hailed the
two, who said they were also out
hunting — but did not appear to have
any gear with them. That struck
Dixon as strange, and he made a note
to himself about Kahn and Eggiman’s
appearance and the license plate of
their truck.
Then, later that night, Dixon was
at home watching television when a
picture of Kahn flashed on the
screen.
“I said, hey, I know that kid. I saw
that kid,” Dixon remembers telling
his mother. She didn’t believe him, so
he persisted.
“They’re going to say it’s a black
Ford Ranger.” They did.
And then they mentioned the li
cense plate Dixon had seen: “X
KAHN.”
Dixon ran to the phone to alert
Mike Luttrell, the father of the friend
he had been hunting with, who
called police.
“If it wasn’t for him, 1 wouldn’t
even have known about the Amber
Alert, and then the trail would have
been cold,” Luttrell told The Gazette
Times in Corvallis.
Authorities are also giving the
credit to Dixon.
“This is not an average recollection
from an 11-year-old,” Linn County
Sheriff Dave Burright said. “He did
an excellent job of letting us know
what’s going on.”
Police were able to track Eggiman
and Kahn to their exact location,
where they shot and killed Eggiman
after he allegedly waved a handgun
at police. Kahn was unharmed, and
was returned to his mother.
Lorenzen: New perspective brought to Board
continued from page l
called Lorenzen a “deliberate consen
sus builder.”
“He tries to be fair and open to all
points of view,” he said.
Lorenzen said comically that it
was his “striking good looks” that
got him elected.
“I’m bald-headed, have wire glass
es and look like Dick Cheney,” he
said.
John Wykoff, executive director of
the Oregon Student Association, said
one of Lorenzen’s strengths is his
ability to deal with both Republicans
and Democrats.
“At some point securing funding
becomes political,” he said. “You
got to have someone who can ex
plain higher education to both sides
of the aisle.”
Lorenzen said growing up in
Pendleton has shaped his view of
mgner eaucauon.
“(Education) is important for the
general welfare of an individual to as
sure themselves of a secure economic
future,” he said.
Others said Lorenzen’s back
ground will allow him to bring a
different perspective to the table.
Lorenzen is currently the only
board member from eastern Ore
gon, though Adriana Mendoza, an
Eastern Oregon University student,
will officially join the board next
month.
Mendoza said Lorenzen’s election
was “extremely exciting for eastern
Oregon.”
“He will bring a rural perspective,
which is a perspective that has been
underrepresented,” she said.
ASUO President and Oregon Stu
dent Association Chair Adam
Petkun concurred that Lorenzen’s
background will add another
perspective to tne board.
“He’ll be able to ... make sure
everyone’s voice is heard,” he said.
Richmond emphasized, however,
that the background would not bias
his perspective.
“He is not parochial in his views,”
she said. “It’s very important that
anyone who serves on the board take
a broad view of the system.”
Wykoff said the board has moved
beyond the Goldshmidt controversy.
“There’s not time to look back,”
be said.
Additionally, Wykoff emphasized
that Goldshmidt and Lorenzen are
/ery different, saying “it’s like com
paring apples and sailboats.”
“Neil was sort of a hurricane of en
ergy and ideas,” he said. “Henry’s a
soft-spoken guy who listens. ”
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