NEWS
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, April 20, 2022
A5
Friends, family saw warning signs
By GARRETT ANDREWS
The Bulletin
BEND — The warning
signs were there, and many
of those in her circle of fam-
ily and friends could see
that Amara Marluke was in
an abusive relationship, her
mother says.
The Portland State Univer-
sity freshman gave Keenan
Reece Harpole, her on-again,
off -again boyfriend and for-
mer star athlete from Bend,
repeated second chances,
even after he struck her ear-
lier this year. She didn’t go to
police or school offi cials.
“Mara tried to end it mul-
tiple times, but she kept
going back, unfortunately,”
said Marluke’s mother, Amy,
using a nickname for her
daughter. “We’d all seen the
warning signs — her friends,
her family — we were all try-
ing to make sure she never
went back to him.”
Ever since her daughter
was found shot in an apparent
homicide early April 4 just off
the PSU campus, Amy Mar-
Marluke
Harpole
luke has heard an outpour-
ing from friends and relatives
who say they saw the same
things.
Harpole, 20, a Mountain
View High School graduate,
has been charged in her kill-
ing and is being held with-
out bail in the Multnomah
County Detention Center.
At a short arraignment
hearing Thursday, April 14,
he entered pleas of not guilty
to murder and a weapons
charge .
The shooting was reported
around 1 a.m. April 4 outside
a convenience store near the
PSU campus. The shooting
location is directly between
Marluke’s apartment and her
workplace, her mother said.
Seven hours later, Harpole
was arrested on property his
family owns outside Bend,
a drive of more than three
hours from Portland.
Police have not released
a suspected motive or other
information in the killing,
but in Harpole’s indictment,
prosecutors call it domestic
violence.
Harpole was Marluke’s
fi rst boyfriend, her mother
said. In high school, Amara
said she wasn’t interested in
dating. It could have been the
gulf in maturity level of the
average high school student
and Amara, who was wise
beyond her years in many
ways.
“Because he was her fi rst
boyfriend, I think that helped
contribute to making her feel
like he was the only one who
would accept her fully,” Amy
Marluke said.
Amara Marluke spent
years recovering from child-
hood trauma.
She lived with her biolog-
ical mother and younger sib-
lings until age 6, when the
state placed the children in
foster care. At 9, she and her
younger sister joined the fam-
ily of Amy and Brad Marluke,
a Beaverton tech consultant
and carpenter with a 2-year-
old son.
“It was the hardest time
in my life, I’m not going to
lie,” Amy Marluke said. “I
think I was prepared for it
to be challenging, but what I
didn’t expect was how much
we would have to change, as
well.”
Years were spent devel-
oping academic skills, learn-
ing healthy boundaries and
working with therapists to
heal some of the old wounds
Amara Marluke had suff ered.
It wasn’t easy but she went
from being two years behind
in school to graduating with
honors at age 18. She earned
a scholarship at PSU and at
the time of her death, was
leaning toward pursuing a
career in music or art therapy .
She met Harpole while
doing laundry. They lived
on the same fl oor of the Uni-
versity Pointe student apart-
ments just off campus. At the
time, he was a running back
on the PSU football team.
There were other warn-
ing signs in their relationship,
clearer now in retrospect,
Amy Marluke said. Harpole
never wanted to meet his girl-
friend’s parents. A date and
time would be set to meet, but
at the last minute, he’d “freak
out” and cancel. But after
he hit Amara, Harpole was
intent on meeting her parents.
But by this point, the family
wasn’t interested, Amy Mar-
luke said.
“We had no interest in
meeting him because we
were trying to make sure that
she stayed far away from
him,” Amy Marluke said.
“He defi nitely was a big fan
of manipulation.”
Bend-based relatives of
Harpole’s did not return calls
seeking comment Thurs-
day. On Monday, one of Har-
pole’s relatives was among
10 witnesses who testifi ed to
a Multnomah County grand
jury. Witnesses also included
a medical examiner, a fellow
PSU student and several Port-
land police offi cers.
Harpole has retained
defense attorney Benja-
min Kim, who declined to
comment.
Brad Marluke’s employer,
Green Hammer Design-Build,
has set up a GoFundMe page
to raise money for funeral
expenses. It’s been so suc-
cessful, the family is discuss-
ing a possible scholarship at
PSU.
When she was young,
Amara sought to help other
kids who grew up in the fos-
ter system. In high school,
she became passionate about
racial justice after joining the
Black Student Union at Sun-
set High School, where she
thrived among students with
similar life experiences.
So it’s likely she would
have gone on to fi ght for vic-
tims of domestic violence,
her mother said.
“While this was not one
of the causes of her heart, I
think it would have been, had
she gotten out of that relation-
ship,” her mother said. “So
we are going to be fi ghting
that on her behalf.”
April 9
7:29 a.m.: Responded for a
91-year-old male with a possible
heart attack on Northwest Bridge
Street.
5:13 p.m.: 911 phone call for
an 82-year-old male with a cath-
eter issue at Valley View Assisted
Living.
April 10
12:02 p.m.: Patient transfer
to St. Charles Medical Center in
Bend.
April 11
12:08 p.m.: John Day Ambu-
lance and Grant County Sher-
iff’s Office dispatched for a
mental subject on Pine Creek
Road in John Day.
3:10 p.m.: John Day and
Prairie City Ambulance dis-
patched for a male subject with
shortness of breath on Highway
26.
7:06 p.m.:
John
Day
and Long Creek Ambulance
responded to report of an
89-year-old female with an
injured hip on Highway 395.
8:24 p.m.: John Day Ambu-
lance and Grant County Sher-
iff responded to a report of an
81-year-old woman who fell and
was bleeding from the head at
Bare Bones in John Day.
9:58 p.m.: John Day and Prai-
rie City Ambulance responded to
a report of an 80-year-old female
in need of a lift assist on Over-
holt Avenue in Prairie City.
April 12
8:53 a.m.: John Day and Prai-
rie City Ambulance dispatched
for a non-emergency transport
at Blue Mountain Care Center in
Prairie City.
2:00 p.m.: John Day Ambu-
lance transport to Grant County
Airport in John Day.
6:36 p.m.: Responded to a
911 call regarding a 91-year-old
female with chest pains on North
Humbolt Street in Canyon City.
• Long Creek Ambulance
April 11
7:06 p.m.: Long Creek and
John Day Ambulance respond to
a report of an 89-year-old female
with an injured hip on Highway
395.
• John Day Fire
April 8
4:20 a.m.: Responded to a
911 call of a field on fire on
Highway 395 South, milepost
7/8C.
COPS AND COURTS
Arrests and citations in the
Blue Mountain Eagle are taken
from the logs of law enforcement
agencies. Every eff ort is made to
report the court disposition of
arrest cases.
Grant County Sheriff
The Grant County Sheriff ’s
Offi ce reported the following for
the week ending April 13:
Concealed handgun licenses: 7
Average inmates: 14
Bookings: 4
Releases: 2
Arrests: 1
Citations: 3
Fingerprints: 5
Civil papers: 11
Warrants processed: 2
Asst./welfare check: 1
April 11
Susan Mitchell, 57, of Red-
mond was cited for driving while
uninsured.
A juvenile was cited for driv-
ing while uninsured and operating
a vehicle without a license.
April 13
Philomena Dutcher, 38, of
Dayville was cited for improper
use of 911.
Justice Court
The Grant County Justice
Court reported the following activ-
ity for the week ending April 13:
Persons on probation: 44
Traffi c citations fi led: 14
Small claims/civil fi led: 2
Eviction judgements in favor
of plaintiff : 1
Hearings held: 7
Dog as a public nuisance: Rob-
ert H Bryant, 46, April 4, fi ned
$265.
Exceeding the speed limit:
Ronald James Salazar, 34, Prai-
rie City, Feb. 24, 89/65 zone, fi ned
$440; Adam Kenneth Sullivan, 47,
Idaho Falls, March 9, 59/30 zone,
fi ned $265.
Failure to comply with special
bobcat regulations: Nicholas Wil-
liam Barker, 46, fi ned $115.
Placing off ensive substances
in waterway: Kyle Lee Hand, 31,
fi ned $440.
Dispatch
Grant County dispatch worked
154 calls during the week ending
April 13, including:
• Oregon State Police
April 6
4 p.m.: Advised of a driving
complaint on Highway 26, mile-
post 165.
April 11
11:37 p.m.: Received a report
of a semi-truck slide-off on High-
way 395 North, milepost 79/80.
April 12
9:01 a.m.: Received a report of
a non-injury accident on Highway
395 North, milepost 93B.
• Grant County Sheriff ’s
Offi ce
April 6
3:36 p.m.: Responded to motor
vehicle accident on Highway 395
South. Units stood down, accident
in Harney County.
8:06 p.m.: Responded to mul-
tiple calls of a large hog on the
highway on Highway 26, milepost
142/143.
April 7
6:36 a.m.: Received a call of a
car stolen on West Bench Road in
John Day.
12:36 p.m.: Traffi c stop on
Highway 395 South, milepost 2C.
Driver warned.
1:43 p.m: Responded to a theft
on South Bridge Street in John
Day.
8:51 p.m.: Conducted wel-
fare check on North Ingle Street in
Mount Vernon.
9:27 p.m.: Responded to
reports of a fi re at Canyon Moun-
tain Trail Road 218.
April 8
12:08 a.m.: Responded to an
alarm on West Main Street in John
Day.
8:10 a.m.: Warrant service
attempt in Dayville.
8:59 a.m.: Advised of a tres-
passing complaint on Indian Creek
Road in John Day.
9:02 a.m: Responded to a
non-speaking 911 call from an out-
of-service cellphone in the 2150
Road area.
1:49 p.m.: Responded to a 911
call regarding a mental subject on
Highway 26, milepost 182.
2 p.m.: Cited Susan Rae
Mitchell, 57, Redmond for speed-
ing on Highway 26, milepost 158.
8:42 p.m.: Responded to a
juvenile problem on Patterson
Drive in Canyon City.
9:58 p.m.: Responded to a
noise complaint on Southwest
Hillcrest in John Day.
April 9
8:16 a.m.: Responded to a
domestic dispute on South Canyon
Boulevard in John Day.
11:48 a.m.: Advised of an
ongoing domestic issue on West
Franklin Street in Dayville.
1:18 p.m.: Responded to a civil
issue on North McHaley Street in
Prairie City.
3:03 p.m: Responded to report
of menacing on Lower Yard Road
in John Day.
4:56 p.m.: Responded to a
report of a dispute on Lower Yard
Road in John Day.
April 10
5:45 a.m.: Responded to a
report of domestic abuse at Blue
Mountain Lodge in Mt. Vernon.
Julien Christopher Hunter, 39, of
Redmond was arrested.
6:58 a.m.: Responded to a
report of domestic abuse at Mead-
owbrook Apartments, John Day.
10:27 a.m.: Received a report
of a possible restraining order vio-
lation on North McHaley Avenue
in Prairie City.
10:56 a.m.: Advised of a report
of criminal mischief at Smokey
Creek Ranch in Dayville.
6:15 p.m.: Responded to a
domestic dispute in Kimberly.
8:39 p.m.: Report of a suspi-
cious subject on South Canyon
Boulevard in John Day.
11:59 p.m.: Responded to a
call of shots fi red on River Lane in
John Day.
April 11
7:49 a.m.: Report of an
attempted theft at Grant County
Fairgrounds.
7:53 a.m.: Arrested Christo-
pher Hoppe, 38, of Mt. Vernon on
a Grant County felony warrant on
Ingle Street in Mt. Vernon.
8:25 a.m.: Responded to a
report of a juvenile problem on
Patterson Drive in Canyon City.
8:50 a.m.: Conducted a wel-
fare check on North Johnson
Street in Prairie City.
12:02 p.m.: Report of a road
hazard on Highway 395 South,
milepost 11C.
12:42 p.m.: Responded to a
report of an unwanted subject at
Chester’s in John Day.
1:43 p.m.: Report of unautho-
rized entry of a motor vehicle at
Grant Union High School.
1:45 p.m.: Report of an aban-
doned vehicle on Northwest Third
Avenue in John Day.
2:36 p.m.: Report of an open
door. Welfare check conducted on
Northeast Dayton Street in John Day.
5:16 p.m.: Report of fraud on
North Humbolt Street in Canyon
City.
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6:40 p.m.: Welfare check con-
ducted at the Depot RV Park in
Prairie City.
6:56 p.m.: Advised of a theft
on South Humbolt Street in Can-
yon City.
April 12
11:53 a.m.: Received a report
of horses laying in a fi eld some-
what lethargic on Highway 26
milepost 137.
12:44 p.m.: Received a report
of possible disorderly conduct at
the Grant County Fairgrounds.
2:13 p.m.: Received 911 call
regarding a civil issue on North
McHaley Street in Prairie City.
3:19 p.m.: Report of a suicidal
subject in Prairie City.
3:19 p.m.: Philomena Dutcher,
38, of Dayville was cited for mis-
use of 911 in Prairie City.
6:15 p.m.: Assisted a motor-
ist at Highway 26 and Apple Road.
6:56 p.m.: Responded to a
report of trespassing at Riverside
Mobile Home Park, John Day.
April 13
8:06 a.m.: Received a report
of animal abuse on Running Buck
Road in in Long Creek.
9:18 a.m.: Report of multi-
ple vehicles off the road on Dixie
Summit.
1:13 p.m.: Performed a wel-
fare check on animals in Mount
Vernon.
• John Day Ambulance
April 7
5:12 p.m.: Responded to a 911
cellphone call on Silvers Lane in
Mt. Vernon.
April 8
6:42 a.m.: Responded for an
81-year-old female with confusion
and a lack of coordination at Blue
Mountain Care Center in Prairie
City.
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