Snowbound Oregon man calls for help, arrested on sex charges

ASTORIA, Ore. — A 37-year-old Oregon man who called for help getting his rental car out of deep snow was instead arrested on suspicion of attempted rape and custodial interference after sheriff's deputies found him with a 13-year-old girl.

Clatsop County Sheriff Tom Bergin said Tuesday that Christopher Thomas Knox, of Hillsboro, Oregon, told deputies the girl was his daughter, but she was actually missing from her home in King County, Washington.

Investigators believe Knox sexually abused her near her home and then a second time somewhere between Tacoma, Washington and Astoria, Oregon.

Anyone who saw the two in a black 2018 Dodge Journey with California license plates at a rest stop or state park on the evening of Feb. 15 is asked to call authorities.