Salem Hostage Crisis: Child Safe After Multi-Agency Manhunt for Armed Ex-Boyfriend

SALEM, Ore. — A high-drama kidnapping and hostage-taking in Salem on Saturday ended after a two-and-a-half-hour search involving K-9s, drones, and officers from four agencies.

Officers learned that at 3 a.m. that morning, a suspect entered an apartment in southeast Salem occupied by a woman and a young child. He kept them hostage at gunpoint for 12 hours.

The woman then left the apartment with the man and her child after she was threatened by the suspect.

Salem Police Department responded to a call reporting that a man and woman were struggling over a child. They were at the 400 block of Northeast Hawthorne Avenue.

When officers arrived on the scene, they were told that the suspect, identified as Javier B. Munoz, Jr., had grabbed the child and fled on foot toward Geer Community Park.

Salem Police SWAT team and officers from Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon State Police, and Woodburn Police conducted an extensive search of the area, assisted by K-9s and drones.

Two and a half hours later, Munoz and the uninjured child were found hiding under a trailer near Oregon Avenue and Northeast Bell Road. The child was reunited with the mother.

Javier Munoz (45), is in custody at Polk County Jail and faces a string of charges, including first-degree kidnapping, menacing, unlawful use of a weapon, and burglary. He also faces several outstanding warrants for Polk County cases.

Salem Police were assisted by outside agencies because of other emergency calls, including an immigration protest underway in the city, according to a news release.