La Grande police arrest woman wanted in Washington child-molestation case

La Grande police arrested 47-year-old Marie Ann Routt at the La Grande Police Station after an active Cowlitz County, Washington, warrant surfaced during work on an unrelated case. By that afternoon, Routt was reportedly being housed in the Union County Jail, turning a routine contact at the station into an interstate custody matter tied to a serious child-safety allegation.

The warrant was issued by Cowlitz County Superior Court on June 8 after Judge Michael H. Evans signed the order on June 6 based on probable cause. The underlying charge was Child Molestation III, a Washington offense that can be filed when a person has sexual contact with someone at least 14 but under 16 years old and the accused is at least 48 months older. Washington law classifies third-degree child molestation as a Class C felony.

The arrest gives Union County residents a clear example of how local officers can become the first point of contact for cases that originate far beyond Oregon. In this case, officers were not reportedly looking for Routt on the Washington warrant when the active alert came to light, which underscores how routine police work can trigger immediate enforcement of out-of-state court orders once a warrant is confirmed.

No local victim, local accomplice, or broader Union County threat was identified in the information provided. The confirmed local facts are limited to the arrest at the La Grande Police Station and Routt’s placement in the Union County Jail, where inmate status is tracked by the Union County Sheriff’s Office. Washington’s court case search system says its data may update within about 24 hours, which makes the warrant record and custody status especially important for anyone following the case as it moves forward.