La Grande police say sex offender alert no longer applies in Oregon

La Grande police said Kenneth Dunford is no longer believed to be in Oregon after an alert this month warned he could be in the La Grande area and using public places where children gather. Investigators said they confirmed Dunford was in Eastern Idaho as of April 16, a development that sharply narrowed the immediate local concern raised by the original notice.

The April 21 update matters because the first warning was aimed at people who work and spend time in everyday Union County spaces, including libraries, hotel lots and other places where families pass through. Police had described Dunford as a registered Level 3 sex offender, Oregon’s highest-risk notification category, and said he was moving state to state while using different sex offender laws to avoid violations. The alert also said he had been sleeping in a blue 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan with Wisconsin plate BBU5053 and was often seen in hotel or motel parking lots.

Officers asked hotel and motel managers to contact police if they wanted Dunford trespassed from their property, and urged the public to call 911 if they saw him near places where children congregate. With the new update, the department said the reported Oregon concern was no longer active, but the broader lesson remained: transient offenders can move quickly across county and state lines, and local warnings depend on rapid public communication as much as on patrol work.

That warning system is built around Oregon’s highest-risk registry tier, which requires the widest range of notification. Oregon State Police says its registry tracks people convicted of sex crimes who reside, work or attend school in Oregon. The FBI says the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website pulls together registry information across state, tribal and territory jurisdictions, while Idaho State Police notes that some offenders may not show up in map searches if they are homeless or living out of state but working in Idaho.

La Grande police thanked the community for its vigilance, underscoring how local safety alerts often rely on residents, businesses and law enforcement sharing information quickly. The update gave families, school staff and downtown businesses a clearer picture of the immediate risk, while also showing how quickly that picture can change when officers confirm a suspect’s whereabouts. Union County has seen similar enforcement and notification efforts before, including a Dec. 7, 2025 arrest for failure to update an address and a 2023 wanted sex offender notice.