Sheriff's deputies said Monday a body found this weekend in a crashed car at the bottom of a ravine near Crown Point is that of a Hillsboro man wanted for assaulting his estranged wife.
A hiker discovered the wrecked car containing the body of Aaron Bryce-Dolve Griffin, 34, of Hillsboro at 5 p.m. Saturday, March 9, at the bottom of an embankment off the East Historic Columbia River Highway, said Lt. Steve Alexander, Multnomah County Sheriff's Office spokesman.
Griffin was wanted on a Washington County warrant for the Dec. 17 assault of his 31-year-old estranged wife at a Beaverton motel on Canyon Road. The man allegedly used a metal pry bar to break a window in the woman's motel room. Then he attacked her and a male companion with the pry bar, pulled the woman out of the room and dragged her along the pavement toward his car.
A bystander saw the commotion and helped the woman escape, but Griffin fled in a green 2003 Dodge Durango he stole from the car dealership where he worked.
Washington County issued a warrant for Griffin's arrest on charges of assault, kidnapping and burglary, but he had been on the lam since the assault.
On Saturday evening, Multnomah County sheriff's deputies and Corbett firefighters responded to a hiker's report of a wrecked car at the bottom of a ravine near Crown Point. Rescuers could see the vehicle, and it appeared to have been there for an extended amount of time, Alexander said.
The location of the vehicle, difficult terrain and late hour caused enough concern for the safety of rescuers that deputies opted to return in the morning.
On Sunday, March 10, rescuers worked for an hour and 40 minutes to reach the vehicle. Inside they found a body that has since been identified as Griffin.
The state's medical examiner will determine the cause and manner of death.
The sheriff's office search and rescue team, Corbett Fire Department, Portland Mountain Rescue, U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement, Oregon Department of Transportation and Oregon Parks and Recreation Department assisted in the investigation.