Police chase naked sex offender through West Salem

Some residents in West Salem could have witnessed quite the scene Tuesday morning as Salem Police were hot on the trail of a naked man running through the neighborhood.

It started on Tuesday around 8:30 a.m, when a Salem Police officer learned that a man with a warrant for his arrest, 49-year-old James E. Bufford, was staying in a West Salem residence.

The warrant was issued after Bufford's failure to register as a sex offender following a prior rape conviction, said Lt. Dave Okada with Salem Police.

So the officer headed out to the home in the 1100 block of Alpine Drive NW to make contact with him.

At first, Bufford started to walk out of the residence, dressed in nothing but his underwear. But then he suddenly realized it was the police outside his door. So he turned and bolted out of the back.

Thus began a lengthy foot chase through the hills of West Salem, as Bufford dashed through yards, hopped over fences and barreled through bushes in his attempts to flee.

Salem Police quickly established a perimeter around the area near Orchard Heights and Taybin Roads NW.

But at some point during the pursuit and in glimpses of their suspect, police realized that he was now stark naked.

"We believe in going over a fence that he lost that underwear," Okada said.

A K-9 unit was brought to the scene to help officers search for Bufford, when police ultimately tracked him to a residence that was under renovation in the 1200 block of Valley View Drive NW.

When Bufford realized the police dog was after him, he decided at that point to surrender to officers. By the time police arrested him around 9:30 a.m., he was wearing pants again — leading officers to believe he must have found them somewhere along the way.

Due to the shenanigans, Bufford is now facing a list of additional charges, including burglary, criminal mischief, theft, escape and interfering with a police officer.

Okada said there was no indication that Bufford was injured in the course of the pursuit. He was taken straight to the jail.

lfosmire@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 399-6709 or follow at Twitter.com/fosmirel