Man arrested in connection with federal vehicle stolen from Malheur reserve

Ryan Bundy, one of the leaders of the group occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern OR, says they have no real interest in the antiquities. County commissioner Steven Grasty said Wednesday that the county won’t let any group affiliated with the occupiers use its property.

He appears to have driven to the supermarket in a vehicle allegedly stolen from the the US Fish and Wildlife Service, which runs the refuge for rare birds.

The Harney County Sheriff’s Office on Friday afternoon said that shortly after noon on Friday, Oregon State Police arrested Kenneth Medenbach, 62, of Crescent at the Safeway store in Burns. As it drags on, people in the high desert area are growing increasingly tired and wary of the group. Police have not stopped them.

Bundy said he understood the frustration of Harney County residents. That’s the new name occupiers have given to the bird sanctuary they occupy, which is about 30 miles southeast of Burns.

The group has said they won’t leave until the ranchers jailed for arson are freed and the refuge is turned over to local control. Maybe it’s just as well, since Bundy and his renegades were unlikely to receive a warm welcome from locals who have been calling on them to leave since the ordeal began two weeks ago. Robert “LaVoy” Finicum, an Arizona rancher who is participating in the occupation, told reporters Friday that Bundy is preparing a PowerPoint presentation for the gathering. Some are angry with what many consider overly restrictive policies on federal lands but aren’t enthused about the armed group that took over the refuge. A meeting between protesters and the local community set to be held Friday night was cancelled after county officials denied the group usage of county-owned fairgrounds, according to local news station KTVZ.

Thousands of ancient artifacts and maps to prehistoric sites are kept at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon.

She sent a letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service urging federal prosecution, if warranted, on Friday.

Local residents express a mix of feelings about the standoff. In the mid-1990s, Medenbach claimed 640 acres of Bureau of Land Management land in north Klamath County.