Two held in death of Portland attorney

By The Associated Press

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PORTLAND — Police have arrested two people on charges of murdering Douglas Swanson, two days after the Portland attorney's body was found in Mount Hood National Forest.

Stuart E. Lueb and Lydia Marie Way, both of Portland, were accused of aggravated murder, a Portland police spokesman said Saturday night. Detectives declined to release further details.

Swanson, 51, was identified Saturday as the victim of a homicide, but detectives provided few details about how or where he died, other than to say it was not a random killing.

"There is no reason to believe this was a stranger-to-stranger incident," said Sgt. Brian Schmautz, Portland police spokesman. "The evidence suggests he agreed to have contact with one or more of the suspects, and at some point he died."

Authorities were trying to determine the nature of Swanson's relationship with his killer or killers. Schmautz said there was no evidence it was connected with his legal cases or his political involvement or that Swanson had a drug problem.

"At this point we have more questions than answers," he said.

Swanson, known for his workers'-compensation expertise and charitable activities, was last seen about 7 p.m. Tuesday. He had attended a school conference with his wife at his 12-year-old son's school, after which he and his wife left in separate cars. Swanson never returned to his Irvington neighborhood that night, nor did he arrive at work the next morning.

Homicide detectives discovered Swanson's body 16 miles east of Estacada late Thursday after he was reported missing about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday morning.

They declined to discuss what led them to search the site, other than "red flags" raised after Swanson missed appointments Wednesday morning at work. "He was very good at keeping in contact with family and friends," Schmautz said.
 
Investigators recovered Swanson's car, a 1997 Subaru Outback wagon they said was used to drive him to the site where his body was found. Authorities declined to say where they recovered the car but released a photograph to news media Saturday, hoping someone might remember seeing Swanson or the car.

Detectives traced calls from Swanson's cellphone and tracked the movement of his car after his disappearance. They said the car traveled to north and northeast Portland, and to Mount Hood National Forest near Fish Creek Road.