Medford police join in search near Wimer for armed woman whose brother says she is unstable

WIMER — A mentally unstable woman who allegedly shot at her brother in a fit of revenge eluded police officers, dogs and helicopters in the woods outside Wimer Thursday.

"We are very concerned about her mental condition," said Jackson County Sheriff’s Capt. Joe Puckett. "She is armed and she has already shot at somebody."

Police spent at least eight hours searching the Wimer area for Elizabeth Rose Sabin, 48, who is considered armed and dangerous. They were continuing to patrol as of press time.

About 8:45 a.m. Thursday, Sabin allegedly fired an undetermined number of shots from a small-caliber rifle at her 44-year-old brother Albert Sabin, who was on the front porch of the family’s trailer home in the 600 block of Minthorne Road. Albert Sabin dove back into the house unharmed and the family called police.

Elizabeth and Albert’s brother, Larry Sabin, 59, who lives in the house and was home at the time, said he believes he was the intended victim. He said he was scheduled to testify as a character witness in a civil suit filed by his sister, but the suit was thrown out.

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He said his sister was angered at his participation and will not give up trying to kill him.

"She’s been in and out of institutions for years," he said. "And she won’t give up. She’s not going to quit. She could still be out in those woods. She lived in some caves above the Wimer Bridge for over a year and a half. She knows how to live on nothing."

Larry Sabin said the bullets missed his brother by only two inches and could have killed anyone in the home.

"That bullet blew right through the trailer. Right past where my grand-daughter dresses each morning," he said.

Granddaughter Sara Dunton, 18, one of five family members in the home at the time of the shooting, said she was barely awake when her great-uncle Albert Sabin ran back into the house.

"Albert ran in and told us to get down on the floor," said Dunton. "He said (Elizabeth Sabin) was out there shooting. I was sitting in the front room. I was scared."

Jackson County sheriff’s deputies arrived quickly and escorted the family members and two workers on the property to safety. The more than a dozen sheriff’s personnel were joined in their search for the shooter by Medford police, a Medford K-9 unit, a helicopter hired by the sheriff’s department and Rogue River police.

At first deputies thought they had Elizabeth Sabin contained in the woods nearby. But by 2 p.m., the search shifted to a trailer in the Hoff Estates at 8232 E. Evans Creek Road, where Elizabeth Sabin had lived before she was evicted earlier in the week.

Police said they are familiar with Elizabeth Sabin. In April, she climbed atop a bridge in Grants Pass and threatened to jump into the Rogue River. Larry Sabin said something should have been done about his sister’s mental condition at that time.

"They should have given her some sort of help then," he said. "They put her in that 24-hour thing (mental hold) and then turned her loose. Now she’s out there and she’s going to keep coming until she finishes the job if they don’t catch her."

Elizabeth Sabin is believed to still be on foot and may be headed toward the Grants Pass area. Described as 5-foot-5 and 220 pounds, she was dressed in olive pants and carrying an orange backpack at the time of the attack. Anyone with information regarding Sabin’s whereabouts is advised to contact the sheriff’s department immediately at 774-6800.

Reach reporter Sanne Specht at 776-4497 or e-mail sspecht@mailtribune.com.