Man critical after being shot, abandoned in ditch.

Byline: TRICIA SCHWENNESEN The Register-Guard

SPRINGFIELD - A woman leaving for work Wednesday morning reported a man lying in a grassy ditch outside her rural mobile home near Marcola, and police discovered that someone had shot him once in the back of the head and apparently left him for dead.

The 22-year-old man was taken to Sacred Heart Medical Center, where he underwent surgery, Oregon State Police Sgt. Mike Bloom said. He was in critical condition.

"It appears he might make it, but that might change due to the nature of his injury," Bloom said.

Investigators are searching for a suspect and a motive in the shooting.

Sheryll Skinner called police about 8:30 a.m. to report a transient lying next to her driveway on Hill Road, northeast of Springfield, Bloom said.

"She thought it was someone who had gotten drunk and passed out - sleeping it off," he said.

The state trooper who first arrived at the house found the man conscious but not coherent, Bloom said.

The Mohawk Valley Rural Fire District also responded, and the man was taken to the hospital in an ambulance.

"We were able to talk with him at the time," Bloom said, but declined to release details.

Skinner told police she didn't hear gunshots during the night or early morning, he said.

And it appears that the man didn't live in the area and had been left outside for some time before being discovered.

"There is no information that would lead us to believe that he lived in this general vicinity," Bloom said. "His clothes were wet like he had been out here at least a couple of hours."

Police ask that anyone with information call Bloom or Detective Dave Codding at 726-2550.