FBI Portland
Portland Media Office
(503) 460-8060
July 19, 2017

FBI Renews Search for Fugitive Charged with Sex Abuse

The FBI is asking for the public’s help locating a long-term fugitive: Barrett Preston Busschau. Busschau, now 42 years old, disappeared from Oregon in 1993 after Clackamas County authorities arrested him on sex abuse charges. The FBI Laboratory has produced an age-progressed photo of what Busschau may look like now, and the FBI recently profiled Busschau’s case on its fugitive website. His “Wanted by the FBI” poster can be found at https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/cac/barrett-preston-busschau.

On July 27, 1993, a Clackamas County grand jury indicted Buscchau for the alleged molestation of five girls between the ages of ten and 15. He was 18 years old at the time. The charges include:

  • 1st degree sexual penetration with a foreign object
  • 1st degree sex abuse
  • 3rd degree sodomy
  • 3rd degree rape
  • 3rd degree sex abuse

Busschau was released pending trial, but he fled before his next court appearance. In February 1994, a Clackamas County grand jury indicted him for failure to appear. That same year, the FBI obtained a federal fugitive warrant charging him with Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution.

Busschau is a native of South Africa, and he had been living in the United States since 1984 as a legal permanent resident. Investigators believe he may have traveled to California and/or Panama following his disappearance, but the last known sighting of him places him in South Africa.

Investigators do believe there may be people still living in the Portland-metro area who have information that could help lead the FBI to Busschau. Anyone with information is asked to call the FBI at (503) 224-4181 or submit a tip to https://www.fbi.gov/tips.