Teen brutally attacked during Pierce Co. OfferUp meeting

GRAHAM, Wash. -- A young man is fighting for his life after a brutal assault by a man who claimed he was interested in purchasing his car through the Washington-based app OfferUp.

The 18-year-old victim in the case tried to do everything the right and safe way. He took his grandfather with him and met the potential buyer in a public parking lot during the day.

Detectives say once he agreed to let the suspect take the car for a test drive, everything went terribly wrong.

"Unfortunately there were ulterior motives here and the person who came to try and buy the car assaulted the car owner extensively and left him on the side of the road and took the vehicle," said Pierce County Sheriff’s Detective Ed Troyer.

Investigators say the victim's grandfather stayed behind in the grocery store parking lot in Graham while the victim and suspect went for the test drive. When the victim never returned, his grandfather called 911.

He was found on the side of the road, bloodied and severely beaten. The attack was five days ago, and the he is still in intensive care and unconscious.

Detectives say they found the stolen Audi outside a home, but are continuing to investigate and have not made any arrests.

Troyer says when selling or purchasing something through an app or site to have at least two people with you and make it known to the person you're meeting that you know who they are. There are also designated safe places to meet at many police departments throughout the state.

The sheriff's office is asking anyone with information on the incident to contact them.


Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information that leads to an arrest. Submit the information anonymously at http://www.P3Tips.com or by calling 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). You can also use the P3 Tips App on your cell phone.