BEND — Police say a Bend woman was kidnapped by an Uber driver Tuesday, Feb. 13, after he picked her up for a ride.

The 19-year-old woman ordered an Uber ride through the ride-hailing app, but instead of dropping her off, the driver, Rocky Eugene Earl Heath, 48, of La Pine, drove her around town for up to 30 minutes, ignoring her requests to be taken home, according to Bend police.

Heath is facing charges of second-degree kidnapping and disorderly conduct, according to Bend Police Department spokeswoman Sheila Miller.

“We’re investigating the incident, and if other people have had similar experiences they’re encouraged to call non-emergency dispatch,” Miller told The Bulletin Thursday.

On Wednesday, the Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office alleged in court documents that Heath took the passenger, Megan Morstatter, “from one place to another, with the intent to interfere substantially with (her) personal liberty.”

At an arraignment Thursday, Heath posted $2,000 of his $20,000 bail bond and was released from jail, said Deschutes County District Attorney Steve Gunnels.

Mortstatter ordered the Uber for a ride home from work in Bend, which was about five minutes away from her home, authorities say. A driver, who the app and police identified as Heath, picked her up in a 2023 Polestar 2 at 6:26 p.m.

Heath canceled the ride about three minutes later and “drove her around for 25 to 30 minutes despite her requests to take her to her house,” police say. He then dropped her off at home. The woman called 911 at 7:21 p.m.

Police searched for Heath’s car and found him around Northwest Minnesota Avenue and Northwest Lava Road at around 11:18 p.m. They arrested him and booked him at the Deschutes County Jail, police say.

Police towed the car and reported the woman’s allegations to Uber.

Citing the ongoing investigation, Miller declined to disclose what Heath said or did during the drive and where he picked the woman up.

Second-degree kidnapping carries a minimum sentence of 70 months in prison, Gunnels said.

According to court records, Heath has a history of driving violations, his most recent being an April 2022 guilty plea for driving over 100 mph. Aside from that, his only criminal record was a November 1999 conviction for second-degree child neglect, a misdemeanor.

Attempts to reach Morstatter and Heath’s defense attorney for comment Thursday morning were unsuccessful.

Anyone with a similar experience should call the nonemergency dispatch line at 541-693-6911.