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--> --> Shelter worker accused of hiding kidnapper MEDFORD (AP) - Oregon State Police are investigating whether an employee at a battered woman's shelter hid a woman accused of kidnapping her 5-year-old daughter in Wisconsin. The worker, who was not identified, has been suspended pending the results of the investigation. Heidi M. Maerz, 21, was arrested Dec. 6 at the Dunn House shelter on a charge of custodial interference. The charge stemmed from a Wisconsin police warrant issued after Maerz allegedly abducted her daughter from the child's father. Maerz remained lodged in the Jackson County Jail, awaiting extradition to Wisconsin. OSP Lt. Kurt Barthel said police have interviewed at least one shelter worker, but declined to say how many workers might be involved. Officials at Community Works, the agency that runs the Dunn House, say they will cooperate with police. "We don't see ourselves as vigilantes or as people who obstruct justice in any way," said Maggie Jordan, the agency's director of victim services. Maerz, for whom court records list an Eagle Point post office box address, showed up at Dunn House Dec. 5 with the child. She left the shelter with the child, then returned alone, only to be met by police. The child was located a day later at the home of an unidentified Talent resident. Ed Roussell, a Community Works spokesman, said he didn't know if that resident was a shelter worker. Jordan said staff members weren't aware of the Wisconsin warrant against Maerz or of an order to pick up the child. Dunn House clients aren't screened for criminal charges, partly because the agency has no system to do so. "People need to know that this is a safe place to go," Jordan said. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing