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Police seek alleged student impersonator By JILL BRISKEY Medford police suspect that a 26-year-old local man who allegedly passed himself off as a high school student twice in the last six years has skipped town and possibly assumed a new identity. Former Medford resident Daniel Charles Ray Hanson was arrested in January after an investigation led police to believe that Hanson lied about his age and produced fake documents to pass himself off as a 17-year-old South Medford High School student. In February, Hanson was arraigned in a Jackson County court on two counts of first-degree forgery and one count of second-degree forgery. A bench warrant was issued for his arrest in February when Hanson failed to show up for a scheduled court appearance. Investigators have been looking for him ever since, and Medford police officer Phil Steigleder said he wouldn't be surprised if Hanson has assumed another fake identity. "He kind of dropped off the face of the earth," said Steigleder, a school resource officer who investigated the case. "We're ready to go (to trial); we just need to locate him." Prosecutors allege that Hanson falsified his birth date and Social Security number in order to attend South Medford High School. Hanson, a former Eagle Point student who graduated in 1994 with honors, allegedly lied and told school officials that his mother recently died and he was homeless. School officials helped Hanson obtain food stamps, clothing and offered housing assistance. Police said Hanson blew his cover when a school employee spotted him drinking beer at a local pizzeria. The incident took place following a high school basketball game in which Hanson officiated. The students were apparently celebrating. Steigleder said Hanson admitted the scam when interviewed but did not tell officers what his motivation was. "We can only speculate," Steigleder said. "We don't know." During the investigation, Steigleder discovered Hanson allegedly pulled the same stunt at Phoenix High School in 1995. Hanson reportedly used the same story about being a homeless orphan, but claimed he was an American Indian from an Apache reservation in New Mexico. Although arrested by Phoenix police and charged with numerous counts of forgery, court records do not indicate if the case was prosecuted. The Jackson County deputy district attorney handling Hanson's case was unavailable for comment. Anyone with information regarding Hanson's whereabouts is urged to contact Medford police at 770-4783 or Steigleder directly at 774-2544, ext. 2843. Reach reporter Jill Briskey at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.