OROFINO, ID –  A 34-year-old man was taken into custody Monday following a reported domestic violence incident involving a pregnant woman within the boundaries of the Nez Perce Reservation.

Officers with the Nez Perce Tribal Police Department responded at approximately 1:47 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22, to a report of a domestic battery near Highway 7 between Orofino and Ahsahka.

According to police, the victim — an adult female pregnant with twins — reported she was assaulted near the railroad tracks along the Highway 7 corridor. She was transported to Clearwater Valley Hospital, where medical personnel determined she and the unborn children were stable at the time of evaluation.

Police said the suspect, James Gene Pierre, 34, had recently been involved in a dating relationship with the victim. He allegedly fled on foot near mile markers 49 through 51 on Highway 7, prompting a coordinated search involving the Clearwater County Sheriff’s Office, Orofino Police Department and Idaho State Police. Authorities deployed drones equipped with thermal imaging, a fixed-wing aircraft and ground search teams. Evidence believed to be connected to the incident was located during the operation.

Pierre was located Feb. 23 in Orofino and taken into custody without incident. He was booked into the Clearwater County Jail on probable cause for domestic aggravated battery and related offenses. The case will be forwarded to the Nez Perce Tribal Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for charging review.