The Oregonian Reports That Bob Caldwell, Editor of Its Editorial Page, Was In the Apartment of a 23-Year-Old Woman When He Had a Fatal Heart Attack

Bob Caldwell, editor of the The Oregonian’s editorial page, had fatal heart attack Saturday in the Tigard apartment of a college student he had been paying for sex, according to what the newspaper is reporting tonight on its website.

Here's a portion of the story that The Oregonian is reporting:

The woman called 9-1-1 at 4:43 p.m. to report that Caldwell, 63, was coughing and then unresponsive after a sex act. Washington County sheriff's officers and medical personnel responded and transported him to Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, where he later was pronounced dead.

The woman told deputies she met Caldwell about a year ago at Portland Community College. Caldwell, she said, knew she didn't have much money, so he provided her cash for books and other things for school in exchange for sex acts at her apartment.

Caldwell had not given her money Saturday, she told deputies. They decided against pursuing prostitution charges. Deputies notified Caldwell's family of his death Saturday evening.

The Oregonian previously erroneously reported that Caldwell had been found in his parked car on Saturday.

Caldwell was a 29-year veteran of the Portland daily and a long-time reporter and editor at other Oregon newspapers, including the Eugene Register-Guard, the Albany Democrat-Herald, the Springfield News and the Gresham Outlook, where he was publisher. He led the editorial board when the newspaper won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing.

Caldwell pleaded guilty to a DUII charge in 2010 after he ran his pickup truck into a parked car in downtown Portland.