Washington County Sheriff's Lt. Scott Ryon told The Oregonian on Wednesday that the report was "misfiled" and never made it to child protection workers.

The sheriff's office has discretion over reporting such allegations, but DHS would have become involved in the case had it been reported, said Patricia Feeny, spokeswoman for the agency.

Without the report, the case was not investigated until late September, when Andrew James Garver, 38, and Michelle "Mimi" Smith disappeared. Beaverton police have issued an arrest warrant for the coach on charges of second-degree kidnapping.

Sheriff Rob Gordon said Thursday that based on the newspaper's story, he has told the department's professional standards unit to examine how the information was handled after deputies took the initial call Sept. 2.

The deputies who called at the Smith residence Sept. 2 filed reports saying there was no evidence of a crime at that time, it said.

However, a second report outlining an interview with Michelle Smith was not forwarded to detectives, the department said in the statement, "and it is unknown at this time how it was mishandled."

It said there is no evidence of staff misconduct at this time.

Deputies first heard allegations that Garver was sexually abusing Smith when the girl's parents called 9-1-1 on Sept. 2 to report that Garver was causing a scene at their Beaverton-area home.

At the time, Sherry and Dave Smith told deputies they suspected Garver of having a sexual relationship with their daughter and, according to sheriff's office records, feared she would take off with the coach.

One of the two deputies who responded to the call flagged his report for referral to DHS. The second deputy's report, which was not lost, didn't contain explicit instructions to be forwarded to DHS.

Although such allegations have fallen through the cracks at DHS in the past, the agency implemented stricter policies after the disappearance and killing of two Oregon City girls last year. The agency now is required to investigate, determine whether child abuse has occurred and evaluate potential safety threats within 30 days of a report.

Ryon said he also referred the case to detectives for further investigation Sept. 9, but nothing was done until after Sept. 26, when Garver cleaned out his bank accounts and the teen left a note with a friend at school saying she was running away.

"In an ideal world, the detectives would be able to thoroughly investigate everything that crosses their desk," said Sandy James, spokeswoman for the sheriff's office. "You have to take the most important ones first," she said.