The Oregonian newspaper is reporting federal law enforcement officials have launched an investigation after a number of Saudi students living in the United States vanished while they were facing serious criminal charges, including manslaughter and rape. The paper found that in at least four cases the Saudi government paid the defendants’ bail and legal fees before they disappeared. In one case, police believe Saudi officials snuck a Saudi national out of the country on a private plane using a fake passport so he could avoid being tried for killing a 15-year-old Portland teenager in a hit-and-run.