Oregon is in 8th place of missing persons in the entire US. Why is that? Let’s take a deep dive and see. According to World Population, there are currently 527 people missing in Oregon alone, which is a rate of 12.48 missing persons per every 100,000 citizens.
One way people could go missing in the state of Oregon is in the forest. About 47% of Oregon is forest land, perfect for hidden predators or unknown natural disasters. There are 44 known missing persons on “The Missing List” for National and State Parks. Though the list is not complete, it stretches way back to 1911 to 2022. Michael Dean Voss went missing in the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest and was officially reported missing on 10-10-2019 by relatives who lived in the area. The only information sheriffs were able to find about where he might have gone was his abandoned car. Sadly, this case has been labeled a cold case with no more information available. Another person on this list is Gerren Kirk, who went missing on December 3rd, 2014 in the Mount Hood National Forest. He was last seen in his home on December 2nd, reporting that he was going to go hiking and camping, and would return on the 6th. His family grew worried when he never returned and reported him missing. The officers found his car in the Frog Lake Campground, but sadly an extensive search of the Forested area turned up no additional information. This list is very long, but most end the same. Lack of information leaves these poor people lost to the wilderness for years to come.
Another way people tend to go missing here in Oregon is the ocean. Just last year in May, a student of Beaverton school district was lost to the sea. A group of four young adults went for a swim at Canon Beach, when a riptide pulled them farther than the shore than they had planned. 2 of them were able to swim to the shore on their own, and one was pulled in by a rescue swimmer. Sadly, the last was unable to make it in time, and the rescue swimmer could not find them. This last student was never found.
In 2021, there was another child lost to sea on Canon Beach. The 11-year-old girl was exploring the low tide when suddenly a riptide dragged her out. Though her body was recovered, she did not survive. This is the case in most ocean accidents, the body is found. But in more unlucky cases, the body is never recovered.
A different way that people go missing in Oregon, is on the vast majority of highways. The most prominent example of this is the Ghosts of Highway 20. The known victims in this case are Kaye Turner, 13-year-old Rachanda Pickle, Melissa Sanders, Sheila Swanson, and Marlene Garielsen. These women were all kidnapped, raped, murdered and hidden along this highway. Marlene, however, was able to convince her attacker to let her go. The perpetrator’s name is John Ackroyd, and he was convicted for these assaults. There is reason to believe he may have done this to other women, for some of the bodies, such as Ruchanda, were never recovered. Not only are there killers looking for victims, but there are also sex traffickers who prey on vulnerable hitchhikers or homeless people who sleep on the sides of roads and highways.
So, in conclusion, there are many ways a person could go missing, but I believe that the most prominent ways people go missing here in Oregon are in the forest, in the sea, or in the maze of highways our state has.
