The latest news stories and stories of interest in the Willamette Valley from the digital home of Southern Oregon, from Wynne Broadcasting’s WillametteValleyMagazine.com
Wednesday, April 6, 2022
Willamette Valley Weather
Today– Areas of frost before 9am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 66. Light north northwest wind increasing to 5 to 9 mph in the morning.
Thursday– Mostly sunny, with a high near 78. Calm wind becoming north northwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Friday– Scattered showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 55. Light and variable wind becoming west 5 to 9 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Saturday– Scattered showers. Snow level 2000 feet. Partly sunny, with a high near 52. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Sunday– Scattered rain and snow showers before 8am, then rain showers likely. Snow level 1000 feet rising to 2000 feet in the afternoon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 51.
Linn County Sheriff Asking Public’s Help Identifying Body Left In Harrisburg Cemetery
The Linn County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help in identifying the body of a man left at a rural cemetery in the Harrisburg area.
The body was discovered on March 31, according to a news release from the agency.
Deputies responded to a report of a suspicious wooden box at a cemetery in the 24000 block of Powerline Road, and discovered that the box appeared to be a hand-built casket left behind a tree.
Investigators spoke with the board of directors for the cemetery, who stated there were no scheduled burials and they could not explain why a casket was left at the location, the news release states.
The man’s body had no obvious signs of trauma, according to the news release.
The unidentified man is described as a white adult between 30 to 60 years old, 5-foot-10, weighing 350 pounds and with brown and gray hair. He wore size 10.5 shoes and had a healed surgery scar on his lower back.
The investigation is ongoing. Linn County Detectives are working in conjunction with Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office to determine the identity and cause of death of the deceased. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Detective Division (541) 967-3950.
Eugene Springfield Fire Officials Warn of Man Impersonating Fire Marshal Inspector
Eugene Springfield Fire officials are spreading the word after a person pretended to be a representative with the Fire Marshal’s Office this week.
It happened at about 4:30 p.m. on Monday at a bank in Eugene. Officials said the person told employees at the business they were from the Fire Marshal’s Office and were there to complete an inspection.
An employee called the office to verify the man’s identity and learned he was an imposter. Officials advised the employee to call police for help. The person got away before the police arrived and up to this point, officials said they have not received a description.
“Whether we’re responding to an emergency or doing our fire prevention or enforcement work. We garner a lot of trust from the community,” said Mike Caven, Deputy Chief of Operations for Eugene-Springfield Fire. “It’s incredibly important to us to make sure the public trusts us and knows what to look for when we show up.”
He said every legitimate fire official will schedule an inspection appointment in advance. When the arrive to the scene, they are to have a marked department vehicle, badge, uniform and a form of identification. Caven said the suspect had none of those items.
Officials said if you receive an unexpected visitor, call the agency they say they are from to confirm their identity before allowing them access to sensitive areas. To confirm the identity of a public safety employee outside the office’s regular business hours, you can call the non-emergency line at 541-682-5111.
Redesigned COVID-19 Daily Data Dashboard: http://ow.ly/WEjB50IBwkh Updated every weekday, the dashboard highlights data from several sources that monitor for COVID-19 trends and links to related dashboards for more detailed information. While we’ve made changes to the way we report COVID-19 data, the pandemic isn’t over. We continue to monitor COVID-19 and will report developments to keep you informed.
Register for free today to participate in Point Source Youth’s 2nd Annual Rural Conference on Youth Homelessness
The Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS), Youth Experiencing Homelessness Program and Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) are sponsoring the registration cost for 350 Oregonians to attend Point Source Youth’s 2nd Annual Rural Conference on Youth Homelessness.
Anyone in Oregon who wants to learn more about initiatives and interventions to support youth experiencing homelessness in rural communities is welcome to register online here for the conference using the promo code ODHS200 when registering.
Registration is always free for youth and young adults and they do not need to use the promo code.
Point Source Youth is a leading national partner in advocacy, technical assistance, research and evaluation related to youth experiencing homelessness.
The virtual conference will be held April 12 and 13, 2022. The conference will bring youth advocates, service providers, activists and thought leaders together from rural communities across the United States to focus on best practices for ending youth homelessness through the lens of intersectionality.
Topics of discussion during the two-day conference will include:
- Host home program creation
- Direct cash transfer programs
- Sessions lead by youth who have experienced homelessness
- Providing care and support for LGBTQIA2S+ youth
“We encourage anyone in Oregon who wants to learn more about supporting youth experiencing homelessness in rural communities to register and take advantage of the free registration we are able to provide,” said Claire Seguin, Deputy Director of the ODHS Self-Sufficiency Program. “Whether you are a service provider, volunteer, advocate or someone who wants to help, we hope you take this chance to register at no cost and participate in the conference.”
“Providing opportunities to learn and grow, especially learning from people with lived experience, is one of the most important ways we can shed light on the crisis of youth experiencing homelessness in Oregon,” said Mike Savara, OHCS assistant director of homeless services. “We know that access to services, housing opportunities and culturally responsive services are key to solving this crisis. OHCS is proud to partner with ODHS Youth Experiencing Homelessness Program to provide vital information to folks across Oregon, especially across Rural Oregon, to help generate better outcomes for our youth.”
Learn more about the ODHS Youth Experiencing Homelessness Program online here.
About the Oregon Department of Human Services
The mission of the Oregon Department of Human Services is to help Oregonians in their own communities achieve wellbeing and independence through opportunities that protect, empower, respect choice and preserve dignity.
About Oregon Housing and Community Services
Oregon Housing and Community Services provides resources for Oregonians to reduce poverty and increase access to stable housing. Our intentional focus on both housing and community services allows us to serve Oregonians holistically across the housing continuum, including preventing and ending homelessness, assisting with utilities, providing housing stability support, financing multifamily affordable housing and encouraging homeownership.
Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office and Parabon NanoLabs assist Hood River County Sheriff’s Office in Identifying Skeletal Remains from the 2009 Cold Case
Please note: the name of the identified decedent is being kept private at the request of family members.
On December 24, 2009, the remains of a skeletonized human body were discovered by children playing in a wooded area west of an Oregon Department of Transportation gravel storage facility in Hood River County, Oregon. Law enforcement responded and recovered the almost-complete skeleton of a male individual, a large suitcase full of clothing, and a small backpack with toiletries. No identification for the deceased was found within these items.
An examination of the body determined that the decedent was most likely a Caucasian male, between 30 and 50 years of age at the time of death, around 5’9” in living stature. All teeth were recovered; dental charting and x-rays were created; in 2011, the Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office uploaded the case into the National Missing and Unidentified Person System (NamUs) and submitted a bone sample to the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification. A DNA profile was processed, completed, and uploaded into the CODIS database at that time. Unfortunately, no genetic associations to missing persons or family reference standards in the CODIS database were found. The DNA profile continued to be searched against the national database, with no resolutions.
In 2018, the Oregon State Police Medical Examiner’s Office was awarded a federal grant to perform innovative DNA techniques on unsolved unidentified skeletal remains cases. This case was recognized as one that could potentially be resolved by DNA Phenotyping and Investigative Genetic Genealogy provided by OSP’s vendor lab, Parabon NanoLabs (“Parabon”).
The existing extract from the University of North Texas was shipped to Parabon in March 2021 and an SNP DNA profile was successfully generated.
Parabon was first asked to perform a Snapshot®Advanced DNA Phenotyping analysis. DNA Phenotyping is a technology that analyzes an SNP DNA profile and predicts eye color, hair color, skin color, freckling, the shape of the face, and biogeographic ancestry of the DNA contributor. In this case, Parabon predicted the deceased individual was of Northern European descent, with very fair skin, hazel or brown eyes, dark brown hair, and likely had “some” freckling of the skin during life. This information, along with the image that accompanied the report, was immediately uploaded onto the NamUs website to be used for missing person comparison purposes.
Investigative genetic genealogy (IGG) is a lead generation tool that is used to identify human remains by tying DNA from those remains to a family with a missing person. It is also used in perpetrator cases to point to the likely identity of an individual whose DNA was found at a crime scene. Identification of a person is accomplished through the use of comparative DNA analysis, which measures the amount of DNA that is shared between two people, combined with traditional genealogy research using historical records to infer relationships between individuals.
The investigative genetic genealogy report authored by Parabon NanoLabs and released in June 2021 immediately provided an abundance of compelling information and the strongest investigative lead yet in this 13-year-old cold case. The report strongly suggested that, after discovering genetic connections through both of his parents’ family trees, the decedent was a man who had been reported missing in 2008 from the east coast (his name is being kept private out of respect for the family).
The Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office had already successfully coded and x-rayed all the dental characteristics of this decedent, so a request to compare the antemortem dental records of the missing person to the decedent found in Oregon was made. The charting comparison by the Oregon State Forensic Odontologist proved that the remains were consistent with the dental records of the missing man.
Based on the totality of the genetic information and the consistency between the dental charts, the Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed the positive identification in July of 2021.
In August of 2021, Hood River County approached the family with this sad resolution and received a startling response; the family was unconvinced that the body discovered in Oregon state was that of their missing loved one.
Renowned Parabon Chief Genetic Genealogist CeCe Moore set out to explain the complicated and nuanced genealogy report to the missing man’s family. Although she made a full-fledged effort to convince them, the family requested additional evidence to support the identification. The decision was made to provide further DNA testing to substantiate the genetic link, and an oral swab from a sibling of the missing man was requested for kinship inference analysis.
The Kinship Inference report authored by Parabon NanoLabs in March 2022 was definitive. It stated, “A sample from the kinship tester was compared to the unknown Subject in this case, and they were found to share 2745.9 centimorgans [1] of autosomal DNA (atDNA) with 630.6 centimorgans of the shared DNA fully identical, and 57.5 cM of X-Chromosome DNA (X-DNA)…This amount and type of shared DNA is exclusively consistent with a full (sibling) relationship.”
There are only 2 known biological offspring in this family, and no other male children are known to have been born to the parents identified in the genetic genealogy report. The unidentified body was therefore identified again as the man reported missing in 2008 from the east coast.
“My colleagues and I are grateful for the opportunity to help identify this individual and assist in providing some resolution to his family. As always, we are inspired by the tireless dedication of Dr. Nici Vance, her colleagues at OSP, and the Hood River detectives, who never gave up on this case. The fact that this case has been resolved is directly attributable to their determination and willingness to adopt new investigative technologies and techniques”, said CeCe Moore.
The Hood River County Sheriff’s Office and the Oregon State Medical Examiner’s office have now collaborated with the family; the body was successfully released to the funeral home of their choice in April 2022.
This case represents the nuances and sad realities of cold case investigations, and the fact that Oregon’s efforts reach nationwide. Sometimes family members are hesitant, skeptical, or downright unconvinced of identification, especially after time has elapsed from months to years, to decades. In addition, new DNA technology can be daunting and difficult to explain for those of us now exploring these new techniques. Grant funding has allowed the Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office to provide extensive DNA testing confirmation, proving that OSP is willing to go above and beyond to provide answers for families of the missing.
“The Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office is lucky and honored to have diligent, compassionate, and knowledgeable colleagues in Parabon NanoLabs and genetic genealogists like CeCe Moore, who assist us and our partner agencies in any way they can to resolve cases. We continue to be so grateful for the opportunity to work with Parabon on our cold unidentified person cases.” Dr. Nici Vance, State Forensic Anthropologist, and Human Identification Program Coordinator.
Photo credit: 2-D re-approximation of facial features and pigmentation generated by Parabon NanoLabs in 2021 using the Snapshot® Advanced DNA Phenotyping technology.
[1] A centimorgan is a unit used to measure genetic linkage. One centimorgan translates to approximately one million base pairs of DNA sequence in the human genome. The higher the number of centimorgans, the closer the relatedness the oral swab donor is to the deceased subject. Oregon State Police –
One of Oregon’s Most Prolific Serial Killers Has Resentencing Hearing
Dayton Leroy Rogers, dubbed The Molalla Forest Murderer, will be resentenced on Wednesday after the Oregon Supreme Court overturned his death sentence.
Rogers, who is now 68, has been in prison since his 1989 conviction on 13 counts in connection with the deaths of six women, whose bodies were found in a forest near Molalla in 1987. Rogers had one of the highest confirmed death counts of any Oregon serial killer, and most of his victims were picked up in Portland.
Though it is possible his resentencing could result in a parole hearing in the future, it is likely to result in life imprisonment instead of death. The sentencing hearing is set for 9 a.m. in Clackamas County, where the murders all took place.
The Oregon Supreme Court overturned his death sentence in November 2021 which narrowed the application of the death penalty to match a 2019 law.
Rogers was arrested August 7, 1987 and connected to the rape, torture and deaths of 7 women: Cynthia “Dee Dee” Diane DeVore, 21; Maureen Ann Hodges, 26; Reatha Marie Gyles, 16; Nondace “Noni” Kae Cervantes, 26; Lisa Marie Mock, 23; Christine Lotus Adams, 35; and Jennifer Lisa Smith, 25.
He was convicted of killing 6 of them with a knife. An eighth victim believed killed by Rogers was found but never identified, and Rogers was never charged in her death. https://murderpedia.org/male.R/r/rogers-dayton-leroy.htm
FBI Oregon’s Tech Tuesday: Building a digital defense against a new cryptocurrency scam called Pig Butchering
Welcome to the Oregon FBI’s Tech Tuesday segment. Today: Building a digital defense against a new cryptocurrency scam: Pig Butchering.
The Pig Butchering scam pulls on heartstrings and purse strings.
The fraud is named for the way scammers feed their victims with promises of romance and riches before cutting them off and taking all their money.
It’s run by a fraud ring of cryptocurrency scammers who mine dating apps and other social media for victims.
And the scam is becoming alarmingly popular.
In 2021, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received more than 4,300 complaints related to crypto-romance scams, resulting in more than $429 million in losses.
The scam started in China in late 2019, but, as those numbers indicate, it’s now becoming more prevalent in the United States. Scammers are using translation programs to communicate seamlessly with their victims.
Victims have very similar stories: Meeting someone on a dating app, the scammer gains the confidence and trust of the victim, and then claims to have knowledge of cryptocurrency investment or trading opportunities that will result in substantial profits. The victim is then directed to transfer large amounts of cryptocurrency from the exchange account to cryptocurrency wallets controlled by fraudsters, ultimately losing it all.
Here’s how to protect yourself:
- Never send money, trade, or invest based on the advice of someone you have only met online.
- Don’t talk about your current financial status to unknown and untrusted people.
- Don’t provide your banking information, Social Security Number, copies of your identification or passport, or any other sensitive information to anyone online or to a site you do not know is legitimate.
- If an online investment or trading site is promoting unbelievable profits, it is most likely that—unbelievable.
- Be cautious of individuals who claim to have exclusive investment opportunities and urge you to act fast.
If you are the victim of any online fraud, you should report the incident to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov or call your FBI local office. FBI – Oregon
Grants Pass Missing Person
The Grants Pass Police Department is seeking assistance from the public in locating 30 year old Noah Baker. Baker was despondent after an argument and left his residence in Grants Pass driving a silver Ford Fiesta with Oregon Plate 671MUR.
Baker is described as a white male adult, 5’09”, 170 lbs, brown hair and blue eyes and was last seen wearing black sweats, black shirt, black shoes and a black hat.
If anyone knows of his whereabouts or sees Baker, please call your local law enforcement agency or the Grants Pass Police at 541-450-6260. Reference case #2022-14203 Grants Pass Police Department
Klamath County Sheriff’s Office Asks for Public’s Help in Search For Trucker Suspect
The first real clue to come in on all the missing person cases in the area. Help Klamath Falls Oregon Sheriff Office ID this trucker. He was the last to see this woman alive and could be the key to not only solving this woman’s disappearance but a number of the hundred other women missing in PNW. IF you have any information, please call (541) 883-5130
https://www.facebook.com/pg/Have-You-Seen-Me-Southern-Oregons-Missing-People-161249961222839/posts/