A grieving son has accused Oregon authorities of not “giving a damn” after it took them nearly two months to find his dead mother in the wreckage of her car.
Kathleen Wilson was last seen alive on August 5 after embarking on a 230-mile trip to see a friend in Chiloquin and spend the night at a trailer park in Myrtle Creek.
As the days passed, the Myrtle Creek Police Department said the 69-year-old widow had disappeared in the “vast desert in front of 138 East” (sic).
It was on September 25 when she was found dead in her brown 2012 Chevy Cruz near mile marker 53, just six miles from where she was last seen.
“He was about 15 feet off the road,” his son Darreld Carey told DailyMail.com.
Kathleen Wilson, 69, went missing on August 5 during a 230-mile road trip through Oregon.
The grandmother was caught on camera at a gas station in one of the latest sightings.
McMinnville’s grandmother had left the trailer park at 6 a.m. on August 5 to drive the final 140 miles to Chiloquin.
At 7:34 a.m. she was seen driving in the Dry Creek area on Highway 138 East, about six miles from where her car was eventually recovered.
The alarm went off when she didn’t show up at her destination that night and Myrtle Creek police began their search.
Within days, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon State Police, Forest Service authorities and local fire crews engaged in an “exhaustive search” for the missing woman.
On August 8, Oregon State Police brought in a plane to assist in the search, but the attempt was soon abandoned.
“Unfortunately, because the smoke from the fires was heavy and at low altitude, they were unable to continue the search,” MCPD said later that day.
Carey said there was no reason not to resume the aerial search when the air cleared.
“Maybe at first, but I honestly don’t think they gave a damn,” he added.
‘My niece is there and she says there was a clear blue sky. She was literally six miles from where she was last seen on camera.
“At this point in the investigation, it has been determined that Wilson most likely drove down the North Umpqua Highway from Roseburg and became lost somewhere in the vast desert in front of 138 East,” Myrtle Creek police posted on July 13. August.
‘We would like to make sure we are clear; This case is not closed and the investigation is ongoing. This case will not be closed until Wilson is found.
McMinnville’s widow was seen driving through the Dry Creek area on Highway 138 East, about six miles from where her car was eventually recovered.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon State Police, Forest Service authorities and local fire crews participated in an “extensive search” for his red Chevy.
It wasn’t until 9:27 a.m. Wednesday that an Oregon Department of Transportation employee working on Highway 138 East near mile marker 53 saw the remains of the car on a “steep embankment.”
Twenty-eight days after the grandmother disappeared, Hey wrote, “This week we will be checking with the Oregon State Police for updated information on the likelihood that an air search could be productive.”
It wasn’t until 9:27 a.m. Wednesday that an Oregon Department of Transportation employee working on Highway 138 East near mile marker 53 saw the remains of the car on a “steep embankment.”
“The vehicle was in a location that no one could see,” Myrtle police insisted.
‘Preliminary information from the scene indicates that Wilson was driving east on Highway 138 East when his vehicle, for an unknown reason, crossed the road and went over a steep embankment on the opposite side of the road.
“The Douglas County Medical Examiner’s Office responded and took possession of the body.”
Carey said his brother David arrived at the scene and discovered their mother had survived the crash and had unbuckled her seat belt in an attempt to get out.
“The day she disappeared I was going to go down to look for her and they told me that it wasn’t necessary, that they were going to take care of it,” he added.
“I truly believe that if I had ignored them, my mother would still be alive today.”