missing and cold cases of the pacific northwest

Nachida Chandara has been missing since March 14th, 2007. She was only 15 years old at the time she was reported missing, and there are very few details about available about the circumstances around her disappearance. What is known is that Nachida was last seen at her family’s home in Phoenix, Arizona the day disappeared. She left her home sometime after 10pm, and never returned again. After she was reported missing, authorities classified Nachida as a runaway.

Two months later, in May 2007, investigators were somehow able to verify that Nachida was in Detroit, Michigan. She was believed to be using the name Lisa Tran as an alias. It is unclear how investigators received this information, and there have not been any other known sightings of her since May 2007. However, various sources state that Nachida may be in Seattle, Washington, or Miami, Florida. Those two places are far from each other and it is unclear how Nachida might be linked to them.

Eugene Wekesa has been missing since November 24th, 2010. Eugene was 22 years-old at the time of his disappearance, and he lived with his mother and brother in Bellevue, Washington. He was a student at Bellevue College and was very dedicated to school. According to his mother, Eugene spent the morning of November 24th studying. It was the day before Thanksgiving, so while Eugene studied, his mother went grocery shopping at Safeway in preparation for their Thanksgiving meal. When his mother returned from shopping, Eugene was still studying. However, once his mother realized she had forgotten to get a few things, Eugene offered to go back to Safeway to get them. Surveillance cameras captured Eugene both entering and exiting the store by himself. 

18 year old Marizela Perez was a freshman at the University of Washington in Seattle when she vanished on March 5th, 2011. On that day, Marizela left her home in the Rainier Beach area to head to the university’s campus, but she never arrived there, and never returned home as planned. Her last known location was a Safeway grocery store near the university, where she was seen between 2 and 3 pm. While shopping, Marizela purchased orange juice, trash bags, Tylenol and over-the-counter sleeping medicine. She left the store with those items and then seemingly vanished; she has not been seen or heard from since. The last activity on her phone was a text message that was sent to her around 2:45pm. After that, Marizela’s phone was turned off and has still never been recovered.

Marizela lived with her aunt and uncle at the time of her disappearance. She is originally from New Jersey, but had recently moved to Seattle for college. Marizela’s family members said that she was depressed in the months before her disappearance, since her grandfather had recently passed away and she had also recently ended a relationship. A private investigator hired by the family believes that Marizela committed suicide. However, her family said that she seemed happy in the days leading up to her disappearance and they do not believe she was suicidal. Over the years since her disappearance, Marizela’s family has expressed frustration towards the law enforcement working on her case. Due to the fact that there is no evidence that a crime was committed, police are unable to obtain a warrant to get access to Marizela’s Internet and cell phone records. Therefore, it is currently unknown whether or not Marizela was in contact via Internet or cell phone with somebody who might have information on her disappearance. It is also currently unknown if any of her Internet searches or activities alluded to suicide. Without this information, investigators do not have very many leads to follow in her case.

The last known image of Ruthie Fawn Kindness, uploaded to her Facebook page on January 27th, 2011. The 20 year-old vanished a week and a half later, on February 7th, 2011.

Ruthie was released from police custody in Federal Way, Washington just hours before her disappearance. She had been arrested on an outstanding warrant. Ruthie later called her mother from a payphone at the Paradise Bowling Alley in Parkland, Washington. This is the last time her family has heard from her. Ruthie has never been seen or heard from again. 

Ruthie has been classified as an endangered missing person. Despite this, investigators have not released many details about her disappearance. A Facebook page titled ‘Where’s Ruthie’ states that Ruthie’s loved ones believe she was a victim of foul play. Two years after her disappearance, a post was shared to the page that stated “we have some tips, info, names and there will be answers and justice for Ruthie one day for sure. There are people she hung out with out in the Parkland area we believe they’re hiding a sick secret, we believe they did something to her and are walking around scot-free and there are others who know about it yet don’t say anything or just ignore us or lie.” It is clear that Ruthie’s loved ones have certain persons of interest in mind, however said persons have not been publicly identified. 

20 year-old Elaine Park disappeared on January 28th, 2017. 

On the night prior to her disappearance, Elaine slept at her ex-boyfriend’s home in Calabasas, CA. On the morning of her disappearance, Elaine’s ex-boyfriend said that she had abruptly woken up that morning and appeared to be in “some sort of panic.” Surveillance footage shows her leaving her ex-boyfriend’s home at 6:05am. Elaine has not been seen or heard from since.

On February 2nd, Elaine’s car was found on Pacific Coast Highway, just south of Corral Canyon Road in Malibu. The doors were unlocked, the keys were in the ignition and her backpack, phone, computer and cash were inside the car. There were no signs of a struggle at the scene, however, there was no sign of Elaine either–and her whereabouts are still unknown. 

Police say that Elaine’s ex-boyfriend and his family have been cooperative in the investigation and that there is currently no reason to suspect that they are involved in her disappearance.

Graciela Garcia has been missing since November 2019. The 49 year-old woman was last seen in Hermiston, Oregon. On the evening of November 8th, 2019, Graciela had dinner plans with her 14 year-old son, who was staying at his father’s home. Graciela’s son was surprised when his stepfather–Graciela’s husband–showed up with food instead. Graciela’s husband told her son that she had already gone to bed. Graciela has never been seen or heard from again.

It is uncharacteristic of Graciela to be out of touch for this long. She is described as a loving mother who would not abandon her children. By 2019, both of Graciela’s daughters were grown and living on their own, but she still spoke to them daily. She was splitting custody of her son with her ex-husband, but also still spoke with her son regularly while he was with his father. Prior to her disappearance, Graciela was a well-known hairstylist who was very close with her clients. It was also unlike her to just walk away from her business without any warning. 

On November 9th, 2019, Graciela’s husband told one of her daughters that Graciela was not home and he did not know where she was. After two more days passed without any sign of her, Graciela’s other daughter filed a missing person’s report on November 11th, 2019.  Once detectives began investigating, it was discovered that Graciela’s passport, personal identification, and cell phone disappeared with her. However, her phone was turned off. It was later determined that the phone pinged one final time off of a tower near Washington Bridge before it was shut off.

Investigators have described Graciela’s disappearance as suspicious. Around four months after she vanished, Hermiston Police told Dateline that they had “no confirmed details available about exactly where or when [Graciela] was last seen.” Graciela’s husband has inevitably been questioned, and many found it suspicious that he did not report Graciela missing to police. However, he has reportedly cooperated with the investigation. This is noted on a Facebook post from the Hermiston Police that was published in July 2020. The post reads, “[Graciela’s husband] has consented to a search of his home and other property under his control, been interviewed on more than one occasion, provided DNA samples, etc. He was under no legal obligation to do any of those things, and his cooperation was not compelled in any manner.”

Andrew Mayorga was only 17 years-old when he vanished on January 4th, 2007. Around the time of his disappearance, Andrew was going through some major changes in his life. He had been living in Washington state with his mother, but recently decided to move to Louisiana to live with his grandmother. On his way across the country, Andrew stopped in San Antonio, Texas to spend the holiday season with a family friend who Andrew referred to as his “honorary grandfather.” That family friend was well known to both Andrew’s mother and grandmother. Both had worked for the man’s law firm in San Antonio, and while Andrew was staying with him, he worked at the law firm as well.

Andrew and his grandmother spoke on the phone each day since he had arrived in San Antonio.  The day before he vanished, Andrew’s grandmother decided to drive from Louisiana to San Antonio to come pick him up. Unfortunately, Andrew disappeared before his grandmother arrived. The family friend he was staying with told Andrew’s grandmother that he checked Andrew’s bedroom the evening of January 3rd to see if the teen was in bed, and he was not. It is unknown if he left the house through the door or a window. According to San Antonio detective Courtney Weytrich, “it’s unknown how he actually walked away and disappeared from that location.”

Andrew’s grandmother stated that Andrew left behind “everything that was important to him,” including his wallet, clothing, and even his pet dog. He was spotted for the last time around 7:30am on January 4th, standing on the corner of Soledad and Travis near Travis Park; an area he frequented. Due to the fact that Andrew left all of his important items and his beloved dog at the house where he was staying, it appeared that he intended to return there. He never did, and has never been seen or heard from again.

While working at the law firm, Andrew had access to a computer that he also used to access his MySpace page. Andrew’s grandmother was aware of this, and suggested that the computer’s hard drive be searched for possible clues. However, before it could be searched, the family friend threw the computer away. While this seems quite suspicious, especially since it is still unclear how Andrew left the man’s house, investigators have not named this man as a suspect. In fact, both investigators and family members have stated that they believe it is possible that Andrew left on his own accord. Detective Weytrich put forth a few theories, stating, “we’re thinking that he met somebody ​during his walks downtown. [Or] he met somebody on MySpace, since MySpace was an outlet to other states, other areas. We don’t know if he met somebody and they provided a plane ticket or a bus ticket to leave San Antonio. Being 17, the airlines and the bus stations will not ID or question you for leaving. You can come and go as you please on the airlines and buses if that’s your choice of transportation.”

On 10th February 2010, the severed head of an unidentified female was discovered along a desert road south of Barstow in San Bernardino County, California in a discarded backpack. It’s thought she died just days before being found and since her head was the only body part located, fingerprint matching is, of course, unavailable as is identifying her by any unique scars, tattoos or other markings she may have had on the rest of her body.

Identifying Jane Doe and enabling her to finally rest in peace is extremely difficult. Not much information has been released, but it’s thought that she was Hispanic and between the ages of fourteen to nineteen with both her eyes and hair having been dark brown. Apparently, her hair was straight and around neck-to-shoulder in length. Additionally, Jane Doe had many dental fillings, making it extremely probable that at some point in her life, she received sufficient care.

Samuel Boehlke is a young boy who went missing on October 14, 2006, from Crater Lake, Oregon. He was last seen at Crater Lake National Park at around 4pm the day he went missing. At the time, he was hiking with his father and ran ahead of him. He was never seen again. When he disappeared, the weather was cold, wet, and snowy, therefore, he could not survive long without shelter. Samuel had camping experience, however, he had no training in wilderness survival. Despite law enforcement’s best efforts to find Samuel, he hasn’t been seen since. 

At the time of his disappearance, Samuel Savage Becker Boehlke was 8 years old, weighed 85 pounds (38 kg), stood at 4′8″ (148 cm) tall, and has light brown hair and eyes. He was last seen wearing a long-sleeved black and green striped shirt, cargo pants, red suede slip-on shoes with rubber soles, and a blue winter coat. Samuel has a mole under his right ear and on the left side of his throat. Samuel’s nickname is Sammy and he has Asperger’s Syndrome, a high functioning form of autism. Due to his condition, he reacts extremely to loud noises and bright lights. The second photo is an age progression to age 19 to show what Samuel may look like if still alive.

If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of Samuel Boehlke, please contact the Klamath County Sheriff’s Office at 541-883-7479

Further readings/sources:

http://charleyproject.org/case/samuel-savage-becker-boehlke

http://www.missingkids.org/poster/NCMC/1055859/1/screen

Jeremy Howard (19) vanished from La Jolla Cove in San Diego, California on December 24th, 2015. Jeremy is originally from Seattle, Washington, but three months before his disappearance, he travelled to San Diego to stay with his sister and brother-in-law. He was reportedly scheduled to fly back home to Seattle on the day he vanished. Jeremy disappeared at some point between 5:30am and 6:00am. He and his brother-in-law were at La Jolla Cove together, watching the waves and looking for seals. At some point between 5:30 and 6:00, the brother-in-law stepped away for approximately ten minutes. When he returned, Jeremy was gone. He has never been seen or heard from again. Due to the fact that Jeremy vanished so close to the water, it was inevitably theorized that he fell in. However, many extensive searches of the water near the cove turned up no sign of him. After those searches ended without any clues, Jeremy’s loved ones started to believe something else might have happened. His sister explained to reporters, “the water bothered me for the first couple of days, but after so many dives, there’s only so far you could have went within a few minutes, if you did fall in the water or someone would have seen you.” Jeremy is described as 6'4"-6'5" tall, which makes it more likely for him to have been spotted if he was in the water. It was also theorized that Jeremy might have run off. His family members do not believe this to be the case. His sister said that he depends on his family a lot and it would be uncharacteristic for him take off without warning. His sister also stated that there were no issues between Jeremy and his brother-in-law, who he was with shortly before he vanished. 

Allyson Watterson has been missing since December 22nd, 2019. The 20 year-old woman was reportedly last seen by her boyfriend, 21 year-old Benjamin Garland. Benjamin told police that he and Allyson were hiking in North Plains, Oregon when they got separated in a wooded area near Old Pumpkin Ridge Road. Benjamin and his father reported Allyson missing the following day.

While investigating Allyson’s disappearance, authorities noticed that Benjamin had several active warrants for unrelated crimes. Just days after reporting Allyson missing, Benjamin was arrested and charged with failure to appear on five separate occasions, possession of a stolen vehicle, theft, fraudulent use of a credit card and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. He later pleaded guilty to these charges and was sentenced to three years in prison.

Benjamin has not been named as a suspect in Allyson’s disappearance, but police initially appeared to doubt his story. Days after Allyson was reported missing, the Washington County Sheriff’s office said that they did not find any evidence to suggest that Benjamin and Allyson had actually gone hiking on December 22nd. When asked about this by reporters, Sheriff’s Deputy Brian van Kleef stated “we’ve never been able to verify this narrative.”

However, in March 2020, an anonymous tipster alerted authorities about “seeing something” near Pumpkin Ridge Road. When authorities went to the area, they reportedly found items that were confirmed to belong to Allyson. Authorities have not confirmed what items were found, but Allyson’s mother told reporters that the items were Allyson’s backpack and ID card. It’s unclear if investigators now believe that this evidence suggests that Benjamin and Allyson actually did go hiking that day–or if they think the evidence was planted there after-the-fact. A wider search of the area was conducted after the items were found, and reportedly no other clues were found.

17 year-old Danica Childs has been missing from Federal Way, Washington since December 21st, 2007. Prior to her disappearance, Danica was living with her mother and siblings in an apartment located in a Federal Way neighborhood that is well known for prostitution activity. A few days after she vanished, her purse, coat and cellular phone were found at a Sunset Motel in Kent—an area that is also well known for prostitution activity. According to her mother, Danica was dating a man who was rumored to be a pimp at the time of her disappearance and had been spending nights out with him on a frequent basis. Danica denied these rumors, but when she did not return home on December 21st, her mother began to fear that the rumors were in fact true.

Messages on Danica’s phone confirmed her mother’s fears, and also revealed that Danica, who was still a minor, was working as a prostitute herself. Her phone was reportedly filled with several sexually-explicit messages from clients. Due to this, authorities believe that Danica left on her own accord. However, Danica’s family members do not believe that Danica would leave her cell phone or other belongings behind, and they also do not think she would go this long without contacting them. Her mother fears that she was kidnapped and sold against her will.

Melissa Bohm has reportedly been missing since February 2018. The 38 year-old woman last spoke to her family members on November 24th, 2017–but she continued to be active on Facebook up until February 9th, 2018. Melissa’s final Facebook post occurred at 7:11pm that evening. The post included a picture of her dog, Lola, and an announcement that she had been approved for an apartment. After this post, Melissa seemingly vanished and has never been seen or heard from again.

Various reports state that Melissa had been living a transient lifestyle in the years leading up to her disappearance. Shortly before she vanished, though, Melissa had reportedly been living in an apartment in Portland, Oregon. However, Melissa’s final Facebook post about getting approved for another apartment was believed to be in reference to an apartment in Seattle, Washington. It is unclear if Melissa actually traveled to Seattle after the Facebook post was made. There are very few details about the circumstances around Melissa’s disappearance and very little information has been spread in the media.

Melissa’s case is riddled with more questions than answers. It’s unclear when, exactly, she vanished–but it appears that Melissa might have dropped out of sight shortly after her final Facebook post was made. She never replied to any of the comments on the post. Then, weeks after the post was made, a man claiming to be Melissa’s ex-boyfriend commented. The ex’s comments appear to come from concern on a surface level, but the subsequent replies to his comments suggest that there is much more to the story.