California Priest and Friend Missing Without a Trace In Oregon

[RogerV]

http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/...820.xml&coll=7

This case is rather like looking for a needle in a haystack, and you haven't even found the haystack yet. It is not known what direction they went from Portland, or whether they even left the city at all.

[RogerV]

A California priest and his traveling companion missing for several weeks in Oregon were apparently both killed when their car went off Highway 26 between the Oregon Coast and Portland.

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/orego...730.xml&coll=7

[One2Snoop]

Family's search for two travelers ends by highway
Coast Range - The missing Californians probably died on impact when their car left U.S. 26 and rolled, police say Monday, July 02, 2007LORI TOBIAS and LISA GRACE LEDNICER The Oregonian Staff

Family and friends of a missing Jesuit priest and his companion suspected that their search had ended Sunday afternoon when they came upon the flashing lights of two police cars parked on the shoulder of U.S. 26 and saw two deputies looking down the bank.

They drove past, turned around and came back.

"Is that a red Corolla?" asked Frank Petzold, brother-in-law to the missing Rev. David Schwartz.

The deputy sheriff, recognizing the faces of the family members from their television appeals, said yes.

"Your initial reaction is 'Oh my God, it's real.' But at the same time, we're glad they found them," said Petzold, who added that if they had left 10 minutes earlier on their way back to the Portland airport, "we wouldn't have seen it and I would have been on a plane home."

"It's a miracle it happened the way it did," he said.

Deputies believe Schwartz, 52, and Cheryl Gibbs, 61, were headed back to Portland when their 2005 Toyota Corolla left the road at about milepost 26, one mile west of the summit,

~snip~

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/orego...730.xml&coll=7

The only saving grace in all of this is that the family knows what happened and have closure. May Rev David Schwartz and Cheryl Gibbs rest in peace.

[RogerV]

There was an eyewitness to the accident who drove to the nearest telephone and called 911, giving a detailed description of the location. The report was passed between several dispatchers, and some details of the location were left out.

The victims' car was only a short distance from the highway, but due to the nature of the terrain and the thick vegetation, could not be seen from a passing car. As a result, and without the additional details, State Police and other searchers failed to see it. However, officials have indicated that the victims died instantly or at most a few minutes after the accident.

The witness did not return to the location of the accident to assist searchers/rescuers, and now cannot be located. Photos of the car show a lot of damage to the front end and this (IMHO) is inconsistent with a rollover type accident. I can't help but think that this "witness" may actually have had something to do with the accident, and this accounts for the fact that he apparently does not want to be found.

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/orego...980.xml&coll=7

[One2Snoop]

Wow Thanks for posting that RogerV. Maybe he clipped the car and thats what caused it to go off the road? Interesting. I do hope they find this guy and get more answers.