Missing: The Oregon City Girls. Rick Watson
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Dear Reader:
We proudly present the newest edition to our internationally acclaimed true crime series of Real People/Incredible Stories. These riveting thrillers spotlight men and women who perform extraordinary deeds against tremendous odds: to fight for justice, track down elusive killers, protect the innocent or exonerate the wrongly accused. Their stories, told in their own voices, and in their own words, reveal the untold drama and anguish behind the headlines of those who face horrific realities and find the resiliency to fight back…
Missing: The Oregon City Girls tells the inside story which captured national interest of two young girls who vanished and the private investigator, a step-grandmother to one, who unlocks the deadly secret that stalks a community.
The next time you want to read a crackling, suspenseful page-turner, which also is a true account of a real life hero illustrating the resiliency of the human spirit - look for the New Horizon Press logo.
Sincerely,
Dr. Joan S. Dunphy
Publisher and Editor in Chief
Real People. Incredible Stories.
Copyright © 2006 by Linda O’Neal, Philip F. Tennyson & Rick Watson
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever, including electronic, mechanical or any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted in the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher.
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New Horizon Press
PO Box 669
Far Hills, NJ 07931
Linda O’Neal, Philip F. Tennyson & Rick Watson
Missing: The Oregon City Girls
A Shocking True Story of Abduction and Murder
Cover Design: Wendy Bass
Interior Design: Eileen Turano
Library of Congress Control Number: 2005924252
ISBN-13 (eBook): 978-0-88282-529-8
New Horizon Press
2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 / 5 4 3 2 1
Dedication
This book is dedicated to Ashley Pond and Miranda Gaddis
whose lives and travails poignantly inspired its contents.
Ashley and Miranda, we will never forget your tragedies
which have galvanized our determination to prevent
evil child predators from tarnishing the innocent.
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Missing Person
Chapter Two
Be On the Lookout
Chapter Three
Searching for Clues
Chapter Four
Runaway or Missing Person?
Chapter Five
Another Blow Strikes
Chapter Six
Two Girls Lost
Chapter Seven
Linda O’Neal Investigations
Chapter Eight
No Stone Unturned
Chapter Nine
The Search Continues
Chapter Ten
Final Billboard
Chapter Eleven
Friends and Foes
Chapter Twelve
Strange Insights
Chapter Thirteen
Barbecues and Revelations
Chapter Fourteen
Meeting the FBI
Chapter Fifteen
Flashing Lights and Getaways
Chapter Sixteen
Running
Chapter Seventeen
Raped
Chapter Eighteen
Dark Revelations
Chapter Nineteen
Finger-pointing
Chapter Twenty
Charges and Countercharges
Chapter Twenty-One
Remembering Ashley
Chapter Twenty-Two
Woe-stricken Days
Chapter Twenty-Three
Nefarious Plotting
Chapter Twenty-Four
Falling Dominoes
Chapter Twenty-Five
Remembering Miranda
Chapter Twenty-Six
Psycho?
Epilogue
Afterword
Acknowledgments
Endnotes
Authors’ Note
The point of view of this book is based on the experiences and work of Linda O’Neal and reflects her perceptions of the past, present and future. The facts about the murder of Ashley Pond and Miranda Gaddis recounted in this book are true to the best of her knowledge and recall. Some of the names have been changed and identifying characteristics altered to safeguard the privacy of individuals. The personalities, events, actions and conversations portrayed in this book have been taken from Linda O’Neal’s memory, extensive personal interviews, police and FBI reports, court documents, including trial transcripts, letters, personal papers, research, press accounts and the memories of some participants. Quoted testimony has been taken from pre-trial transcripts and other sworn statements. Some minor characters and scenes are composites and some conversations have been reconstructed.
The emergency line beeps in rhythm with the flashing red indicator. The woman in the communications control room opens the line, “Dispatch.”1
A soft-spoken female voice stumbles a bit trying to focus. “Yes. Um, how do I go about filing missing persons and what’s the…what’s, you know, the stipulation on how to go about doing it?”2
The twenty-something single mother sitting at her station says, “Okay, well, there isn’t really a time frame. They used to say twenty-four hours on things like that, but there isn’t really a time frame. You can start with me. I can have a deputy call you back and you can get a report filed that way. Is this an adult