Jackson County Sheriff’s Office seeks public’s help in case of missing Prospect woman

Published 7:39 pm Sunday, September 29, 2024

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office is trying to locate a motorhome as authorities investigate the disappearance of a 68-year-old grandmother from Prospect, authorities said late Friday night.

A news release said the search for the motorhome identified in sheriff’s office pictures is possibly related to the disappearance of Deenah Padgett, who has been missing since Aug. 30.

Padgett is described as 4-foot-8, 100 pounds with brownish-red and partially gray hair.

The sheriff’s office isolated the Grants Pass area in the news release.

The sheriff’s office said if anyone has information on the owner of the pictured motorhome or the whereabouts of Deenah Padgett, call the ECSO dispatch non-emergency phone number at 541-776-7206.

Family and friends of Deenah Padgett told the Rogue Valley Times they have deep concerns about her safety after she went missing more than a month ago.

Alabama resident Bethany Hancock, Padgett’s daughter, said family members had grown increasingly concerned in recent months and that Padgett wanted to return home but had not done so.

Padgett said her mother reported not feeling safe when they last spoke, around Aug. 10, and had been staying with some “people who weren’t real trustworthy.”

“We’ve recently learned that the people she was staying with have been stealing from her for many months. Her belongings have been found abandoned in the woods. We’re really worried,” Hancock told the Times on Wednesday.

Hancock said family members are working to gather funds to fly to Oregon to help with search efforts and that she was grateful for community members trying to help find her mother.

Jackson County Search and Rescue Cmdr. Sgt. Shawn Richards told the Times county search and rescue crews scoured Mill Creek Falls and surrounding areas for Padgett — where she had been reported missing — two weeks ago and found no signs of the woman. The investigation is ongoing, he said.

Community members this week rallied on social media to organize search parties to continue to look for Padgett.

Richards confirmed Wednesday that Padgett’s boyfriend reported on Sept. 8 that Padgett had been missing since early August.

This is a developing story and will be updated as warranted.

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