Body Found in Woods May Be Missing Woman

On Saturday, October 22, two local residents discovered the remains of a person that police have said may be Lois White, who left for a walk in July and never returned home.

At a little after 2 pm on Saturday Astoria Police were called by the local resident who had discovered a deceased person in the woods off of Irving and 25th.  Astoria Police responded and located the body. It was located inside the urban forest in an area that is not normally traveled by the public. Because of the remote location and diminishing light no scene investigation was conducted on Saturday.  The body was examined briefly by the Clatsop County Medical Examiner. It was apparent that the death was not recent. It was also apparent that the deceased was a female.

At sunrise today, Sunday, Astoria Police began the scene investigation. The manner and cause of the death will be determined at autopsy. The identity of the body was not immediately known.

“The first question that everyone has asked, is if this is Lois White,” said Deputy Police Chief Brad Johnston. “We are a likely a long way from knowing that answer with any certainty. While investigators have made some observations that would support this theory, they have not come to a conclusion. Identification will likely be made through forensic means. These means will take several weeks at best.”

The White family was notified of the discovery Saturday as a courtesy. Investigators have not made conclusions about the discovery, but did not want the family to hear about it from other sources.

Lois White has been missing since July 22, 2011. She left for a walk and did not return. Her family did not report her missing until four days later. The Astoria Police Department has worked diligently on the investigation since the report was received. Hundreds of man hours have been expended in trying to locate Ms. White. They have received assistance from many other sources. These include the Astoria Fire Community Emergency Response Team (C.E.R.T.), the Clatsop County Search and Rescue Team, the US Coast Guard and Seaside Helicopter LLC.

According to Deputy Chief Johnston, CERT team members have distributed fliers door to door and at an informational roadside event. The Search and Rescue Team searched all accessible areas around the area she went missing and the USCG flew a mission searching the Young’s Bay shoreline. On August 2nd, another helicopter mission was flown with the help of Seaside Helicopter, LLC , owner, Gary Turel, who donated flight time and fuel to fly a low level examination of the tidelands in Young’s Bay.

None of the efforts related to Ms. White’s disappearance have led to substantive leads.

Any information that someone has, no matter how trivial, is important. Anyone with information can provide the information to Detective Andrew Randall via the Internet at https://www.piersystem.com/go/inquiry/458/ using the category “tips”, via email at or by phone at .

Astoria Police are being helped with the investigation by the Clatsop County Major Crime Team. The Major Crime Team is comprised of members of the individual police departments in Clatsop County who join resources for cases requiring additional resources. Regular members are the Oregon State Police, Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office, Seaside Police Department, and the Clatsop County DA’s Office. Other agencies contribute as available.