Wrecked Vehicle Reveals Missing Ranier Woman’s Remains

Columbia County Search and Rescue members located the body of a 19-year-old Rainier woman inside the vehicle she was last known to be driving.  Nichole Sherman appears to have suffered fatal injuries due to a motor vehicle crash. The crash appears to have occurred when Sherman’s vehicle left the roadway along her assumed route to a friend’s house.  Ms. Sherman’s family has been notified.

Ms . Sherman was last seen in the late afternoon hours on November 13th.  She was reported missing to the Sheriff’s Office on November 14th.

Deputies, sheriff’s volunteers, family members and others have devoted hundreds of hours to finding out what happened after Sherman failed to arrive at a friend’s home.  According to Columbia County Sheriff, Jeff Dickerson, conditions at the time of today’s search led to Columbia County deputies recovering Ms. Sherman’s body, which was still seat-belted into the red, 2001, Chevrolet Cavalier she was reported to have been driving.  The vehicle appears to have been involved in a high-velocity crash just off the roadway, where it subsequently came to rest in a creek bed that is surrounded by trees.

“Deputies had driven this route on multiple occasions, searching for indications of an off-road crash,” said Sheriff Jeff Dickerson. “We also employed the use of private aircraft flying over the area, but were unsuccessful in our efforts until today. Aided by clear weather and the angle of lighting at the time of this search, members of our search and rescue team were alerted to what turned out to be a tree that appears to have been struck by the Sherman vehicle.”

Searchers examined the tree and saw in the gully a red car with extensive damage to the passenger side.  Deputies went into the gully and made positive identification of Ms. Sherman. An Oregon State Police crash reconstructionist is assisting the Sheriff’s Office in determining the cause of the crash.

“Our hearts go out to the family members and fiancé of Ms. Sherman,” the sheriff said. “We express our condolences to them for the loss of their loved one, and we also want to thank our search and rescue volunteers for helping close this chapter of the investigation.”

Sherman reportedly left from her residence at 68160 Meissner Rd. late in the afternoon on Sunday, November 13th, to go to a friend’s house on Apiary Road. She never arrived. Investigators and family members combed the area around the logical route between the two residences but found no clues as to what had happened to her.

The case will remain open pending official cause of death determination by the Oregon State Medical Examiner.

In addition to OSP’s assistance, Columbia River Fire and Rescue personnel were also assisting on scene. Assistance was also rendered by Columbia 9-1-1 dispatchers.

 

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