Oregon : Wendy Dehoop
Photo: NamUs
Eugene, Oregon, is nestled between the Cascade Mountains and the Coburg Hills along the Willamette River. Surrounded by well-maintained parks and greenways, it’s no surprise that Eugene has a reputation for outdoor activities. It is home to the University of Oregon and has just over 177,000 people calling it home. Oregon, as a whole, sits below the national median when it comes to violent crime rates, but according to Neighborhood Scout, Eugene is a six on the crime index scale. The chance of becoming a victim of a violent crime is 1 in 263 now, and in 2005, when this story takes place, the rates weren’t much better, which is why we are navigating advocacy in Eugene today.
Photo: UOregon.edu
This is one of those cases that is not covered extensively, and there is not much information available. Unfortunately, this is yet another story of a biracial woman who has gone missing with little media coverage.
Wendy Marie Dehoop was born on November 5, 1960. I couldn't find much about Wendy’s early life, but I know she is of Cherokee, Hispanic, and Black descent. She married her husband, Dan, and the two lived in the Eugene suburb of Cottage Grove. Before she lived in Oregon, she once worked as a police dispatcher in California.
Photo: NamUs
On Friday, April 22, 2005, 44 year old Wendy woke up and dressed in a pinstriped suit before she drove her husband to his job at Home Depot on Green Acres Road in Eugene around 7 am. After dropping him off, she headed the 30 miles north to Halsey to the Georgia Pacific Mill for her shift. This was the norm for them; they commuted together every workday.
Wendy never made it for her shift that day. The few reports I did find stated that her boss and friend, David Tishim, reported her missing. Some of these articles named David as Wendy’s boyfriend, but there was no way to confirm these allegations.
Six days after her disappearance, on April 28, a man who has never been publicly identified was walking his dog when he stumbled upon a purse. He carried it into the nearby Bi-Mart store. It was later identified as Wendy’s purse, and her wallet was not recovered inside.
On May 2, this same man showed law enforcement where Wendy’s vehicle was located on Lorane Highway south of Eugene, just east of Filmore street. It was a white two-door 1990 Toyota Corolla SR5. This highway is not a route that would have taken Wendy from the Home Depot where Dan worked to her job in Halsey. It is in the opposite direction.
Again, little is known about what was found, and while law enforcement did impound and process the vehicle if any evidence or leads were found, they have been tight-lipped about it. The only statement was that there was no sign of Wendy at the scene.
Wendy is not the only one missing from the area. Within the 33 days before Wendy’s disappearance, two other women also vanished. On March 21, Helen Ordeman-Pratt walked away from her Goshen home. Then, on April 14, Rebecca Lynn Hess disappeared from her apartment in Cresswell. Although no similarities or victimology could connect the three, indicating a serial kidnapper, law enforcement had not ever dealt with that number of disappearances before. Helen would be found in September in the attic of the detached garage at her home, deceased of a suspected suicide. Helen was struggling with mental illness when she disappeared. Her husband, Steven, had reported her missing, and her body was discovered when a cleaning crew that Steven had hired to clean out the garage began working.
Rebecca Hess was terminally ill when she disappeared and had an ex-boyfriend released from prison around the time of her disappearance. Family has said they believed she may have eloped with him to Florida.
Eight years passed for Wendy’s family with no answers or leads. Her sister, Terri, posted on Facebook on April 22, 2013, “Some of you may wonder why I always repost Missing People’s Pictures, it's something very close to my heart. Today marks eight years that my sister, my baby sister, has been missing. I keep in touch with the authorities, but nothing new (at least I know they are still looking). Eight years of wondering and wishing is hard. I miss her very much and just wish we could get some closure.”
It has now been 19 years since Wendy vanished. Law enforcement is still seeking answers to her disappearance. She was last seen wearing a black pinstripe suit and is described as 5 foot 6 inches tall, weighing around 145 pounds. She has black hair, brown eyes, pierced ears, and a belly button. She wears contact lenses, has circular marks on her mid to lower back, and a scar on her lower abdomen.
She may use the last name Williams-Hook or the nickname Nada.
We know that indigenous populations have a high number of unreported crimes and missing individuals. In 2021, the Office of the US Attorney for Oregon listed 11 missing Indigenous individuals: 6 females and five males.
If you have seen Wendy or know anything about her disappearance, please contact the Lane County Sheriff’s Office at 541.682.4312. The Lane County Missing Persons list is 124 persons long, and I’m sure they have the same staffing issues as most departments. Anything you can do to help would be appreciated.
Flyer: NamUs
Sources:
https://www.newspapers.com/image/577573911/?match=1&terms=wendy%20dehoop&clipping_id=95250605
https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Workers+find+woman%27s+body+in+attic.-a0136091386
https://www.newspapers.com/article/albany-democrat-herald/80133299/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/818806727/?match=1&terms=%22wendy%20dehoop%22
https://www.facebook.com/MMNAWM/posts/cottage-grove-oregon-wendy-dehoop4222005-md/731014930876614/
https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/7slcss/missing_and_forgotten_wendy_dehoop/
https://www.newspapers.com/article/albany-democrat-herald/80133299/
https://ourblackgirls.com/2018/11/01/missing-wendy-marie-dehoop/
