Found Alive OR - Jacob Cartwright, 22, La Grande/Starkey, 24 Apr 2018

[JerseyGirl]

Jacob Cartwright, 22, of La Grande, Oregon, was last seen Tuesday driving a green 2005 Kenworth semi with Oregon license plates YAIN633. He's described as being 6 feet 6 inches tall, weighing 275 pounds and having brown hair. Cartwright works for the La Grande-based Little Trees Transportation and the name of the company is on the semi he was driving that was pulling a white trailer at the time of his disappearance.

Cartwright was hauling a load from Portland, Oregon, to Nyssa, Oregon -- a journey that would require him to stay on Interstate 84 for almost the entire trip. Nyssa is located along the Idaho-Oregon border.

On Tuesday evening, according to GPS data sent by his truck, Cartwright inexplicably left the interstate at Pendleton, Oregon, and headed south on Highway 395.

Making the story even stranger is that tractor-trailers are not allowed on that stretch of Highway 395, so Cartwright had no reason to take the detour.

GPS data shows that Cartwright traveled more than 50 miles south on Highway 395 before heading east on Highway 244 toward La Grande.

His phone as well as GPS data showed his truck's location late Tuesday night to be near the village of Starkey, Oregon, about 20 miles southwest of La Grande, but when Oregon State Police responded to that area they could find no sign of him or his semi.

The tractor-trailer's last location according to GPS was in the area Highway 244 about five to 10 miles west of La Grande.

https://idahostatejournal.com/news/...cle_277b40bf-d582-53e6-a97c-221309a507fa.html

 

[Hstevenson86]

Wow! That’s very strange.


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[hollye]

Here is the post by his company on their FB page...
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=375072766309364&id=247095092440466


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[KAE]

Highway 244 passes very close to the Grande Ronde River about 10 miles west of La Grande, about the area of his last GPS location. Not sure if the river would be deep enough to cover a semi-trailer rig though.
https://www.google.com/maps/@45.297...4!1svImqhazFsCjTy_qR4lJimQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

 

[Mistree]

Local here, the TA in Troutdale is not a good place at all,
There are several fast food restaurants and another truck stop down there. Us locals know it’s ridden with very sketchy people and activities of every kind. I hope he didn’t pick up a traveler......

 

[swanniee11]

his FB https://www.facebook.com/jacob.cartwright.505

 

[JerseyGirl]

https://lcvalley.dailyfly.com/Home/ArtMID/1352/ArticleID/49937/Missing-OR-Trucker

Cartwright was driving a green 2005 Kenworth commercial motor vehicle with the company name "Little Tree Transporation" on it with a white semitrailer. The license on the vehicle is an Oregon plate YAIN63.

Cartwright is a husband and father of two children and is expecting another child. He is described as 6 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 275 pounds.

Cartwright was en route to make a delivery in Nyssa, Oregon by 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday. But as of noon Thursday, GPS information states the semi truck is in the area of Highway 244 near MacIntyre Road just west of Hilgard State Park. The area has been searched by OSP aircraft and is continuing to be searched by ground rescue.

Police say the area is very remote, expansive and heavily wooded with rough terrain.

https://www.idahopress.com/news/loc...cle_db63a9b5-3efc-512d-8ba5-78c7f588ddbd.html

 

[Hazelnutty]

Oh my goodness. This doesn't sound good. I hope he wasn't highjacked at a fuel or rest stop.

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[savagewoman]

So the article says it by McIntyre road and 244. Looks like the middle of nowhere and a truck could be spotted easily by air.

I wonder how easy the trucks GPS can be removed and still work if placed in that location. Also his phone is there.

Why would he do that detour? Maybe he didn't and an incident happened in Pendleton?

Big guy so probably not easy to overtake unless a gun was involved.

Hoping for the best outcome

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[flute4peace]

I would be curious to know if/when the truck's GPS/phone discontinued sending information.

 

[savagewoman]

I would be curious to know if/when the truck's GPS/phone discontinued sending information.

This is the most recent I found

http://newstalk870.am/search-narrowed-for-missing-lagrande-trucker-semi/

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[Deleted member 278]

Wow. How does a semi go missing?! This is really strange.

 

[JazzTune]

Highway 244 passes very close to the Grande Ronde River about 10 miles west of La Grande, about the area of his last GPS location. Not sure if the river would be deep enough to cover a semi-trailer rig though.
https://www.google.com/maps/@45.297...4!1svImqhazFsCjTy_qR4lJimQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Thanks for the link to the street view. We can easily see how close the river is to the road. Makes me nervous just looking at it. Can't imagine driving it, especially if there would be bad weather.

http://www.kdrv.com/content/news/Search-Continues-for-Missing-Oregon-Truck-Driver-481083881.html

The above link has just a regular google map at the bottom of the article. It's not street view, but it may be of interest too, as it shows the intersection of the roads involved.

My heart goes out to his family, especially his wife who must be frantic! Two children and a third on the way.

I fear he's been abducted. If so, perhaps the perp just needed a ride and chose that dense wooded area per the GPS. Hoping he got out and took off on foot, leaving Jacob unharmed. Prayers Jacob will be found safe...


JMO

 

[savagewoman]

Hope they are checking CCTV in Pendleton or the truck stop he was at.

No update as of yet tonight

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[Vail]

The river comes right up next to the road for most of 244 - I think it is most likely he and his truck will be found in the river. I do wonder, though, what his cargo was or if he may have taken the detour on purpose and met up with trouble.

 

[JazzTune]

The river comes right up next to the road for most of 244 - I think it is most likely he and his truck will be found in the river. I do wonder, though, what his cargo was or if he may have taken the detour on purpose and met up with trouble.

Thank you for this. I didn't realize the river was that close to Highway 244 for the majority of the distance. Not being from the area I assumed it was an occasional brushing near the road only.

That certainly changes my perception.

I thought the truck was in a wooded area because in the link from my prior post, they describe the location of the GPS data as:

"...Which they say is very remote, expansive, and heavily wooded with rough terrain.."

However, if the river runs right alongside the road throughout the whole distance of that area, then you are very likely correct.

As to the motivation and reasons why he left his route, that is open for any conjecture at this point.

I guess I'm wanting to believe that a hard-working, young married father of two with another on the way, appears to be placing a priority on responsibility and commitment.

Unless we learn otherwise, I will lean toward him being abducted, either by someone he picked up or who forced their way into his cab.

Another reason I tend to think it was force, is because of statements from the link in the first post ( thanks JerseyGirl ) which spoke of the initial detour onto Highway 395. It stated tractor trailers are not allowed on that stretch. Also mentioned he traveled more than fifty miles on it before turning onto Highway 244.

As a truck driver Jacob would have known of the restriction, but a hijacker may not have. If Jacob himself initiated that detour, it seems a strange and risky choice if his goal was to avoid detection.

I could be wrong of course. This is all just my opinion.

Whatever has happened, I hope we hear good news about Jacob soon...


JMO

 

[JazzTune]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60JgSUF9SPA

This is a new two-hour video on this case by Gray Hughes. ( We have been given prior permission from the WS mods to link his videos. )

Though I have not yet had time to complete it, his mapping skills are excellent and have always given me a better understanding of the geography of any case he is presenting...


JMO

 

[Owl4]

Praying he is found safe. I'm on the fence with this one. Part of me believes someone hijacked him an part of me believes he an the truck possible in the river. I hope I'm wrong on both an the find him safe but lost. His poor wife an kiddies. [emoji17] I would be a basket case.

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[gadgie]

If he picked up a traveler and realized he was in trouble, I wonder if he would have taken the restricted road as a way to get attention without using a phone. He may have expected to be stopped by police or at the least alert his company via the gps tracker that something was wrong. I do find it odd that the tracker was within 20 miles of the workplace. His family must be a wreck. I had a friend lose her husband while pregnant and hate to see anyone go through this. Hope he is found safe.


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[JazzTune]

Praying he is found safe. I'm on the fence with this one. Part of me believes someone hijacked him an part of me believes he an the truck possible in the river. I hope I'm wrong on both an the find him safe but lost. His poor wife an kiddies. [emoji17] I would be a basket case.

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A basket case for sure! His poor family.

I think both might be true actually. I tend to think he was hijacked and I can see a hijacker, ( in a hurry, maybe even high on drugs ) waving a gun in Jacob's face from the passenger seat, and urging at him to go faster.

Trying to negotiate that road under those conditions would be disastrous.

Just conjecture only, and I pray I'm wrong...


JMO