OR OR - Jeremy Bright, 14, Myrtle Point, 14 Aug 1986

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Missing Since: August 14, 1986 from Myrtle Point, OregonClassification: Non-Family Abduction
Date Of Birth: May 25, 1972
Age: 14 years old
Height and Weight: 6'0, 140 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian male. Brown hair, green eyes. Bright has a mole on his chin. He has scars on his forehead and nose. At the time of his disappearance, he wore size 13 shoes.
Clothing/Jewelry Description: A black windbreaker jacket and black Nikeshoes with red laces.

Bright attended the Coos County Fair in Oregon with his sister and a group of his friends on August 14, 1986. He became separated from them sometime that evening. He was last seen at 9:30 p.m., when he saw his stepfather in a cafe and borrowed money from him. Bright disappeared during the course of the evening and has never been seen again.

Bright lived in Grants Pass, Oregon in 1986, but he had grown up in Myrtle Point and had many relatives living there. He and his younger sister enjoyed the fair and their stepfather agreed to take them there for the week so they could go to the festivities. He spoke to his mother on a pay phone on the day of his disappearance, and she stated their conversation was normal.
There were several possible sightings of Bright in the local area in the days following his disappearance, but none of them were confirmed. He was a basketball player in 1986, and was looking forward to starting high school. Many rumors circulated about his disappearance: that he was accidentally shot during target practice or while swimming in the Coquille River, or that he died of a drug overdose at a party and his friends disposed of his body to avoid possible legal consequences. None of these stories have been substantiated.

Authorities do not believe Bright left of his own accord. He was close to his sister and it would have been uncharacteristic of him to abandon her, and he did not take his wallet or extra clothes when he went missing. His mother and stepfather were going through a divorce in 1986 and he may have been somewhat troubled as a result; his grades dropped during the school year prior to his disappearance. However, he was described as a popular, likeable teenager.

Due to the lack of evidence in Bright's case, it is classified as a non-family abduction and a potential homicide. His case is unsolved.

Charley Project
NCMEC

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Still missing after 21 years
Sunday, July 29, 2007

If there's a month that Diane Beatty would like back, it would be August 1986. It was then that her 14-year-old son, Jeremy Bright, went to the Coos County Fair and vanished from the earth.

“He was here for a week during the fair,” Beatty, 52, said from her Eastside home this week as she pored over photos of her missing son from a time when Pac-Man and Van Halen were all the rage. “He was only here for a week. If I would have said, ‘No,' about him coming up to the fair, I would still have him.”

But she didn't say no.

Who would? Jeremy and his 9-year-old sister S'te (the French abbreviation for Saint and pronounced “Ess-tee”), had both grown up in Myrtle Point and they loved the fair. Their stepfather, Orville “Ole” Gulseth of Myrtle Point, had offered to take them in for a week that summer.

“My brother and I never missed the fair,” said his sister S'te Elmore, who is now married and living in San Diego.

For that last year, Beatty and the children had been living in Grants Pass. Beatty and “Ole” were finished, and Beatty was carving a new life for herself so she wouldn't be tending bar the rest of her life.

“Instead of them veggin' in Grants Pass for a week, while I worked and went to school, I thought that would be a great little trip for them,” she said, noting the children's grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins all lived in Myrtle Point.

“I have regretted it ever since.”

Much, much more at link: http://www.theworldlink.com/articles/2007/07/29/breaking/tpn01072807.txt

 

[pixies]

I cannot believe he is still missing.

 

[cutegirltoo]

I was just looking at this case on the doenetwork. My boyfriend's family lives in Coos County, so this is familiar area for me. Weren't there a couple other missing people from Coos County about that same time? I'll check it out...

 

[cutegirltoo]

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1393dmor.html

This one went missing 14 days after Jeremy. Weird.

 

[Peace261]

Still missing after 21 years
Sunday, July 29, 2007

If there's a month that Diane Beatty would like back, it would be August 1986. It was then that her 14-year-old son, Jeremy Bright, went to the Coos County Fair and vanished from the earth.

“He was here for a week during the fair,” Beatty, 52, said from her Eastside home this week as she pored over photos of her missing son from a time when Pac-Man and Van Halen were all the rage. “He was only here for a week. If I would have said, ‘No,' about him coming up to the fair, I would still have him.”

But she didn't say no.

Who would? Jeremy and his 9-year-old sister S'te (the French abbreviation for Saint and pronounced “Ess-tee”), had both grown up in Myrtle Point and they loved the fair. Their stepfather, Orville “Ole” Gulseth of Myrtle Point, had offered to take them in for a week that summer.

“My brother and I never missed the fair,” said his sister S'te Elmore, who is now married and living in San Diego.

For that last year, Beatty and the children had been living in Grants Pass. Beatty and “Ole” were finished, and Beatty was carving a new life for herself so she wouldn't be tending bar the rest of her life.

“Instead of them veggin' in Grants Pass for a week, while I worked and went to school, I thought that would be a great little trip for them,” she said, noting the children's grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins all lived in Myrtle Point.

“I have regretted it ever since.”

Much, much more at link: http://www.theworldlink.com/articles/2007/07/29/breaking/tpn01072807.txt

You Tube story - unsolved mysteries: re-enactment on story:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=TkDvCq4ajvA

http://youtube.com/watch?v=q9ELZzUzitA

Peace

 

[chicagofa13]

Jeremy's case brings up so many memories. Going to the fair was a ritual for all Coos County. I turned 17 on August 13th and was at the fair the next day when Jeremy went missing. Being from the "next town over" we didn't have the same group of friends. I never remembered anything odd happening up there, and I didn't remember seeing Jeremy. The gossip and rumors were wild and the general consensus was he met with foul play at the hands of some older troublemakers. One POI mentioned a lot (I use the term POI loosely since he was part of the rumors) has died and we may never know now if he really was involved. I firmly believe he did not run away, too many ties and too family oriented. If he was abducted, at age 14, he would have plenty of memories of home and if able I believe he would have made contact already. I heard his father passed away this year. So sad.

 

[scriptgirl]

Sad case. Re the rumors, where there is smoke ther is fire.

 

[Spurser]

Has anyone ever read anything about Pee Wee Gaskins? I know he didn't have anything to do with it, but his MO was similar. He worked for a traveling fair/carnival company and would "do many of his killings" (his words) while out on the road. Easy access to kids and he was in and out of town before anyone could suspect a thing. I bet it was someone like Gaskins that took Jeremy. Sadly, I bet he was killed shortly after he was taken.

 

[scriptgirl]

Pee Wee is in jail, right? This sounds more like a local thing, but I could be wrong.
Maybe someone should look into Pee Wee in connection with Lonnie Jones

 

[Spurser]

Pee Wee is in jail, right? This sounds more like a local thing, but I could be wrong.
Maybe someone should look into Pee Wee in connection with Lonnie Jones

Pee Wee is dead! He was executed and was pure evil right up to the end. When was Lonnie Jones killed and under what circumstances? I'm not familiar with him.

 

[scriptgirl]

There is thread for Lonnie here on WS. Lonnie was killed in the mid 50s in Oregon. He was a teen who had been assaulted, bound, throat cut and dumped naked on the road

 

[Spurser]

I guess PW could have had something to do with Lonnie's death. PW was not in jail for some time in the mid 50's. It certainly sounds like something he would have done and he was working with the traveling carnival during that time.

 

[My_nephew_is_tough]

I think that those idiots portrayed on Unsolved Mysteries killed Jeremy. The ones saying something about the gun in their hand being a toy or some such. And what about that potential witness that ran into one of the trouble makers in the hall way of that apartment complex? If the guy was covered in blood, she should have called the police right away. That whole scenario surrounding his vanishing never has made any sense.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

It seems the original links for the Unsolved Mysteries story on Jeremy have been removed from YouTube. Here are some new links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yomeJ5wDWg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrXhLaEALeg&NR=1

 

[the seeker]

I was just looking at this case on the doenetwork. My boyfriend's family lives in Coos County, so this is familiar area for me. Weren't there a couple other missing people from Coos County about that same time? I'll check it out...

I have read through the cold cases on the missing in that region of Oregon and there are a few boys who were missing...and one I believe found deceased. My husband and I looked at a map (we are from Oregon) and came to the conclusion that it is not beyond the realm of possibility that a few, if not all of these boys were abducted by the same individual. A lot of serial killers have traveled much farther for victims. I am very interested in these cases as they are still unsolved.

 

[Kat]

Bump

Jeremy has been missing 24 years today. Come home soon.

 

[Ste1977]

I wanted to stop and introduce myself. I occassionally search my brothers name and see if there is any new information I can find. I've tried joining this forum in the past and for whatever reason was never able. I'm glad that I was able to do so this time.

I'm S'te and Jeremy is my brother. It's been over 24 years now and we still have no answers about Jeremy or what happened to him.

I am still in contact with the lady who saw David covered in blood. She is also the sister of Jeremy's best friend. She did go to the police with the information she had. The police said that he got in a fight with his girlfriend and that's where the scratches and blood came from. She says there the quantity of blood was to much to be from some scratches. Her brother Johny who was portrayed on the UM segment has been a mess since Jeremy disappeared.

Terri Steinhoff (he and David were cousins) was arrested for a murder in 1988 and sent to prison. He died in prison in 2007. Terri was the main POI. Our hopes were that with the passing of Terri people would be more willing to come forward with information however that has not happened yet.

 

[Ste1977]

Vital Statistics
Date Of Birth: May 25, 1972
Age at Time of Disappearance: 14 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 6'0; 140 lbs
Distinguishing Characteristics: White male. Brown hair; green eyes.
Marks, Scars: Mole on his chin and scars on his forehead and nose.
Clothing: A black windbreaker jacket and black Nike shoes with red shoe laces.

Case Type: Non Family Abduction
DOB: May 25, 1972
Missing Date: Aug 14, 1986
Age Now: 33
Missing City: MYRTLE POINT
Missing State : OR
Missing Country: United States
Case Number: NCMC600424
Namus Case Number - 4961


Help Find Jeremy Doland Bright
Charley Project

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Welcome to Websleuths, Ste1977! I'm sorry it's under these circumstances, but I hope that you will soon have answers in Jeremy's disappearance.

Thanks for the link to the Facebook group! I added it. I also have Jeremy's photo and information posted on For The Missing: Pacific Northwest here - http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/For-The-Missing-Pacific-Northwest/288753959451