Identified! OR - Bear Creek Greenway, BlkMale adult, UP74377, Almeda Fire, Sep'20 - Derrick Glenn Mills

[YaYa_521]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Unidentified Person / NamUs #UP74377
Male, Black / African American
Date Body Found September 8, 2020
NamUs Case Created October 7, 2020
Location Found Medford, Oregon
Estimated Age Range--
ME/C Case Number 200909-91
Estimated Age Group Adult
Estimated PMI--
Inventory of Remains--
Condition of Remains Not recognizable - Charred/burned
Height 5' 8"-5' 11"(68-71 inches) , Estimated
Weight Cannot Estimate
Hair Color Black
Eye Color Brown
Accessories - Multi-tool - Near the Body
Eyewear - Glasses frames - Near the Body

Circumstances of Recovery - The body of an adult male was discovered at the 8.9 mile marker of the Bear Creek Greenway. This individual is the only unidentified victim remaining from the Alameda Wildfire in Jackson County.

1 Exclusion:
MP72306 Davante Richardson 07/23/2020 District of Columbia DC

 

[YaYa_521]

Per @Lilibet's post in Davohnte Morgan's thread:
SBM
...Mt Shasta LE says they have collected familial DNA and are in touch with Jackson county. No connection to date.

CA - CA - Davohnte Morgan, 28, $25,000 reward, left hotel for a walk, Mt. Shasta, 4 May 2020

 

[YaYa_521]

Forensics provide first description of unidentified Almeda Fire victim

 

[Lilibet]

Thanks for starting a thread @YaYa_521. I reported and asked that “Alameda” (my home town name) be changed to “Almeda” in the title (the name of the street where the fire originated in Ashland).

 

[Lilibet]

Map – The Bear Creek Greenway Foundation

As shown on the map, between mile 8 and 9 is between Ashland and Talent, closer to Ashland, presumably because it connects to a bike path that runs the length of Ashland prior to becoming the Bear Creek Greenway.

The Greenway near Medford has homeless encampments, but that is not really the case where this unidentified person was found. He may have been camped, but it would have been more as an individual. The fire stopped short of Medford.

 

[YaYa_521]

Thanks for starting a thread @YaYa_521. I reported and asked that “Alameda” (my home town name) be changed to “Almeda” in the title (the name of the street where the fire originated in Ashland).

TY. I edited the title. Please help me understand:
Medford, OR is shown as the location found on the NamUs profile. In 'Circumstances of Recovery' it states "from the Alameda(sp?) Wildfire in Jackson County." Is Almeda, the street name, in Medford, OR?

 

[YaYa_521]

@Lilibet TY for the info in the report. I'm pasting it here for future reference. I've edited the title accordingly. TYVM for your help.

"The location in the title should not read Medford, regardless of NamUs. It is closer to Ashland and Talent. The Greenway near Medford is a place where homeless encampments are, so that location in the title will lead to unnecessary speculation. Thanks."

 

[Lilibet]

TY. I edited the title. Please help me understand:
Medford, OR is shown as the location found on the NamUs profile. In 'Circumstances of Recovery' it states "from the Alameda(sp?) Wildfire in Jackson County." Is Almeda, the street name, in Medford, OR?

Thanks for the edit YaYa_521. Namus is wrong. Almeda is the street in Ashland where the fire originated (near Glendower, which the fire is sometimes called). The wind blew the fire for nine miles toward Medford, through Talent and Phoenix, but stopped at the outskirts of Medford.

 

[Lilibet]

These photos don’t begin to convey the devastation of the fire along the Bear Creek Greenway. The fire came so fast that this poor man could not have outrun it. Friends of mine barely got out of their mobile home parks in time. The warning system failed and LE was going door to door loading people into squad cars to rescue them. It’s a miracle that only three people died. About a dozen of my friends lost their homes.

Large portion of Bear Creek Greenway now closed to public

Some of the photos and videos in the link below show the absolute devastation this fire brought to Talent and Phoenix. It’s hard to believe it unless you see it in person as we have.

'All gone:' Residents return to burned-out Oregon towns as many West Coast wildfires keep burning

 

[Lilibet]

Per @Lilibet's post in Davohnte Morgan's thread:
SBM
...Mt Shasta LE says they have collected familial DNA and are in touch with Jackson county. No connection to date.

CA - CA - Davohnte Morgan, 28, $25,000 reward, left hotel for a walk, Mt. Shasta, 4 May 2020

I want to mention that Mt Shasta is only about an hour south of Ashland on Interstate 5, so it’s possible that Davohnte made his way here sometime between May and September when the fire occurred.

The African American population in the area is very small. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland which has a number of black actors was closed due to Covid. Same with Southern Oregon University in Ashland. Anyone in those institutions would have been reported missing, in any case.

The Demographic Statistical Atlas of the United States - Statistical Atlas

 

[BrownBear]

3 Exclusions
MP76729 Johnie Blount 08/01/2020 San Bernardino, CA
MP71948 Davohnte Morgan 05/05/2020 Siskiyou, CA
MP72306 Davante Richardson 07/23/2020 District of Columbia, DC

 

[YaYa_521]

Rest in peace, Derrick.

From @Lilibet's post in Davohnte Morgan's thread: (TY for the update!)

CA - CA - Davohnte Morgan, 28, left hotel for a walk, Mt. Shasta, 4 May 2020 *reward*


Third Almeda Fire victim positively identified - KOBI-TV NBC5 / KOTI-TV NBC2
November 24, 2021
SBM

ASHLAND, Ore. – We now know the name of the only remaining Almeda Fire victim who was still unidentified.

Snip

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office sent out the following press release on November 24, 2021:

The final unidentified victim of the September, 8 2020 Almeda Fire has been positively identified. Derrick Glenn Mills, 55, originally from Yreka, Calif. was found deceased approximately one mile from the fire’s origin.

Snip

Mills’ remains were found at the 8.9-mile marker of the Bear Creek Greenway between Ashland and Talent, Ore.

 

[YaYa_521]

Final Almeda Fire victim identified

SBM
Mills was reported missing in March of 2021. [snip] Mills has been a Jackson County community member since at least 2002, after being born and raised in nearby Yreka, Calif.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

Rest in peace, Derrick.

 

[Lilibet]

Rest in peace, Derrick.

From @Lilibet's post in Davohnte Morgan's thread: (TY for the update!)

CA - CA - Davohnte Morgan, 28, left hotel for a walk, Mt. Shasta, 4 May 2020 *reward*


Third Almeda Fire victim positively identified - KOBI-TV NBC5 / KOTI-TV NBC2
November 24, 2021
SBM

ASHLAND, Ore. – We now know the name of the only remaining Almeda Fire victim who was still unidentified.

Snip

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office sent out the following press release on November 24, 2021:

The final unidentified victim of the September, 8 2020 Almeda Fire has been positively identified. Derrick Glenn Mills, 55, originally from Yreka, Calif. was found deceased approximately one mile from the fire’s origin.

Snip

Mills’ remains were found at the 8.9-mile marker of the Bear Creek Greenway between Ashland and Talent, Ore.

Thanks so much for finding this on Dahvonte’s thread and posting it @YaYa_521 after I neglected to post it here for some reason. Condolences to his family.