Found Deceased OR - Owen Klinger, 18, University of Portland, 6 Oct 2019

[abstr]

If he went to an ATM, he couldn't have withdrawn that much money. A few hundred dollars at most.

It all depends on your bank. We have one account that we can take a pretty substantial (especially to a college student) amount out at the ATM. Another has a very low cash limit as well as a low overall daily purchase limit, unless I call to let them know I will be using it for a larger purchase. IMO

 

[otto]

Mugging? He just hit the ATM after all.

Possibly, but that doesn't usually include abduction.

 

[otto]

They may be able to log in to his grades online.

They would need the password that he created after he started classes. In any case, it seems likely that he self-reported that his grades were 80% in all classes. He may have told his parents what they want to hear.

 

[Angelwatch]

I’m pretty sure he was last seen on campus at 7:30. He was seen at the Trimet stop at 7:50

Adding to your timeline. He was seen walking on Portsmouth and Lombard at 8:30 via Trimet video.
Univ. of Portland holds vigil for missing student Owen Klinger

That’s away from campus about 10 blocks. Kinda a long way to go, IMO as someone who knows the area.

The university is located on a bluff overlooking the willamette river. There is also a newer section of campus (built since I graduated) that is level with the river. An accident involving the river or the riverbank crossed my mind initially, however, the last confirmed sighting of Owen (via TriMet cameras) was him walking the opposite direction of campus/the river.

I agree. When I first heard this, I would have suggested they search the Bluff and then the bank of the Willamette. UP is in a very safe area of Portland and you can head in both directions for blocks and it remains safe. Below the Bluff really isn’t that safe though. But since he was off campus at Portsmouth/Lombard and his phone was turned off shortly thereafter, I don’t see this as something that happened on campus.

Some other info from an interview with his mother that someone may find relevant. She said the cash withdrawal was larger than she usually makes (she compared to herself) but she justified it as saying Owen gets a $3.00 charge so he might have taken extra money to avoid multiple fees. She also said all the cash in his dorm room was gone. I don’t find this unusual since he had been on campus for 6 weeks. His backpack and computer were left in his dorm. She named the cellular company of their phones and said they had basic phone records and were tracking down numbers they didn’t recognize.

 

[Angelwatch]

They would need the password that he created after he started classes. In any case, it seems likely that he self-reported that his grades were 80% in all classes. He may have told his parents what they want to hear.

At orientation UP told us that there was a permission form that students can sign giving permission for parents to access grades. That’s not something we did but I know it’s an option. It’s entirely possible Owen signed the form and his parents had access to his grades.

 

[Bree1950]

They would need the password that he created after he started classes. In any case, it seems likely that he self-reported that his grades were 80% in all classes. He may have told his parents what they want to hear.

The parents video from the vigil said his grades had been confirmed.

 

[PdxErn]

Adding to your timeline. He was seen walking on Portsmouth and Lombard at 8:30 via Trimet video.
Univ. of Portland holds vigil for missing student Owen Klinger

That’s away from campus about 10 blocks. Kinda a long way to go, IMO as someone who knows the area.




I agree. When I first heard this, I would have suggested they search the Bluff and then the bank of the Willamette. UP is in a very safe area of Portland and you can head in both directions for blocks and it remains safe. Below the Bluff really isn’t that safe though. But since he was off campus at Portsmouth/Lombard and his phone was turned off shortly thereafter, I don’t see this as something that happened on campus.

Some other info from an interview with his mother that someone may find relevant. She said the cash withdrawal was larger than she usually makes (she compared to herself) but she justified it as saying Owen gets a $3.00 charge so he might have taken extra money to avoid multiple fees. She also said all the cash in his dorm room was gone. I don’t find this unusual since he had been on campus for 6 weeks. His backpack and computer were left in his dorm. She named the cellular company of their phones and said they had basic phone records and were tracking down numbers they didn’t recognize.

The neighborhood around UP is a very safe residential neighborhood. However, like you said, he got himself about 10 blocks away from campus. That area has cleaned up a bit since I went to UP 4 years ago, however, if he headed east on Lombard or further north on Portsmouth it’s possible he could have run into trouble. The corner he was last seen on has a gas station, mini mart, and a phone store. I’m hopeful that if he kept walking after the bus stop one of these businesses would have captured the direction he went in and possibly whether anyone was following/with him

 

[kaen]

Like many here, I wonder if the stress of school was mounting and making him question himself. With his current grades confirmed and abrupt change in his behavior (unlike him to out of contact and out until 1 AM), the question of his mental health continues to loom.

 

[Angelwatch]

The neighborhood around UP is a very safe residential neighborhood. However, like you said, he got himself about 10 blocks away from campus. That area has cleaned up a bit since I went to UP 4 years ago, however, if he headed east on Lombard or further north on Portsmouth it’s possible he could have run into trouble. The corner he was last seen on has a gas station, mini mart, and a phone store. I’m hopeful that if he kept walking after the bus stop one of these businesses would have captured the direction he went in and possibly whether anyone was following/with him

I think there’s a tattoo place near that corner as well. That could explain needing cash. In any case, there are multiple businesses and hopefully some of them have cameras.

 

[LAborn]

I was replying to the above posts comments regarding the comment someone wouldn’t abduct an 18 year old: John Gacey killed 33 construction working young men! I don’t know why anyone would abduct anyone but you can’t rule it out based on the age of someone.

I'm not saying it's impossible, but it's likely not what happened to him. I hope he's found safe and sound.

 

[PixieStix]

Just caught up with the threads on this case. I had seen it posted somewhere on FB and came to see if there was a thread about him.
His parents repeatedly stated this was out of character for him; however, the roommates knew enough from their last conversation about him going to the lacross meeting that something wasn't right, so much, so one waited up for him. That is very telling. I think the roommates who lived with him might have a better idea of "off" behavior.

That all being said, he has been missing almost a week now. The images of him leaving campus shows he had a very small backpack that didn't look like it held much or that it had much in it. If he was planning to walk away from his life, he didn't take much, so that is concerning. I can't imagine the amount of money he had on him would be enough to survive that long. So, that makes me wonder about other possibilities for him voluntarily leaving. Strangely, his phone went off shortly after he left. I have a teenager, and I know they always make sure their phone is charged when they are going to be going out.

I'm not sold one way or another at the moment on whether he left voluntarily, but there are definitely questions surrounding that. We need more information.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

I feel for him and his parents. I don't think speculating without evidence is fair to them. But this does feel like a case where LE needs to act quickly. Hoping for a good outcome.

 

[MissMalowe]

Speculating / making educated guesses as to what may have happened based on the evidence or information we do have is all we can do, and in doing so, I don't think anyone here is attempting to be hurtful or unfair to his parents.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Educated guesses to help with focus regarding the next steps to take are one thing. I get that. There was a post that was very personal gossip-rumor, though. (Not sure if it's still there.)

 

[otto]

Speculating / making educated guesses as to what may have happened based on the evidence or information we do have is all we can do, and in doing so, I don't think anyone here is attempting to be hurtful or unfair to his parents.

His parents must be worried sick about him, especially given that his roommates suspected that something was wrong on the evening that he vanished.

My first thought was whether he was following his parents', or his own, dreams when he enrolled in university. I know from personal experience that 18 year old children are inclined to follow a path set out by their parents even when they have other goals, passions and dreams. They are sometimes unable to tell their parents what they really want because they don't want to disappoint their parents. If they are living their parent's dreams, and it's not working for them, some do shut down. If this is the case, I hope that he simply walked away to live his own life on his own terms.

 

[MissMalowe]

Educated guesses to help with focus regarding the next steps to take are one thing. I get that. There was a post that was very personal gossip-rumor, though. (Not sure if it's still there.)

In that case, we're always told by moderators to report. They're always quick to assess the situation/post in question.

 

[MissMalowe]

That small drawstring backpack he had with him in the photos; did he normally carry that with him around campus?

 

[PixieStix]

That small drawstring backpack he had with him in the photos; did he normally carry that with him around campus?

I was curious about that too but came to the conclusion that is probably pretty typical. Now my new question is has there been any activity at all on his phone. It would be strange for him to bring his phone if he wanted to escape for a bit only to turn it off and not use it. You'd think he would leave it behind to avoid being found, so, that makes me wonder more.

 

[Penny4YourThoughts]

These are the meetups in Portland for Sunday, Oct 6th. Find your people | Meetup

Any jump out to you guys? Wondering if Owen attended "a" meeting or meetup of
some sort, same timeframe he knew roomies would expect him to leave for Lacrosse, but instead headed for the other one. Did Owen belong to other clubs, groups, dating apps? Was the cash withdrawal for a purchase from someone or a group he was meeting?

 

[10ofRods]

I just saw on the Find Owen Facebook page that they are asking people to check their security cameras the night he disappeared! I was really surprised that LE hadn’t already done this quite some time ago! I live in Southern Oregon and my cameras are registered with the Police. If something happens the Police know immediately who has cameras in the area. I don’t understand this taking this long and I don’t understand why there hasn’t been sniffer dogs used? It seems like it is rather late to be just now trying to have cameras in the area checked!

That's interesting that your cameras are registered with the police. I doubt it's the case in Portland, but would like to know for sure. People can buy security cameras from Amazon and just stick them up (we have trail cameras on the back side of our property, took just a few minutes to install). I can't imagine that every single camera is actually registered, even if there's a requirement. Where I live, we have to register our security system if we want the police to respond automatically should the security center call in, but we don't have to register cameras.