OR OR - Wanda Ann Herr, 19, Gresham, 1 Jun 1976

[Backabeyond]

Possible. I see he was 27 at the time of Wanda's murder, and that he died in prison.

Ghosts of Highway 20

A much more in depth look.

 

[Backabeyond]

Possible. I see he was 27 at the time of Wanda's murder, and that he died in prison.

Ghosts of Highway 20

A much more in depth look.

Ghosts of Highway 20

A much more in depth look.

Just realized that is part 5/5, but the others are easy to find

 

[Andreee]

Sorry, messed up sending this reply but it is a response to Backabeyond's above post.



It's certainly possible, Backabeyond, good catch. I see that in Wikipedia it says: "In 1977, Ackroyd raped Marlene Gabrielsen. In 1978 he, along with Roger Dale Beck, abducted and murdered Kaye Turner. Roger Beck was also found guilty in the murder of Kaye Turner at a separate trial."

 

[Backabeyond]

It's certainly possible, good catch. I see that in Wikipedia it says: "In 1977, Ackroyd raped Marlene Gabrielsen. In 1978 he, along with Roger Dale Beck, abducted and murdered Kaye Turner. Roger Beck was also found guilty in the murder of Kaye Turner at a separate trial."

and a witness in the Turner murder said that months before she was riding her bike in the same area and JA was parked on the side of the road waiting and pointing a gun at her, telling her to stop. She just ducked and flew by. His other likely victim was his step-daughter. And then there are two more murders closer to Newport on 20. I think I read they were connected to JA somehow.

 

[Andreee]

Ghosts of Highway 20

A much more in depth look.

And of course assuming there was foul play involved in Wanda's disappearance rather than succumbing to the cold or other factors.

 

[Andreee]

and a witness in the Turner murder said that months before she was riding her bike in the same area and JA was parked on the side of the road waiting and pointing a gun at her, telling her to stop. She just ducked and flew by. His other likely victim was his step-daughter. And then there are two more murders closer to Newport on 20. I think I read they were connected to JA somehow.

oh wow, i wonder if he can be looked at via dna as a possible in Wanda's case.

 

[Backabeyond]

And of course assuming there was foul play involved in Wanda's disappearance rather than succumbing to the cold or other factors.

of course. Which is possible. It is a good distance to have reached though, and it also appears there is some civilization in the area she was found

 

[Andreee]

of course. Which is possible. It is a good distance to have reached though, and it also appears there is some civilization in the area she was found

Yes, thing is though I wonder how developed it was back in 1976.

 

[Backabeyond]

oh wow, i wonder if he can be looked at via dna as a possible in Wanda's case.

I think it was only a partial skull found, so I doubt it.

 

[Backabeyond]

Yes, thing is though I wonder how developed it was back in 1976.

I found an Air BNB advertising a hotel that once housed the 1975 U.S. Ski team. It's seen as the ski hub for the mountain nowadays. Don't know about then. Probably not a bustling metropolis, but it seems like there has always been something in the area.

 

[Andreee]

I think it was only a partial skull found, so I doubt it.

I'm thinking she may've run away from the group home and been hitchhiking and met with foul play now that I read where she was found (forgot it was a forest road).

 

[Backabeyond]

I'm thinking she may've run away from the group home and been hitchhiking and met with foul play now that I read where she was found (forgot it was a forest road).

Yea, I think thats accepted. I'd guess that she got picked up somewhere along the way. I'm curious what kind of group home houses a 19 yr old though. Only thing I can thing of is if she had developmental disabilities. Otherwise she would've aged out of the system. At least, based on what I know of our current system.

 

[Beekarina]

Yea, I think thats accepted. I'd guess that she got picked up somewhere along the way. I'm curious what kind of group home houses a 19 yr old though. Only thing I can thing of is if she had developmental disabilities. Otherwise she would've aged out of the system. At least, based on what I know of our current system.

Mental illness of some kind? What about an addiction, where she was found to not be capable/fit to live on her own yet, maybe in some legal trouble (speculating, not victim shaming here) and instead of serving time, sent to a home, and counseling, etc? Would that have existed in the mid-70s? I was a very young child then, so not sure how things worked

 

[alb1on]

Odd case.

If Wanda had significant disabilities, either physical or developmental or of any other type, then you would expect surviving family members to know that even if she was raised elsewhere. And physical difficulties would seem to be an impediment to being a chronic runaway. But from the pleas for information from LE it seems they have little information from family members so I would start from the assumption that any problems she had were not obvious.

It is unclear from reports whether she is believed to have been in a group home at the time of her disappearance or to have previously been in one but moved to live independently on reaching an appropriate age. This seems a critical issue in determining where to start an investigation. If she was in a home an investigation starts there by tracing any staff or residents at the time, understanding her life and asking whether there were any other concerns related to the home. If she had moved on the question is to where, and who was in her circle of contacts at the time.

Having established some sort of understanding of her situation when she disappeared, only then is it time to move onto the question of how she came to be found some miles away in a more remote area. Does her situation explain why she would be there or is some other explanation needed?

What I do find odd is how little information LE seem to have. Even if the family were not very connected to her, surely they must have been able to supply the names of those who raised her and probably others who were closer? That alone should enable a much clearer view of her circumstances.

I still feel the same as I did some time ago. This case has an odd smell.

 

[evilwise]

Gresham, Oregon has an active historical society that posts a lot of tidbits about the city

Gresham Historical Society

In a look through the page the only anecdote I saw from 1976 is that a large cannery burned down and millions of dollars of powdered milk was lost but I would imagine if someone reached out to them they could find out the nature of whatever "group home" might have existed there.

 

[Backabeyond]

Odd case.

If Wanda had significant disabilities, either physical or developmental or of any other type, then you would expect surviving family members to know that even if she was raised elsewhere. And physical difficulties would seem to be an impediment to being a chronic runaway. But from the pleas for information from LE it seems they have little information from family members so I would start from the assumption that any problems she had were not obvious.

It is unclear from reports whether she is believed to have been in a group home at the time of her disappearance or to have previously been in one but moved to live independently on reaching an appropriate age. This seems a critical issue in determining where to start an investigation. If she was in a home an investigation starts there by tracing any staff or residents at the time, understanding her life and asking whether there were any other concerns related to the home. If she had moved on the question is to where, and who was in her circle of contacts at the time.

Having established some sort of understanding of her situation when she disappeared, only then is it time to move onto the question of how she came to be found some miles away in a more remote area. Does her situation explain why she would be there or is some other explanation needed?

What I do find odd is how little information LE seem to have. Even if the family were not very connected to her, surely they must have been able to supply the names of those who raised her and probably others who were closer? That alone should enable a much clearer view of her circumstances.

I still feel the same as I did some time ago. This case has an odd smell.

I would definitely expect family members to know those things. I'd also expect more information being available considering her sisters have been interviewed. As mobile as it appears she was, I would lean towards her problems being less obvious or more of a psychological nature. I don't know if it was still "fashionable" in that time to "ship off" your "problems", but at some point it was done for all sorts of issues, many of which were extremely minor.

 

[Backabeyond]

Gresham, Oregon has an active historical society that posts a lot of tidbits about the city

Gresham Historical Society

In a look through the page the only anecdote I saw from 1976 is that a large cannery burned down and millions of dollars of powdered milk was lost but I would imagine if someone reached out to them they could find out the nature of whatever "group home" might have existed there.

I will see if they have any info. Not sure if historical societies deal in that sort of info or not.

 

[Backabeyond]

Odd case.

If Wanda had significant disabilities, either physical or developmental or of any other type, then you would expect surviving family members to know that even if she was raised elsewhere. And physical difficulties would seem to be an impediment to being a chronic runaway. But from the pleas for information from LE it seems they have little information from family members so I would start from the assumption that any problems she had were not obvious.

It is unclear from reports whether she is believed to have been in a group home at the time of her disappearance or to have previously been in one but moved to live independently on reaching an appropriate age. This seems a critical issue in determining where to start an investigation. If she was in a home an investigation starts there by tracing any staff or residents at the time, understanding her life and asking whether there were any other concerns related to the home. If she had moved on the question is to where, and who was in her circle of contacts at the time.

Having established some sort of understanding of her situation when she disappeared, only then is it time to move onto the question of how she came to be found some miles away in a more remote area. Does her situation explain why she would be there or is some other explanation needed?

What I do find odd is how little information LE seem to have. Even if the family were not very connected to her, surely they must have been able to supply the names of those who raised her and probably others who were closer? That alone should enable a much clearer view of her circumstances.

I still feel the same as I did some time ago. This case has an odd smell.

Wanda Ann Herr She is also listed on the THE RESOURCE CENTER FOR COLD CASE MISSING CHILDREN’S CASES. Listed: Date Of Birth: circa, 1957 (she was approx. 19, so that seems accurate)

Also found this Albertina Kerr Centers about the history of the Albertina Kerr Homes situated in Gresham, Oregon.

<snipped> In 1940, the Louise Home and the Albertina Kerr Nursery joined to become Albertina Kerr Homes. ,<located at 722 N.E. 162nd Ave, Gersham, Oregon> Kerr built cottages on the Louise Home campus to provide safe residential treatment to children needing psychiatric care. The campus specializes in both residential and outpatient mental health services and counseling for families.

<snipped> In the late 1970s, Salem’s Fairview Training Center, the state-run institution for people with developmental disabilities, made plans to move its residents to community-based homes. Albertina Kerr opened the Kerr Center for Handicapped Children at Marylhurst University in Portland in 1976 and later built group homes for clients. Albertina Kerr’s Developmental Disabilities Programs expanded its group homes and other services to cities throughout Oregon so that clients could be served near their families.

From this article A legacy of providing aid to the most vulnerable <snipped> Albertina Kerr's mission isn't far off what the Louise Home was originally intended to be. The organization is trying to empower people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, mental health challenges and other social barriers to lead better lives and achieve their full potential. They do this through crisis psychiatric care, family resource centers, treatment programs, youth group homes and much more.

So there were two institutes operating, a state run institution though it was situated in Salem. My conclusion for now is that she resided under the care of the Albertina Kerr Center. The address named in Namus links to the following address in Gresham خرائط ‪Google‬‏‏

I couldn't find a link to this address and the Albertina Kerr Home for now, but maybe the coördinates are just landing somewhere in Gresham.

 

[Backabeyond]

I wonder if calling the PD would be more revealing in details?

 

[Backabeyond]

I am fairly confident that Wanda is/was the daughter of Elton Robert Herr and his then wife Daisy (both of whom are now dead) and who lived in Forest Grove in Oregon at the time Wanda went missing. My belief is based on material in Ancestry. Firstly there is a family tree which seems to belong to another daughter (who would be Wanda's sister) which lists a daughter Wanda with an unknown death date. Secondly, there is a yearbook picture from 1976 of another daughter who looks just like Wanda. There are multiple trees for this Herr family and another gives the full name of Wanda Ann Herr with a DoB of 1 May 1957.

I came across the names of a Wanda and a male Herr on a 1975 class list for Forest Grove. The younger sister, Wilma, who was interviewed, is on the 1977 list. But no photos or other identifying info for any of the 3.