OR OR - Crystal Ruth Miller, 47, Crane, 10 Jan 1984

[Gardener1850]

No Photo

Crystal Ruth Miller
Harney County, Oregon
47 year old white female

Height (inches)

Weight (pounds)

[TD="class: view_field"]65.0[/TD]

[TD="class: view_field"]135.0[/TD]

Red/Auburn Hair
Blue Eyes

Circumstances: Crystal went missing from the Kinger cattle ranch she and her husband worked on outside of Crane, Oregon.

Dental information / charting is available and entered

DNA Status: Sample is currently not available

Fingerprint information is currently not available

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/27008/

Please help find a photo of Crystal and more info on her case.

 

[folieadeuxnola]

Statesman Journal - 07 Oct 1989

Deputies reopen case of lost Salem woman
Crystal Ruth Stephenson Miller was last seen at 7:00 am Jan 10 1984 at her residence on Blue Heron Farms southwest of Salem. She worked at the farm as a picking crew foreman, she has no relatives in the area. 5'5" 135 lbs light red hair and blue eyes. Medium complexion with freckles, wore glasses and had an upper dental plate.

**Do not see where the upper dental plate was mentioned on her profile in NAMUS

 

[Gardener1850]

Statesman Journal - 07 Oct 1989

Deputies reopen case of lost Salem woman
Crystal Ruth Stephenson Miller was last seen at 7:00 am Jan 10 1984 at her residence on Blue Heron Farms southwest of Salem. She worked at the farm as a picking crew foreman, she has no relatives in the area. 5'5" 135 lbs light red hair and blue eyes. Medium complexion with freckles, wore glasses and had an upper dental plate.

**Do not see where the upper dental plate was mentioned on her profile in NAMUS

Upper dental plate wasn't mentioned on NAMUS. That could be a huge clue for matching her to a Jane Doe. Thanks for finding more info for all these cold cases @folieadeuxnola

 

[folieadeuxnola]

Statesman Journal - 27 Jan 1993

Similarities listed in disappearances
Prosecutor outlined a myriad of similarities between the disappearances of two women whom were married to Gerald Wesley Miller. Gerald was arrested last May following a three year investigation. Ruth Crystal Miller his wife of 29 years disappeared on Jan 10 1984. Gerald divorced Ruth on Jul 24 1985 and married Carol Ann Kajfosz the following Oct 12, she disappeared May 21 1989. All thou their bodies never have been found district attorney Dianne Middle told jurors that there was sufficient evidence that Miller had killed them.

-Miller was the last person to see both women
-All personal effects were left behind
-Miller gave inconsistent explanations of their disapperance
-Both women were close to their families
-The motive was the same, Gerald had developed a relationship with another woman
-Miller disposed of his wives personal effects almost immediately, including gifts of their jewelry to his new girl friends
-Miller did nothing to look for the women

Defense stated their was evidence that Ruth was going through menopause and that she had fallen out of love with her husband for years. It was also stated Ruth was so sick and weak that she was going to do herself in.

**There is a 2nd wife that was missing as of 1989 unsure if they found her Carol Ann Kajfosz

 

[folieadeuxnola]

Here are a few other items of mention
-Ruth & Gerald moved to Salem in 1983 from their family ranch in Harney county. After his 1st wife Ruth disappeared Miller received a divorce in Marion County Jul 1985. On Oct 12 85 he married his 2nd wife in Harney county and returned to work at the farm. Carol Ann Kajfosz was a native of Horseshoe Bend, Arkansas.

Ruth Crystal was last seen at her home, not long after the disappearance her car was found abandoned on a nearby farm.


This appears to be a rather hot case

 

[Gardener1850]

Statesman Journal - 27 Jan 1993

Similarities listed in disappearances
Prosecutor outlined a myriad of similarities between the disappearances of two women whom were married to Gerald Wesley Miller. Gerald was arrested last May following a three year investigation. Ruth Crystal Miller his wife of 29 years disappeared on Jan 10 1984. Gerald divorced Ruth on Jul 24 1985 and married Carol Ann Kajfosz the following Oct 12, she disappeared May 21 1989. All thou their bodies never have been found district attorney Dianne Middle told jurors that there was sufficient evidence that Miller had killed them.

-Miller was the last person to see both women
-All personal effects were left behind
-Miller gave inconsistent explanations of their disapperance
-Both women were close to their families
-The motive was the same, Gerald had developed a relationship with another woman
-Miller disposed of his wives personal effects almost immediately, including gifts of their jewelry to his new girl friends
-Miller did nothing to look for the women

Defense stated their was evidence that Ruth was going through menopause and that she had fallen out of love with her husband for years. It was also stated Ruth was so sick and weak that she was going to do herself in.

**There is a 2nd wife that was missing as of 1989 unsure if they found her Carol Ann Kajfosz

Wow. I tried googling the 2nd wife Carol and didn't find any missing profiles for her (not sure if she would be Carol Miller or listed under her maiden name but I searched both). Gerald Wesley Miller was convicted of 2 counts of murder: Gerald Wesley Miller | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers
FindLaw's Court of Appeals of Oregon case and opinions.
MILLER v. BALDWIN | Case No. 3:96-cv-00114-CL... | 20160721d07| Leagle.com

 

[folieadeuxnola]

Wow. I tried googling the 2nd wife Carol and didn't find any missing profiles for her (not sure if she would be Carol Miller or listed under her maiden name but I searched both). Gerald Wesley Miller was convicted of 2 counts of murder: Gerald Wesley Miller | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers
FindLaw's Court of Appeals of Oregon case and opinions.
MILLER v. BALDWIN | Case No. 3:96-cv-00114-CL... | 20160721d07| Leagle.com

Indeed pretty interesting, Carol was from Horseshoe Bend, Ark. I found Ruth Crystal's maiden name in an article. Looking for a photo as well

 

[madamx]

just throwing it out there but could this be her? the witnesses said that they saw a man dumping her body from a yellow car. I wonder how long it took for people to realize Ruth Crystal was missing? 261UFWI

Date of Discovery: May 4, 1984
Location of Discovery: Westby, Vernon County, Wisconsin
Estimated Date of Death: 24-48 hours prior
State of Remains: Recognizable face
Cause of Death: Homicide

Physical Description
Estimated Age: 50-65 years old
Race: White
Gender: Female
Height: 5'5" to 5'6"
Weight: 150 lbs.
Hair Color: Tinted brown with streaks of gray at the temples. She may have had a permanent shortly before her death.
Eye Color: Blue
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Toenails were left untrimmed with nails having a hooked appearance. Vertical abdominal scar (43/4") along her midline. Blood type O postive.

Identifiers
Dentals: Available. Full dentures with the following numbers on tissue side of upper denture - 420 inscribed with a burr tip instrument - 289 in raised lettering on denture when made at dental laboratory. Two of the teeth on the dentures were missing; it is unknown if this was a result of her murder. Poor hygiene.
Fingerprints: Not available. Hands not recovered.
DNA: Available.

 

[Onfortuneswheel]

Wow. I tried googling the 2nd wife Carol and didn't find any missing profiles for her (not sure if she would be Carol Miller or listed under her maiden name but I searched both). Gerald Wesley Miller was convicted of 2 counts of murder: Gerald Wesley Miller | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers
FindLaw's Court of Appeals of Oregon case and opinions.
MILLER v. BALDWIN | Case No. 3:96-cv-00114-CL... | 20160721d07| Leagle.com

Carol has a NamUs profile: MP# 27009

 

[Gardener1850]

Carol has a NamUs profile: MP# 27009

Thanks, I don't know why I couldn't find it before. I started a thread for her: OR - Or - Carol A Miller, 43, Burns, 30 May 1989

 

[CATastrophic]

Hi everyone. This is my first post!

I was able to find photos of Crystal Ruth Miller on familysearch.org. I do not want to provide a direct link because there are photos of other family members as well and I am concerned about their privacy.

I contacted NamUs about the photos so hopefully they will contact the family member that put them up and request permission to add them to Crystal's profile.

Here are two images of her. One of her face which was taken soon before she went missing, and one of her profile which was taken at some earlier time, probably when she was significantly younger.

Hope this helps!

 

[Murkywaters]

Crystal has been added to The Doe Network, with a photo added.

4420DFOR - Crystal Ruth Miller

Crystal went missing from the Kinger cattle ranch she and her husband worked on outside of Crane, Oregon.

Gerald Miller, 56, was found guilty of killing his two wives: Crystal Miller, who disappeared in 1984, and Carol Miller, missing since 1989. He was sentenced to life in prison.

 

[Caring1]

Crystal’s NamUs profile was modified today. There are no photos or exclusions.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov