OR OR - Katie Eggleston, 22, Portland, 2 Aug 1993

[PonderingThings]

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1140753323132900.xml&coll=7

Man draws scrutiny in '93 cold case
Crime - Portland reviews a woman's disappearance for ties to the Wilberger suspect
Friday, February 24, 2006
ANNE SAKER and MAXINE BERNSTEIN

About six months ago, the parents of Katie Eggleston welcomed an FBI agent into their Redmond home. The arrival gave the couple the first hint in years that authorities might have uncovered a fresh clue in the search for their missing daughter.

"I was surprised that an agent came all the way over here to do that," Paul Eggleston said Thursday.

Portland police said Thursday that they are investigating whether the man charged with the 2004 murder of Brooke Wilberger may have been involved in the 1993 disappearance of Katie Eggleston, 22, in Portland.

Joel Patrick Courtney, 39, who grew up in Beaverton, now awaits trial on rape charges in New Mexico. When he was charged in July with Wilberger's killing, law enforcement agencies in several states re-examined their cold cases for possible connections to Courtney.

Last month, the FBI issued a bulletin saying it was investigating whether Courtney killed three other victims in Oregon. On Thursday, however, the FBI released another bulletin saying investigators have eliminated Courtney as a suspect in two of those cases but that it was still working with local authorities on a third case. The bureau did not say whether any of the cases involved Eggleston.

Thursday, Portland police Sgt. Wayne Svilar, who heads the Cold Case Unit, said Eggleston's disappearance is under review for links to Courtney.

Eggleston, 22, of Gresham went missing Aug. 2, 1993, when she left a travel agency in Northeast Portland. Her car was found near Northeast 128th Avenue and Airport Way in Portland.

Svilar would not say that a firm tie to Courtney had been made in Eggleston's case, but he said, "There are obvious similarities: She's abducted. She's never found, and there are similarities in the victims' appearances."

Eggleston, like Wilberger, was young, slender and blond, characteristics that authorities say were common among Courtney's victims.

In addition, the FBI said Courtney was in Portland in 1993.

Similar investigations in New Mexico have petered out. The district attorney and an FBI spokesman in Albuquerque said they had not turned up additional cases involving Courtney.

Police are not saying Courtney is the man responsible for Eggleston's disappearance, and Svilar said the case remains under investigation. An FBI agent is assigned to the Cold Case Unit and is assisting.

But Eggleston's father, Paul, said Thursday, "We know more now than we knew years ago. We're glad that somebody's looking into this."

Eggleston said an FBI agent visited him and his wife in their Central Oregon home about six months ago to take samples of their DNA. Eggleston would not discuss what he learned about his daughter's disappearance that day or since.

Eggleston said he offered the agent the seven loose-leaf binders in which the family has kept a log of everything they knew about the case. Eggleston said he was just about to ask for the binders to be returned when Svilar called him Thursday morning to alert him to the FBI's bulletin.

Staff writer Jeff Manning contributed to this story. Anne Saker: 503-294-7656; annesaker@news.oregonian.com

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I could not find a listing on the Doe Network, or the Charley Project, so here is the information from the article:

Katie Eggleston
Missing From: Portland, Oregon since August 2, 1993
Age: 22
Eyes: Blue
Build: Slender
Hair: Blond

 

[PonderingThings]

http://www.koin.com/news.asp?ID=2550

PORTLAND -- The FBI is looking at possible connections between Joel Courtney and Katie Eggleston, who vanished in 1993.

CourtneyCourtney, 39, is charged in the rape and murder of 19-year-old Brooke Willberger, who disappeared in May 2004 from a Corvallis apartment complex parking lot. He's also charged in the kidnap and rape of a New Mexico college student.

Detectives say Courtney appears to target young, white females with blond hair and blue eyes.

Eggleston, who fits the profile, was 22 years old when she went missing in Portland. Her parents reportedly talked about six months ago with FBI agents.

Courtney is currently in an Albuquerque jail on the New Mexico charges.

 

[mysteriew]

Police chief says that they case is under review. There are some similiarities. FBI agent has been assigned to cold case unit to assist with the investigation.
Courtney was in Portland in 1993. Family talking about the FBI visit. Family says their DNA was taken about 6 months ago, and say they learned more about what happened, but they refuse to discuss what they learned. http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1140753323132900.xml&coll=7

 

[PrayersForMaura]

Originally posted by Be Adequite!

Missing/cold case- OR state- Katheryn/Katie Eggleston
Katheryn/Katie Eggleston- Portland, OR

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1954dfor.html

I've always wondered if she met with foul play by someone she knew, at least on an acquaintance level. Her car was located less than a day after she disappeared, approx. 10 miles away from where she was last seen. There were no apparent signs of struggle- her purse and other misc personal belongings were left on the front seat.

Her parents never believed the runaway theory that police suggested, and her father states that he believes Katie was murdered.

More info here-
http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/...story_id=16005

 

[dorothyz]

For some reason, this case has always stuck with me. It happened while I was in high school in Portland and I still think about it often. Would anyone be interested in taking a fresh look at it with me?

 

[fullofsecrets]

I found a Charley Project listing for Katie:

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/e/eggleston_katie.html

and Porchlight International:

http://s10.invisionfree.com/usedtobedoe/index.php?showtopic=9671

Hope these are both approved links!

 

[scandi]

For some reason, this case has always stuck with me. It happened while I was in high school in Portland and I still think about it often. Would anyone be interested in taking a fresh look at it with me?

Hi Dorothy, Yes, I will help. Reading from that above link {second one} it says: 'a man to whom Eggleston had just made a sale saw her get off the building’s elevator in the company of a man wearing a blue blazer. He is described as having dark hair and a dark complexion.

Courtney seems blonder than that to me, but who knows what he looked like then.

There must be some reason they are zoning in on him in their investigation. I could call the person in charge of the investigation and tell them we want to Sleuth the case, and ask if there is anything they can give us, except for pulling out all the info on Courtney in 2003 which we can do ourselves.

Victimology is so important in cases like this, as important as the profile of the perp. Why would this guy have chosen her? Would it have matched the circumstances of dear Brooke's abduction? I have always had a special spot in my heart for Brooke, maybe because she was somewhat of a local girl.

They say that SK's commit a huge number of crimes before they settle into their MO as a multiple killer. I am sure he is well heeled in the art of abduction and murder IMO.

As an example, we have a well respected poster here who had an incident with a man who turned out to be a SK in southern Washington State. He was a friend of her parents and the incident happened not long before { I might have that wrong and it was not long after that} this man killed a woman he had abducted in Aberdeen, throwing her away off a logging road where it would take a long time for her to be found. He was convicted of that lady's murder, but there are other unsolved and similar cases still open in that area, and a retired Detective from the area still working on putting all the dots in a row to solve them.


xox

 

[dorothyz]

Thank you so much for the response, I just thought to check back here!

Do you think they would give us anything related to their investigation? That would be so helpful! I followed this closely in the 90s but I want to go back and look at everything again. I think Courtney is a good place to start... like you said, I'm sure there's a reason he's the focus, and although I wish I could find more about Katie, I can see how there would be similarities between them.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Cold Case: The disappearance of Katie Eggleston

http://koin.com/2016/02/10/cold-case-the-disappearance-of-katie-eggleston/

It’s been 22 years since Katie Eggleston disappeared. Decades later, mystery still surrounds the unsolved case.

The search ended when clues and leads became dead ends after a few days. Days turned into weeks, months turned into years. It’s now been more than 2 decades, and the case of Katie Eggleston remains unsolved.

“I think in the first couple of weeks there was optimisim that something would be found,” Lewis said. “ didn’t think this would go on for 22 years.”

Eggleston’s friends say they’re still convinced they know what happened.

“I really and truly believe that it was somebody she knew,” Jason Epple said. “Had it been a stranger, there would have been a big fight. There’s no way that somebody would have just grabbed Katie, hauled her off and killed her without a major fight.”

 

[EmmaliLucia]

I feel like what was found could help us out immensely:

Her car was found at midnight
The keys were in the ignition
The windows were rolled down
The purse and all of it's contents were in the front seat
They found no blood or sign of struggle

It's obvious that the killer wanted her car to either get stolen or to have all of her stuff stolen. But if nothing had happened in the car then why didn't her abductor just leave it where it was? They also said that they saw a car similar to Katie's in the parking lot of where she was supposed to meet her boss, but that's not a concrete sighting.

I don't know, what does the evidence say to all y'all?

 

[alb1on]

The following links to a copy of a Portland Tribune story on this case from 2003. It is probably the one linked in post #4 above, but I thought I would post since the earlier link no longer seems to work and the story provides a very comprehensive run through of not only the disappearance but also the exclusion of some suspects (such as the boyfriend) and a bizarre theory of what seem to have been wholly incompetent LE, linking the disappearance to a family court case involving tax evasion.

http://missing87975.yuku.com/topic/3363/Update-for-Katie-Eggleston#.Vr4-8BsrHIV

However, even after reading I am not sure I am any clearer on what may have happened.

 

[MysteryMaven]

The gas station sighting is interesting-too bad there doesn't seem to be any corroborating surveillance video. LE seems to think the serial killer was involved, but no other information about that angle has been released.
I am surprised this is the first I have ever heard about this case.

 

[MysteryMaven]

gas station sighting by attendant

".....he gave her directions to the airport and saw her drive northbound on 122nd Avenue in a car whose make he can't recall. A short time later, the same woman drove a different car a bluish-green Honda hatchback southbound on 122nd and back into the station. This time the woman was accompanied by two black men, one in the passenger seat, one in the back. She was also, contrary to her earlier, professional appearance, disheveled, partially undressed and crying.

The former attendant, who declined to be identified for publication, told the Tribune he heard her say, 'Please, please,' to the men several times and thought that she did things, including driving extremely erratically, to attract attention.

Shortly thereafter, he said, he saw Katie's picture on the news, connected it with the woman at the gas station and went to the police.

The man's story stands out for three reasons.

First, at a time when the detectives were telling the Egglestons that they had no leads, the man said Wagner (lead detective) made it clear she wasn't interested in his information about black suspects because police were looking for a white man, possibly with a Southern accent. This was an apparent reference to the anonymous caller who had told the Egglestons, in mid-August, that they would never find Katie because 'I killed her.'

Second, the gas station where the witness worked is only four miles south, on 122nd, from the parking lot where Katie's Volkswagen was found.

Third, the man said that the first time the woman came through, she had a thick, black book on the passenger seat. According to Allnet employee Carter, Allnet's sales binders were black and zippered, like 'minibriefcases.' When she came back, the book was gone, and one of the men was sitting in the Honda's passenger seat.

 

[scriptgirl]

Just found out about this case and it reminds me eerily of another case I can't quite recall right now.

 

[Tulessa]

Just found out about this case and it reminds me eerily of another case I can't quite recall right now.

And we picked a fine time of the night to go back over these lol. I'd never heard either.

 

[Ozoner]

gas station sighting by attendant

This time the woman was accompanied by two black men, one in the passenger seat, one in the back. She was also, contrary to her earlier, professional appearance, disheveled, partially undressed and crying.

The former attendant, who declined to be identified for publication, told the Tribune he heard her say, 'Please, please,' to the men several times and thought that she did things, including driving extremely erratically, to attract attention.

Shortly thereafter, he said, he saw Katie's picture on the news, connected it with the woman at the gas station and went to the police.

Why in the #&!! would he wait to see her picture on the news before calling the police?

 

[folieadeuxnola]

It's been 25 years since Katie Eggleston vanished


Friday marks the 25th anniversary of one of Portland’s best known cold cases.

Katie Eggleston, a 22-year-old Oregon State University graduate, lived with her sister in Gresham in 1993 when she vanished.

Eggelston’s VW turned up at Northeast 122nd and Airport Way five days after she disappeared.

If you have any information, call Portland police.

 

[Kdot222]

I feel like what was found could help us out immensely:

Her car was found at midnight
The keys were in the ignition
The windows were rolled down
The purse and all of it's contents were in the front seat
They found no blood or sign of struggle

It's obvious that the killer wanted her car to either get stolen or to have all of her stuff stolen. But if nothing had happened in the car then why didn't her abductor just leave it where it was? They also said that they saw a car similar to Katie's in the parking lot of where she was supposed to meet her boss, but that's not a concrete sighting.

I don't know, what does the evidence say to all y'all?

I think it would be helpful to know which businesses she stopped into at work that day. It’s possible an employee followed her to LC?

 

[spartanx]

I think it would be helpful to know which businesses she stopped into at work that day. It’s possible an employee followed her to LC?

If it's possible that they followed her, maybe she even talked to the person thinking that she wouldn't do him any harm... maybe she felt attracted to this unknown man and he acted violently...
rest in peace

 

[Pennysmom1]

1954DFOR - Katheryn Scott Eggleston

Katheryn Scott Eggleston – The Charley Project

• 
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Eggleston, circa 1993; Joel Patrick Courtney

• Missing Since 08/02/1993
• Missing From Portland, Oregon
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Female
• Race White
• Date of Birth 05/04/1971 (52)
• Age 22 years old
• Height and Weight 5'4, 125 pounds
• 
  
• Clothing/Jewelry Description A purple blazer, a white blouse, a black skirt, stockings and black pumps.
• 
  
• Associated Vehicle(s) Silver/gray Volkswagen Golf (accounted for)
• 
  
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Blonde hair, blue eyes. Eggleston's nickname is Katie (sometimes spelled "Katy") and many accounts refer to her by that name. Her ears are pierced.

Details of Disappearance​

Eggleston was last seen in Portland, Oregon, on August 2, 1993. She left her job selling long-distance services for Allnet Communication Services Inc. in Lake Oswego, Oregon. It was her first day on the job alone. That morning, she attended an Allnet meeting and made sales calls at businesses on northeast Whitaker Way, and stopped at a bank, a gasoline station and a Burger King restaurant near Lloyd Center.

That afternoon, Eggleston made calls in the then-Port of Portland building in the 700 block of northeast Multnomah Street. Five witnesses at the building stated she looked "worried and preoccupied."

At 2:15 p.m., a man to whom Eggleston had just made a sale saw her get off the building's elevator in the company of a man wearing a blue blazer. He is described as having dark hair and a dark complexion. Eggleston has never been heard from again and the man she was last seen has never been identified.

Shortly before 5:00 p.m., a witness noticed a silver/gray Volkswagen Golf similar to Eggleston's parked in the Port of Portland parking lot. Eggleston's supervisor was scheduled to meet her at 5:00 p.m. in Lake Oswego, but she never arrived for the meeting.

Eggleston's car was found by a security guard about 12:30 a.m. the day after she was last seen. The vehicle was in the parking lot of an industrial complex in the 12000 block of northeast Airport Way. The site is nine miles from the Port of Oregon building.

The vehicle was unlocked, its windows were rolled down, and the keys were in the ignition. Eggleston's purse and its contents were in the front seat and her workout clothes were in the back seat, but her Allnet binder was missing. There were no indications that a struggle had taken place.

Joel Patrick Courtney is considered a possible suspect in Eggleston's case. A photograph of him is posted with this case summary. He has a long history of criminal offenses, substance abuse and possible mental illness. In September 2009, he pleaded guilty to the kidnapping, rape and murder of Brooke Wilberger, who had been missing from Corvallis, Oregon since 2004, and led authorities to her body.

Courtney has traveled extensively throughout his life; he is known to have been in Alaska, Florida, Arizona and Mexico in addition to Oregon and New Mexico. Authorities believe he has harmed other women besides Wilberger, and Eggleston is considered a possible victim.

Eggleston had just graduated from college, and Wilberger was a college sophomore. Both women had blonde hair and blue eyes, and they were close to the same age; Wilberger was nineteen years old, just three years younger than Eggleston. It should be emphasized that as of yet there is no solid evidence to tie Courtney to Eggleston.

Eggleston is not believed to have left of her own accord. She has no history of mental illness or runaway behavior and she was close to her family, which included her parents, three sisters and four nieces and nephews. Her passport has never been located, however. She had recently graduated from Oregon State University, where she had been in a sorority.

Foul play is suspected in Eggleston's case, which remains unsolved.

Investigating Agency​

• Portland Police Bureau 503-823-0446

Source Information​

• The Doe Network
• The Oregonian
• The Bend Bulletin
• NamUs
• KOIN 6

Updated 5 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated October 30, 2019; two pictures added.