On a spring day in Corvallis, Oregon, 12-year-old Ann Marie Ellinwood, a seventh-grader at Highland View Junior High School, participated in her third March of Dimes walk-a-thon. It was April 15, 1978, and Ann was walking with friends along a bike path by the Marys River. At around 1:00 p.m., she told her friends to go on without her because her feet were hurting, and said she would head to a checkpoint at Gill Coliseum.
Ann was last seen near the Pioneer Park ball field, across the highway from the coliseum. When she didn't show up for her afternoon paper route with the Gazette-Times, which was unusual for her, her parents reported her missing at 5:15 p.m. An extensive search of the area where she was last seen yielded no trace of her. Witnesses reported seeing a red pickup truck, possibly pulling a teardrop-shaped trailer, in the vicinity around the time of her disappearance. Some also reported seeing a girl matching Ann's description talking to a man with a small dog.
The investigation into Ann's disappearance soon became linked to the case of 11-year-old Stephanie Ann Newsom, who went missing from West Salem, Oregon, just four days later. The similarities between the two girls, both in age and appearance, and the fact that they were both last seen walking alone during the day, led police to suspect a connection. The suspect descriptions in both cases were also similar: a stocky man in his late twenties with reddish-brown or sandy hair. Tragically, Stephanie's body was found on April 25 in a field near the Ankeny Wildlife Refuge; she had been sexually assaulted and strangled. In May 1978, authorities identified a suspect in both cases: Earl Fredrick 'Woody' Chambers, a man with a criminal record for rape and assault. Chambers owned a red pickup truck and a teardrop-shaped trailer, matching the description of the vehicle seen where Ann disappeared.
Chambers denied any involvement when questioned by police and was ordered to appear before a grand jury on June 6, 1978. However, he was found deceased from suicide in a rural area of Linn County on the day he was scheduled to testify. The investigation stalled for many years, though periodic efforts were made to resolve both cases. In 2005, hair found in Chambers's truck and trailer, believed to be Ann's, was tested for DNA, but the results were inconclusive. It wasn't until 2014 that a retired Salem police sergeant, James 'J.R.' Miller, reviewing the cold case, announced that Chambers was responsible for Ann's disappearance and Stephanie's murder. Despite this development, Ann's body has never been found, and her case officially remains an unsolved homicide with an unknown victim location. The community was deeply affected by her disappearance, with search parties combing the area and residents anxiously awaiting news. The lack of closure has left a lasting impact on her family and friends, who continue to hope for answers.Last Seen: Apr 16, 1978
