Cold case reopens after mushroom hunter finds human hair, Oregon cops say. ‘We’re close’
Stephanie Anne Warner left a July Fourth parade in Oregon with her boyfriend 10 years ago.
The couple drove away from Ashland in her green 2003 Nissan Xterra, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office said in a Tuesday, May 2, Facebook post. They were supposed to be headed to her home in Ruch.
“But she was never seen again,” Sgt. Jesse Ainsworth said in a Facebook video.
Ainsworth said the sheriff’s office believes Warner died by homicide, “but we’ve never been able to find her.”
Though the case went cold, a mushroom hunter recently stumbled upon something that reopened the case — human hair.
“We’re getting really close. We’ve been digging through everything, all the casebooks, all the evidence, re-interviewing everybody,” Ainsworth said. “And we’re close, and I know we’re gonna find her.”
After the hair was confirmed to be human, it was sent off for forensic analysis, Ainsworth said.
“It’s interesting because it is about 2 1/2 miles from Stephanie’s house, potentially could be related. We don’t know yet,” Ainsworth said.
The sheriff’s office plans to search the area near Warner’s home “with search and rescue teams and cadaver dogs,” according to Ainsworth.
Ainsworth said he believes someone in the community likely has information that could help close the case.
“I believe this case is solvable,” Ainsworth said. “And that’s why we’re never gonna give up until we find her. We want to get Stephanie home to her family and get justice.”
Anyone with information about Warner is asked to contact the sheriff’s office at 541-774-6816.
Ruch is about 13 miles southwest of Medford.
This story was originally published May 3, 2023 at 9:49 AM with the headline "Cold case reopens after mushroom hunter finds human hair, Oregon cops say. ‘We’re close’."
