Account
Aug 20, 2011
Jan 08, 2024
Barbara
Waldron
79
56
68 inches
135 lbs
White / Caucasian
Female
Barbara Ann Waldron, a 55-year-old social worker, disappeared on May 17, 2002, from Portland, Oregon. At the time, she was estranged from her husband of 27 years, David Charles Waldron, and had been contemplating divorce for years. A month prior to her disappearance, she had moved out of their shared home on Northwest Lambert Road and was staying with a friend in Beaverton, Oregon. On the day she was last seen, Barbara had arranged to meet with her husband at their former residence to discuss their finances. She was also scheduled to meet with her business partner later that afternoon but never arrived. Four days later, on May 21, her roommate reported her missing. The investigation almost immediately focused on Barbara's husband, David, as a person of interest. When authorities searched the couple's home, they discovered Barbara's burgundy 1998 Chrysler Sebring convertible parked at the residence. Inside the house, her purse, containing her car keys, wallet, identification, and credit cards, was found concealed behind books on a bookcase. Investigators also found trace amounts of blood on a pillow in the bedroom. David told police that Barbara had left the house with a friend he didn't know and denied having the keys to her car, but one of his sons reported seeing him driving the vehicle the day after she vanished. For three days following Barbara's disappearance, David could not be located by police and was eventually found at a motel in Washington County with cuts on his legs and stomach. He was reportedly uncooperative with the investigation. In May 2004, David Waldron was indicted and charged with his wife's murder. A year later, in May 2005, he pleaded no contest to second-degree manslaughter. This type of plea acknowledges that there is sufficient evidence for a conviction without admitting guilt. David maintained his innocence, stating he only accepted the plea deal to spare their adult children the pain of a trial. He was sentenced to over six years in prison and was released in 2010. Despite the legal proceedings and his subsequent imprisonment, Barbara Waldron's body has never been found, and the specific details of what occurred remain unknown. The case is a rare instance where a person was convicted in a disappearance without the victim's body ever being discovered. Due to the plea agreement, David cannot be charged with murder if Barbara's remains are ever located because of double jeopardy protections. The case officially remains an endangered missing person case, with foul play suspected due to the circumstances surrounding her disappearance.
May 17, 2002
Portland
Oregon
Multnomah County
97229
No
21662
Washington County Sheriff's Office
Hillsboro
Oregon
Washington County
97123
215 Southwest Adams Avenue, Oregon
5038462700
County
Law Enforcement
02-510277
Washington County Sheriff's Office
Blond/Strawberry
Brown
Brown
05/30/2026
