Joyce C. Hess, 54, and her elderly mother Ethel Lane vanished from their West Gazley Road home in Myrtle Creek, Oregon on October 18, 1974. Neighbors last saw the two women at the residence that day; neither has been heard from since. Joyce was described as a white female with gray hair, 5 feet 4 inches tall and about 130 pounds.

Investigators concluded the pair were likely victims of homicide, though no bodies have ever been recovered. In a haunting development, Ethel’s brother and Joyce’s uncle, Johnson Ramsower (also reported as John Ramsower), who lived next door, was found dead by suicide in his home just days after the disappearance; investigators have not established whether his death is connected to the missing women.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office keeps the investigation open but cites a lack of significant leads. Does anyone from Myrtle Creek in 1974 remember the family, their routines, or anything unusual around October 18?