Wendy Dehoop

Wendy Marie Dehoop was a wife and a mother to a 12-year-old son, living in the Eugene suburb of Cottage Grove, Oregon. The 44-year-old woman, who was of Cherokee, Hispanic, and Black descent, had previously worked as a police dispatcher in California. At the time of her disappearance, she was employed at the Georgia-Pacific mill in Halsey. Her family remembers her with love; years after she vanished, her sister Terri referred to her as her "baby sister" while reflecting on the pain of not knowing what happened to her.

On the morning of Friday, April 22, 2005, Wendy Dehoop began her day and then vanished. She was last seen wearing a black pinstriped pantsuit and possibly a silver ring. Her absence was discovered when she failed to show up for her shift at the mill, a 30-mile drive from Eugene. Two of her coworkers, finding her failure to appear highly unusual, reported her missing. Lane County Sheriff’s Office deputies then went to the Home Depot on Delta Highway where her husband, Dan Dehoop, worked to notify him. According to Sergeant Tim Wallace, Dan "didn’t believe she was missing based on how his morning had gone." Early reports incorrectly claimed Wendy had dropped her husband off at work that morning, but investigators later disproved this. "We have surveillance still images of him arriving to work on his own,” Sgt. Wallace clarified.

The investigation yielded no leads for a week. A break came when a resident walking his dog in Eugene’s Friendly neighborhood discovered Wendy’s white two-door 1990 Toyota Corolla SR5. The car was parked on Lorane Highway near Fillmore Street, a route that was in the opposite direction of her workplace in Halsey. Her purse was found outside the vehicle. Police confirmed that despite some initial confusion in reports, the purse and car were found at the same time by the same person, who was subsequently cleared of any involvement. The vehicle was impounded and processed by law enforcement, but authorities have not publicly disclosed what evidence, if any, was recovered, other than to state there was no sign of Wendy.

The Lane County Sheriff’s Office has led the investigation, keeping most of the case files sealed due to it being an active case. In the absence of official updates, rumors have persisted, including unconfirmed speculation about a possible affair between Wendy and a coworker who had reported her missing. Law enforcement has never substantiated these claims. The search for Wendy was extensive. Months after she disappeared, police from multiple agencies, including the FBI, conducted a large-scale search of an 18-acre property adjacent to the Dehoop family home, but the search yielded no known evidence.

Wendy’s disappearance occurred during a troubling time in the area, as two other women had also gone missing within the previous 33 days. Helen Ordeman-Pratt vanished from her Goshen home on March 21, and Rebecca Lynn Hess disappeared from her Creswell apartment on April 14. Helen's body was later found in the attic of a detached garage at her home in September 2005. Rebecca was terminally ill, and her family believed she may have left with a former boyfriend. Authorities have never officially announced a connection between the three cases.

In the years following Wendy's disappearance, her family life underwent significant changes. In 2006, her husband, Dan, filed for divorce and was awarded full custody of their son, as well as their marital property, including Wendy’s car and bank accounts. By 2008, custody of the couple's son had been transferred to the state. Wendy's family has chosen not to speak publicly about the case, citing the profound and lasting pain of their loss. Her son, now an adult, also declined to be interviewed, expressing a desire to move forward with his life. The mystery has left a lasting impact on the community, with one neighbor, David Tolmachoff, reflecting, "People go missing all the time. But this woman mattered. Her life mattered. What happened to her?"

As of May 2025, the disappearance of Wendy Dehoop remains an open and active cold case. She is described as being 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighing around 145 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. She has pierced ears, a pierced navel, a scar on her lower abdomen, and circular marks on her mid to lower back. Investigators continue to seek answers and urge the public to come forward. "Sometimes the hardest part of any missing person case is just not knowing," Sgt. Wallace said. Anyone with information, no matter how small, is encouraged to contact the Lane County Sheriff’s Office at 541-682-4312.