Sean C. Morgan
Friends, family and community members gathered Saturday evening at the corner of 18th and Long at a candlelight vigil for 28-year-old Daniel Oberg of Sweet Home, who has not been heard from since the weekend of April 22, and to support the missing man’s father, Kenneth Oberg.
Voices from among the 60 people gathered called for Danny to come home – now.
“Somebody out there knows where Danny is,” said his great-uncle Joe Rodgers. “Somebody knows and isn’t saying – and that hurts.”
He told those gathered at the vigil that the missing man is their brother, their son, their nephew, and “this community needs to fight for Danny.”
“There’s kids out there missing, and they get millions of dollars of media coverage (because they’re rich),” Rodgers said, voicing disappointment that media outlets did not attend and report on the vigil and continue coverage on the missing man. He expressed concerned about detectives investigating but not talking to each other.
“This will blow away unless we take a stand and say, ‘Bring Danny home,’” Rodgers said, urging people to keep badgering the police and others about it until Danny returns.
Friends and family continued, calling on Danny to come home, calling on others to speak up and say where Danny is. A friend offered a $1,000 reward to whoever can find Danny.
Danny’s great-aunt Lois Fain led prayers.
“He knows where Danny is,” Fain said, noting that where two or more are gathered, there is God and He will answer prayers. She noted that a lot more than two were gathered Saturday night.
Several friends and family members prayed, while others talked about Danny and called for his return.
“A lot of people I don’t know, and they all are saying that they’re praying for him, that he’s found safe and alive,” Kenneth Oberg said.
Oberg has said his son has not been heard from by his family since the morning of April 23, and the last visual evidence that he was present in Sweet Home is security camera footage that shows Daniel Oberg leaving Safeway early that afternoon in the company of at least one other man.
Two dogs that were with Oberg when he disappeared have been located in the Marcola area, along with a car he is believed to have been driving, which was found on a hillside near milepost 13 on Marcola Road.
A search and rescue team from Lane County has scoured the area where the dogs and car were found. Also, Sheriff’s investigators from both the Lane and Linn counties have interviewed people who knew Daniel Oberg and who are thought to have been with him in the days before he disappeared, his father said.
Lane County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Carrie Carver said last week that the search continues, though “not every day.”
“When a tip comes in, we follow up on the tip. Sometimes that means tracking down someone who may have seen him, and sometimes it’s searching an area if someone reports that they might have seen him there.
“The Sheriff’s Office was out last weekend on an area search but did not locate Mr. Oberg.”
Daniel Oberg is described as a 28-year-old white male, 6 feet in height and weighing approximately 160 pounds, with medium-length brown hair and a short beard.
He has been known to frequent the Quartzville Recreation Corridor in Linn County.
He made money buying and selling items on Craigslist and repairing electronic devices such as computers and smartphones, his father said.
The Lane County Sheriff’s Office is requesting anyone who has seen Daniel Oberg to call (541) 682-4141. Det. Chad Rogers is heading the investigation.