Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
A lead on a missing Beaverton woman turned out to be a dead end last week after a wig was discovered lying along Ames Creek Drive near Mountain View Drive in Sweet Home.
The wig, along with the reported possible sighting of her vehicle, brought about five TV stations and the Linn County Sheriff’s Office to the parking lot of Sweet Home Police Department where local police were busy working with Beaverton Police Department to determine if the wig did indeed belong to the missing woman.
The Sheriff’s Office joined SHPD in searching for the woman in the Sweet Home area.
Beaverton police were looking for Beverly Joyce Johnson, 69. She has been missing since Jan. 27.
At approximately 6:20 a.m. on Jan. 30, a Sweet Home resident found a wig similar to one described in news releases about Johnson, Sweet Home Detective Cyndi Pichardo said. Sweet Home police seized the wig and sent photographs of it to Beaverton police.
In addition to searching for Johnson, Sweet Home Police Department also reviewed camera video from a grocery store where a vehicle similar to Johnson’s may have been observed on the evening of Jan. 28.
Later that afternoon, Pichardo reported that Beaverton Police Department had verified that the wig was not the same as the one worn by Johnson, and the vehicle observed locally was found not to belong to Johnson.
Johnson left her home at approximately 11 a.m. and was due home around 4 p.m., according to Beaverton Police Department. She has a history of seizures that could prevent her from communicating with family members or allowing her to return home. When suffering from a seizure, she is not able to identify herself to others.
Johnson was driving a dark purple 1999 four-door Honda Accord with Oregon plates, XDN 364. She was by herself when she left her residence and was going to the Beaverton city library.
She was last seen wearing black slacks and a white winter jacket. She was wearing a brown, wavy ear-length wig and has hearing aids in both ears.
She is 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighs approximately 150 pounds.
Anyone with information is asked to contact local law enforcement, 367-5181, or Beaverton Police Department, (503) 629-0111.