Jackson County, Ore. — There are 19 missing person cases open and unsolved right now in Jackson County.
The sheriff’s office is doing what it can to bring closure to the families of the missing.
That includes searches like ones that happened this weekend.
The searches this last weekend were related to the case of Malina Nickel who’s been missing since Fall of 2016.
Jackson County Sheriff’s Sergeant Scott Waldon says the office received a tip her remains could be buried off 227, but unfortunately deputies couldn’t find anything.
“The frustration comes because somebody just falls of the face of the earth and you’re just like ‘that doesn’t happen,'” Sergeant Waldon said.
The oldest of the 19 Jackson County missing persons cases dates back to 1977, and the most recent is from last year.
“The detectives work really hard on these cases,” Sergeant Waldon said.
Harold Hardesty from Ashland and Stephanie Warner from Ruch are a few cases that first come to mind.
Detective Sergeant Scott Waldon works in the criminal investigation division at the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.
He says no case gets ignored, but the ones that get more attention are cases with tips from the public.
“One of the biggest ones right now is the Malina Nickel case we’re working because that’s been so active, and we’re constantly getting tips about that case,” Sergeant Waldon said.
Malina Nickel went missing from Shady Cove just before Thanksgiving in 2016.
Sergeant Waldon says he frequently receives tips about her case.
A recent one prompted a search in Trail over the weekend.
“We were given a tip about her possibly being buried off of 227. And we went up there and searched some areas we were given. Unfortunately, we didn’t find anything. I was acually pretty excited about that tip and thought we were maybe going to get something out of it,” Sergeant Waldon said.
These missing cases aren’t just emotional for the families, but for detectives, as well.
Sergeant Waldon says the most difficult part is realizing the suffering the families go through each night.
“You kind of want to do everything you can for them to find their daughter, and you want them to basically stop suffering… I mean I couldn’t imagine going to bed every night… Not knowing where my daughter was or my family member,” Sergeant Waldon said.
Sergeant Waldon says working the case hard at the beginning is critical since you don’t want to miss out on an opportunity to get evidence.
The rest relies on the community coming forward with information.
“It’s just going to take that one tip, or that one little thing that might break the case for us and we’re able to solve it,” Sergeant Waldon said.
If you have any information regarding a missing persons case, please contact the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.
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