OR OR - William 'Billy' Gunn, 15, Klamath Falls, 16 June 1984

William Dale Gunn

Photo/Age Progression of William:

Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance

Missing Since: June 16, 1984 from Klamath Falls, Oregon
Classification: Non-Family Abduction
Date Of Birth: February 2, 1968
Age: 16 years old
Height and Weight: 5'8, 115 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian male. Brown hair, blue eyes. Gunn has a scar in the shape of a half-moon on his forehead. His nickname is Billy.




Details of Disappearance
Gunn was last seen as he was dropped off at a friend's house in Klamath Falls, Oregon on June 16, 1984. No one was at the residence at the time Gunn arrived. He has never been heard from again. Foul play is suspected in his disappearance.
Investigating Agency

If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Klamath Falls Sheriff's Office
541-884-4876

http://charleyproject.org/cases/g/gunn_william_dale.html

Today, June 16, 2007, marks the twenty-third anniversary of Billy Gunn's disappearance. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. If you have any information regarding the disappearance of William "Billy" Gunn, please call the Klamath Falls Sheriff's Office at 541-884-4876 or your local police department (you can remain annonymous).

Does anyone know anything else about this case? I've always been perplexed by this disappearance. Why do the police suspect foul play?

Apparently they suspect foul play because it turned out that no one was home at the friend's house when he was dropped off. What would be perhaps helpful to know is if Billy knew in advance that this was the case (i.e. had planned to go somewhere else) - I suspect that maybe he was meeting with someone or going somewhere that his folks would not have liked? At age 16, it would not be so surprising, right? But if that person never came forward, there was no clear picture of what might have happened or what direction he may have been headed...just a theory.

i've never heard of this case. that is so bizarre. do we know who dropped him off at the friend's house? did the person who dropped him off leave before billy could see that there was no one home? so many questions ..

bluecat's theory makes alot of sense - i can see that as being what happened here. i dont understand why this case doesnt have more information, given that it is so confusing and strange.

Any way to find out if there was a sexual predatory living in the vicinity of the friend's house, or near William's home? When did the State of Oregon start requiring sex offenders to register? Any notorious child murders known to have been passing through this area at the time? These are all questions I would like to research. Anyone have the answers? I'll see what I can find on-line. I didn't see that there was any actual address listed where William was dropped off, but maybe I missed it.

I found this online:
"The list of sex offenses required to register can be found in ORS 181.594. The first registration laws went into effect in Oregon in 1989. Since that time, additional crimes have been added to the list. There are a number of people living in Oregon whose sex offense convictions predate the registration requirements. Others have convictions which allow for relief from registration 10 years after their supervision ends."

These are boys who were around Billy's age who disappeared from Oregon in the 80's. Could any of their disappearances be connected to Billy's?




Edward Nye

http://charleyproject.org/cases/n/nye_edward.html --

Butte Falls, where Edward was seen last, is near Klamath Falls.

Randall Leach

http://charleyproject.org/cases/l/leach_randall.html

Looks like Billy, disappeared 4 years prior to Billy's disappearance, little information.

Duane Fochtman

http://charleyproject.org/cases/f/fochtman_duane.html

Looks like Billy, disappeared 2 yrs after Billy (runaway)

Jeremy Bright

http://charleyproject.org/cases/b/bright_jeremy.html

Looks like Billy, Myrtle Point is fairly close to Klamath Falls, two yrs after Billy's disappearance.

Walter Ackerson

http://charleyproject.org/cases/a/ackerson_walter.html

Disappeared six years after Billy.

I mapped out the location of these boys. Since they were separated by years, if they are linked, I would guess the abductor(s) would live in Oregon. Since many predators keep close to home, I would suggest that the person of interest would have been living in or around the Cottage Grove area between the late 70's and early 90's. It would be a fairly easy drive from Cottage Grove to Klamath Falls as it would be an easy drive up the I-5 corridor then over to the coast (Lincoln City and Newport). I'm checking on notorious serial killers that may have been in this area during that time.

i did a basic search on serial killers. there are lots from the NW part of america, and even more who targeted young teenage boys. billy and any of these boys could have fallen victim to one of them. there is also the possibility of these boys being kidnapped and forced into a perverted sex ring. these were not rare in the seventies and eighties.

Derek Engebretson disappeared near Klamath lake in 1998. Frank J. Milligan is suspected in the case. He tried to kill another child in Dallas and was convicted a raping a third child eariler. I have no idea if he was living in the area more than a decade earlier, when this case occurred.

Can anyone find out anything about Frank J. Milligan's whereabouts prior to his start in 1994 as an aide in the children's ward at the Oregon State Hospital?

i couldnt find much about milligan, but if he was thrity one in 2001, he would have been fourteen - younger than billy - in 1984, at the time of Billy's disappearance.

did anyone ever find anything?
i just did another search, and came out with nothing. i cant imagine how frusterated his family must be.

But 16 year old boys aren't the same as 16 year old girls-I imagine if he was abducted, he put up a fight and would have been hard to subdue.
Also, what do you mean Milligan tried to kill a child-was he prevented from doing so?

Hi,

I had this link emailed to me by a friend of mine because Billy is my brother. First I want to say thank you! My family lives every day wondering where he may be and what may have happened and made me smile that complete strangers were showing so much interest in his case.

I will try to answer your questions as best I can from what i remember back then and fill you in on what is happening now, in case you are interested.

Even as his sister I have very little information about what happened that day. Billy was almost old enough to get his drivers license so our step dad had been taking him for drives on old logging roads and such to give him practice and so Saturday morning, June 15th, they left early in the morning to go driving. Billy had asked my mom if he could stay at a friends house that night and she said no. That afternoon, step dad came home alone and said that he had decided it was okay Billy stay the night but that he was supposed to be home the next day by 6:00 for dinner, that Sunday was also Father's Day.

If Billy was going to be late even by 5 minutes he would call, so the next day, June 16th, when 6pm rolled around and he was not home mom began to worry. By 6:30 she was in a panic. We called the friend he was supposed to have stayed with the night before and he said that Billy was not there and had not showed up there the day before either.

Step dad swears that he dropped him off the day before, Billy went up to the door, and then turned around and waved - which was the routine when dropping him off over there to let us know all was okay. But that kid and noone in the apratment complex ever saw him that day or ever again.

The police did very little to investigate. The investigation lasted maybe a few weeks. It was an election year and we think that played a roll in them writing Billy off as a runaway. The newpaper published a story that he had been working on a farm in Alturas and that was prety much the end of it. Back in 1984 there were no forensics but I think the police could have figured some things out if they had tried.

Various things lead us to beleive that our step dad (the last one to see him) killed him. So far we have no proof of that other than things that we have all remembered as being said and done over time - hindsite is 20/20 eh?!

Step dad died a few years ago so we have no more chances to ask him. His sister and one of his sons asked him about Billy and the conversation with his son has lead us to some clues but no answers just yet. My one regret in life - being too scared of that man to find him and ask him what he did to my brother!

One of you asked about a sexual predator - indeed there was one in town. In fact one in our home. My step dad sexually abused me for about 15 years and I was not the only child in his family or otherwise that he ever abused. He was a terrible terrible man that left death, distruction and despair in his path throughout his life. The world is a much better place without him in it!

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has continued to send Billy's picture across the US for all these years and are now working with the Klamath Falls police to see if we cannot get some resolution to this case. My step brother had a conversation with his dad (my step dad) and asked him what he did to Billy - in that covnersation he said things that lead detectives to a place near Klamath that next summer the NCMEC is going to search with necrosearch dogs and we are hoping that we will find his remains and be able to give him a proper burial.

The search was supposed to take place last summer but funding pushed it out to Summer 2010. I am so thankful for the NCMEC and the Klamath County Detective for taking interest in this case and trying to help us find some answers. I think the detective working the case now has done more to get us answers then the police did back in 1984.

I am happy to answer any questions you have the best I can. Again, thank you for your interest in my brothers case.

Woobie, thanks so much for the update, and my deepest sympathies for all you've gone through.

William's case is so sad. I can't believe the cops barely investigated. It does make sense the step dad would be the number one suspect, given the fact that he droped him off at the friends place. I wonder what the relationship was like between the two, was there a history of violence? I hope that someday William's family gets the answers that they need.

What is step-dad's name? Any offenses since the 80's?