OR OR - Michael Bryson, 27, wandered away from friends @ campground party, Cottage Grove, 5 Aug 2020

[PommyMommy]

DEC 5, 2022

https://www.nbcnews.com/dateline/nine-years-dateline-s-missing-america-188-still-missing-n1301708

Michael Bryson

Michael Bryson stopped by his parents’ house in Harrisburg, Oregon on August 3, 2020, before riding up with a friend to a week-long birthday party/camping trip at Hobo Camp Campground near Dorena, Oregon. The 27-year-old of Eugene, Oregon, had a passion for music and was often invited to DJ sets at parties and raves across the state -- including where he was last seen – at the Hobo Camp Campground. in the early morning hours of August 5, Michael reportedly wandered away from a group of friends who were partying at the campground. He hasn’t been seen since. His camping gear was left behind and he hasn’t accessed his bank account. The Facebook group 'Let’s Find Michael Bryson' has more than 22,000 members who include family, friends, the community and people from around the world. In October 2021, Michael’s parents launched the Michael Bryson Foundation to help families solve missing person cases and advocate for those with mental illness. In 2021, Detective Richard Smith of the Lane County Sheriff’s Office told Dateline that Michael’s disappearance is still an ongoing, active investigation and that they are doing everything they can to bring him home. There have been no updates in the past year. Michael is described as being 6', weighing approximately 180 lbs., with short brown hair and hazel eyes. He was last seen wearing a white t-shirt, tan shorts, and white Crocs with rainbows on them. He might also have been wearing a brown, corduroy baseball cap. He has several tattoos on both legs, his ribs, and his arms. Anyone who may have information on Michael’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Lane County Sheriff's Office at 541-682-4150 then press 1 and reference case #20-5286.

 

[PeriwinkleE]

DEC 5, 2022

https://www.nbcnews.com/dateline/nine-years-dateline-s-missing-america-188-still-missing-n1301708

Michael Bryson

Michael Bryson stopped by his parents’ house in Harrisburg, Oregon on August 3, 2020, before riding up with a friend to a week-long birthday party/camping trip at Hobo Camp Campground near Dorena, Oregon. The 27-year-old of Eugene, Oregon, had a passion for music and was often invited to DJ sets at parties and raves across the state -- including where he was last seen – at the Hobo Camp Campground. in the early morning hours of August 5, Michael reportedly wandered away from a group of friends who were partying at the campground. He hasn’t been seen since. His camping gear was left behind and he hasn’t accessed his bank account. The Facebook group 'Let’s Find Michael Bryson' has more than 22,000 members who include family, friends, the community and people from around the world. In October 2021, Michael’s parents launched the Michael Bryson Foundation to help families solve missing person cases and advocate for those with mental illness. In 2021, Detective Richard Smith of the Lane County Sheriff’s Office told Dateline that Michael’s disappearance is still an ongoing, active investigation and that they are doing everything they can to bring him home. There have been no updates in the past year. Michael is described as being 6', weighing approximately 180 lbs., with short brown hair and hazel eyes. He was last seen wearing a white t-shirt, tan shorts, and white Crocs with rainbows on them. He might also have been wearing a brown, corduroy baseball cap. He has several tattoos on both legs, his ribs, and his arms. Anyone who may have information on Michael’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Lane County Sheriff's Office at 541-682-4150 then press 1 and reference case #20-5286.

It makes me sad to see this one in the archive. I can’t believe they haven’t found him yet and nobody’s admitted to knowing anything at all.

 

[NeverPersonal]

The swimming hole is always in the back of my mind when thinking of possible theories for what happened to Michael.
One other thing I keep pondering is the possibility of him getting a ride elsewhere or even him being moved by car elsewhere??

What exact items were found near the pool?

quotes edited by me for space

'We want Michael back': Parents search for son who disappeared from Oregon campground​

@mlhenn i think your second sentence is muuuch more likely. specifically the second half.
it seems the clothes may have been placed there - this exact place, the swimming hole, had been searched numerous times by police and michael's family & friends as well as professional SAR.
@Bit of hope - months after his disappearance, in december, michael's clothes were found placed by the swimming hole. michael's parents have said publicly they believe this was planted.

now - let's think on this interesting topic - why would someone plant michael's clothes? (they are indeed either michael's clothes or replicas of the ones he was wearing that night btw)
and why would they do it months later? did someone want the family & friends & public to think he has drowned?
if he was in the swimming hole he woulda been found by now, too.

last pics taken of michael:


[Pictured is] ... the bus where witnesses say Michael was last seen before he walked away at 4 in the morning.

"He got upset and walked off the bus and nobody has seen him," Tina said. "By the time we found out it was almost 12 hours since he had been missing."

"The moment I put my foot out of the car," Parrish said, "I knew Michael was gone."
--
I find this so <modsnip> weird to say.

 

[NeverPersonal]

Our news crew was on scene December 11 where items were found near a swimming hole about a mile from Hobo Campground, visible from the road and in an area Parrish says was searched multiple times. Parrish Bryson got a call from a person who saw something on Brice Creek Road, a mile west of Hobo Camp between Cedar Creek Campground and Lund Park Campground.

"The blue ribbon right there is where two of the items were found. And the blue and orange ribbon is where the other items were found," Parrish said. "My gut tells me that they were probably placed there because I know the intensity of some of the individuals that went down through there. It’s really hard for me to believe that they were there the whole time.”

**What does that mean? The intensity of some individuals that went down through here?**

Parrish confirmed the items belong to Michael.

"I'm 99.9% sure that these items were planted," he said.

Lane County Sheriff's Office and Search and Rescue teams were notified and when they arrived, they found some of the items Michael was last seen wearing. They were found in an area that had been searched several times, near a swimming hole and visible from the road.

It is the unknown that weighs heavy on their hearts.

"Every morning during my devotions, I pray that prodigal son story will happen for us, but then I have to be realistic," Parrish said.
--

"We have really good idea of what's happened, some ideas as to who's involved. And we are just waiting on that last tip to open everything up," Parrish said.

"We just want the truth," he added. "We want Michael back."
--
Some of his clothes turned up some months later in an area visible from the road and searched many times. But Michael remains missing.

Parrish Bryson said they never got a straight answer from the partygoers about Michael and added that he believes they knew more than they were letting on, “The stories given by some of the people at the party are inconsistent. And most of those people left the day Michael went missing, and continued to hold raves and parties.”
--
Many of the partygoers DID NOT know Michael, didn't see him, weren't introduced to him, etc, and Michael's parents seem to view this as suspicious and their unwillingness to participate as some personal slight. I am sure many thought he'd turn up soon as people do get lost in forests and stuff. It makes sense for those who didn't know him and didn't feel comfortable searching to continue their celebrations elsewhere, whether we ourselves feel it is ethical or not.

 

[Bit of hope]

quotes edited by me for space

'We want Michael back': Parents search for son who disappeared from Oregon campground​

@mlhenn i think your second sentence is muuuch more likely. specifically the second half.
it seems the clothes may have been placed there - this exact place, the swimming hole, had been searched numerous times by police and michael's family & friends as well as professional SAR.
@Bit of hope - months after his disappearance, in december, michael's clothes were found placed by the swimming hole. michael's parents have said publicly they believe this was planted.

now - let's think on this interesting topic - why would someone plant michael's clothes? (they are indeed either michael's clothes or replicas of the ones he was wearing that night btw)
and why would they do it months later? did someone want the family & friends & public to think he has drowned?
if he was in the swimming hole he woulda been found by now, too.

last pics taken of michael:
View attachment 411471
View attachment 411472
[Pictured is] ... the bus where witnesses say Michael was last seen before he walked away at 4 in the morning.

"He got upset and walked off the bus and nobody has seen him," Tina said. "By the time we found out it was almost 12 hours since he had been missing."

"The moment I put my foot out of the car," Parrish said, "I knew Michael was gone."
--
I find this so <modsnip> weird to say.

I wonder if it was possible they extracted DNA from the found clothes. Maybe he never actually exited the bus. Why was Michael upset? What friends don't keep an eye on an upset friend who was possibly intoxicated? I'm from another generation, but still. How on earth did nobody in 12 hours wondered where he was and wondered if he was OK? I think people say stuff like that in retrospection. Like people say I knew something bad had happened. He couldn't know Michael was "gone", unless.....