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E048: Fauna Frey
1.6k Plays5 years ago
John Frey had already lost two of his three children. Now his only remaining child is missing. What can we do to help him find peace?
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Transcript
Exploring Grief and Legacy
00:00:00
Speaker
death, grief. They are the emotions that knock us to our knees, leaving us scrambling, blindly feeling around us, reaching out, hoping to touch something, anything that's recognizable, something that can give comfort. But everything feels different.
00:00:23
Speaker
Even the sun, the wind, a friend's hug. Sounds even ring differently in our ears. It's a time of dwelling, too, though. A time of slowing down to remember, to hold on. A time of recognition when, ironically, while everything does feel differently,
00:00:46
Speaker
We also fill what we now see as a gaping hole in our life with new extensions of ourselves, extensions made up of the understanding that our life is actually more full because of the importance that person played in creating life as we know it. It's this irony that creates the confusion of grief, feeling empty and alone, at the same time we recognize our life as one filled by the very one who left that hole.
00:01:16
Speaker
The character Granger in Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 said it most powerfully when describing his grandfather's death. Here are some of his words, quote, when I was a boy, my grandfather died and he was a sculptor.
00:01:33
Speaker
He was also a very kind man who had a lot of love to give the world. And he made toys for us and he did a million things in his lifetime. He was always busy with his hands. And when he died, I suddenly realized I wasn't crying for him at all, but for all the things he did.
00:01:52
Speaker
I cried because he would never do them again. He would never carve another piece of wood, or help us raise doves and pigeons in the backyard, or play the violin the way he did, or tell us jokes the way he did. He was part of us, and when he died, all the actions stopped dead, and there was no one to do them just the way he did. He was individual. He was an important man. I've never gotten over his death.
00:02:20
Speaker
Often I think what wonderful carvings never came to birth because he died. How many jokes are missing from the world? How many homing pigeons untouched by his hands? He shaped the world. He did things to the world. The world was bankrupted of 10 million fine actions the night he passed on.
00:02:43
Speaker
But at the same time, Granger also acknowledges the growth. Quote, everyone must leave something behind when he dies, my grandfather said. A child or a book or a painting or a house or a wall built or a pair of shoes made or a garden plant and something your hand touched some way so your soul has somewhere to go when you die. And when people look at that tree or that flower you planted, you're there.
00:03:13
Speaker
It doesn't matter what you do, he said, so long as you change something from the way it was before you touched it into something that's like you after you take your hands away.
00:03:27
Speaker
Grandfather's been dead all these years, but if you lifted my skull by God in the convolutions of my brain, you'd find the big ridges of his thumbprint. He touched me." End
The Frey Family Tragedy
00:03:41
Speaker
quote. As beautifully written and accurate as those emotions are though, even if you're the one touched, the one changed, it doesn't make loss easier to bear. That growth, the recognition of connection and change is painful.
00:03:57
Speaker
And pain was something that continually knocked the Frey family to their knees in our case this week. Too much loss. More than one family should have to bear. And now, here was a new kind of loss. A missing child. A loss even harder in some ways to bear because it lacks the comfort of eternal peace.
00:04:20
Speaker
Yet it is the new pain that John Fry is forced to navigate. This is the story of his daughter, the story of Fauna Fry.
Podcast Introduction and Audience Engagement
00:05:06
Speaker
Welcome to Coffee and Cases, where we like our coffee hot and our cases cold. My name is Allison Williams. And my name is Maggie Dameron.
00:05:15
Speaker
We will be telling stories each week in the hopes that someone out there with any information concerning the cases will take those tips to law enforcement. So justice and closure can be brought to these families. With each case, we encourage you to continue in the conversation on our Facebook page, Coffee and Cases podcast, because as we all know, conversation helps to keep the missing person in the public consciousness, helping keep their memories alive. So sit back, sip your coffee, and listen to what's brewing this week.
00:05:44
Speaker
All right, it's been two long weeks that we took a break from our long standing request. So before we begin the show today, we want to remind you about the challenge that we still have going on. Alison and I really want to get to 150 ratings on Apple podcasts and we can only get there with help from you guys. To help us, please share our podcast with at least two people I recently shared.
00:06:10
Speaker
the podcast with the man that works at the Verizon store here so you can find someone to share it with and we will be able to reach that goal just a little bit quicker. We want to welcome all the new listeners we have particularly our growing audience in the UK, Australia and Canada and then also in Atlanta as well as across the state of Kentucky here in the states.
00:06:31
Speaker
If you haven't taken a second to rate the show, you still can. And if you have a few seconds longer, also leave us just a few words about what you enjoyed most about the podcast. We've gotten lots of written comments lately, and let me just remind you, they make a squeal with delight. We love it, it brightens our day. So if you enjoy listening, let us know. When we get to the 150 ratings, we'll do a bonus episode for you guys.
The Case of Fauna Fry
00:06:56
Speaker
Just make sure that you follow us on social media, Coffee and Case's podcast on Facebook,
00:07:01
Speaker
or at Coffee Cases podcast on Instagram, or as always, listen in each week to know when that bonus episode will air. And so now let's get on to the show. Maggie, this episode today was a listener suggestion. Okay. And I'm so glad that it was because this case is a little bit different than a lot of them that we cover on our podcast. This case is recent.
00:07:25
Speaker
So it's not a cold case like we normally cover. And when I say recent, I mean it only happened a few months ago. Oh, so very new. Very new. And I feel like, just like one of the other cases that we've covered in our last few episodes, the Molly Miller and the Colt Haynes, I feel like with recent cases, the urgency of listening, sleuth hounds, to every detail
00:07:53
Speaker
and of sharing the information, of asking the probing questions is heightened even more. Yeah, because of difference. You really can make a difference. I mean you can make a difference in any of our episodes, but these you really can because it's fresh. Yeah, it's new.
00:08:08
Speaker
So before I get into this case, Maggie and I want to tell you listeners again how much time we spend doing research on these cases that we cover. Maggie can attest to this too. Each week in addition to our jobs as teachers, which if you know any teachers in your life then you know this fact to be true, is about an 80 hour a week job? Yes. If not more.
00:08:30
Speaker
And in addition to that, Maggie and I spend about another 20 to 30 more hours researching a case, reading, cross-checking facts, all that good stuff. And with a case as recent as this one, the reason why I'm bringing this up is because while I combed and combed and combed through sources, there wasn't a whole lot out there that said,
00:08:56
Speaker
much different than other stories that I had read. At least not ones that would provide like different clues or further information. Very. Exactly. So for the case today, quite a bit of my information is coming from the social media campaign on the Facebook page, hashtag find fauna fry.
00:09:17
Speaker
and for those of you out there if you're interested in checking it out it's spelled f-i-n-d f-a-u-n-a f-r-e-y so fry is spelled f-r-e-y and that Facebook page is run by Faunus high school friend Jenny Hill Stapleton and other moderators Mickey Ray and Lorna Patrick and I'll be mentioning their names but
00:09:42
Speaker
They update that Facebook page religiously with information coming from Faunus' father, John, because he's not really tech savvy, so he kind of lets them... Works through them.
00:09:57
Speaker
They share information about continued search efforts and results, messages of love and hope for Fauna's safe return.
Family History and Personal Struggles
00:10:05
Speaker
So Maggie and Sleuth Hounds, you're gonna hear those names, Jenny, Mickey, and Lorna throughout our case today because much of the information about Fauna's background and personality are told by those closest to her on that page.
00:10:20
Speaker
Now I mentioned in the introduction to this episode that the Fry family made up of Father John and his wife and three children, Dallas, the oldest and their only son, middle child and first daughter Fauna and their youngest child, the second daughter. I mentioned that they knew loss.
00:10:40
Speaker
That experience with grief began for the Oregon family in 2004 when the children's mother passed away. Oh, that's sad. Yeah, and Fauna would have been, well, I couldn't find her date of birth anywhere, so I know what year she, I know how old she is, and I know in what year her mother passed away, so I don't know if she had had her birthday yet. So she would have been about 28 or 29 when she lost her mom.
00:11:09
Speaker
So I just turned 30, like October 5th, and I could not imagine losing my mom at this age. Yeah, so I can only imagine how, that's young to have to navigate a loss like that. Yeah, I can do it.
00:11:28
Speaker
And two short years after that, tragedy struck the family again when the baby of the family, Fauna's younger sister, passed away in 2006. Wow. And I didn't find any information for either her mother or her sister in terms of their name, so I don't know if the family just wanted to keep it private, or their cause of death.
00:11:57
Speaker
But regardless of those details, it doesn't change the devastating effect on a family to face back-to-back tragedy like that. And in one of the sources I was looking at, I just found out today, it was Fauna who discovered her younger sister. I couldn't imagine that either. That's so much more
00:12:21
Speaker
and I get the sense from a comment that Mickey Ray made on the Find Fauna Fry Facebook page that Fauna was a bit withdrawn after the losses but that the family was kind of healing together those remaining members spending time together casually and they started working together yeah so
00:12:47
Speaker
in a post on august ninth mickey said quote fauna had no social media or networking type account so kind of like her dad she just didn't like that very private yeah and mickey said she just kept to herself in the last 10 plus years and doesn't seem to have
00:13:04
Speaker
regular contact with anybody outside of her family. She's been working with her dad and brother building houses in Lane County." That's impressive. Yeah, so basically they worked together building
00:13:21
Speaker
houses that they would then sell and they did like shops and different things like that too. More specifically, according to an article for NBC News by Andrea Cavalier, Fauna had moved temporarily to Dexter, Oregon in order to help her brother and her father with that family business. So again, like they're at least spending more time together.
00:13:45
Speaker
And I feel like that seems natural to me because I feel like after losing two members of your family, you would want to stay incredibly close to those who were left, almost like a protection, like a need to stay close. And because they would understand,
00:14:03
Speaker
what you're going through. Yeah, my mom and I, well, I mean, I was really young. My brother passed away, but I do feel like my mom and I lean very heavily on each other to get through that. And I think like that shifted how our relationship was. I mean, I always had a really good relationship with my mom, but it became like kind of more dependent on each other because like we were it. Right. You know? Yeah. And I think that totally makes sense to me. And
00:14:33
Speaker
I actually also understand, in a way, Faun is kind of seeming aversion to social media because any time you get on it now, it's so filled with like, divisive and angry and accusatory and petty comments on the one hand and then like mindless nonsense on the other hand. Yeah, you watch like a video and it's like this heartwarming video of this mom coming home from like Afghanistan and like she's crying and her like little boys running towards her in the airport and you're like bawling and then you're like
00:15:03
Speaker
let's read the comments about how patriotic and happy people are and then it's like all like mean comments. I'm like how are you being made on this post? Right or we watch videos of like a cat trying to jump into a cage. Have you seen it at an animal shelter and it can't jump and it just like goes like an inch off the ground. But like we get sucked in and then we've spent hours
00:15:24
Speaker
you know like reading all these mean comments or watching mindless stuff and I do feel like sometimes it's healing to just step away from all that and then focus on what matters. Yeah I do. I fast from social media every once in a while. I take like so many weeks just
00:15:41
Speaker
I think that's good. Well other than her family it seems there were two things that kept Fauna's attention wrapped. One was her love of the outdoors and Maggie and I have been perfectly clear that we do not understand this one. Well I'm allergic to the outside now so.
00:16:02
Speaker
don't get too close and I should probably clarify and I feel like Maggie you're the same I love nature oh me too I love sitting on a back porch or the beach yes
00:16:14
Speaker
lazy afternoons, drinking sweet tea, watching the sunset, and I'll comment on how beautiful it is. I love taking my little sleuth hound outside. I did this a few weeks ago at 2 a.m. to lie side by side on lounge chairs to watch a meteor shower because I have memories of my grandma doing that with me.
00:16:35
Speaker
what i don't like is camping and hiking mostly because ticks yeah and like i went camping like obviously when i was little like i didn't care but we went hiking or not hiking camping um
00:16:52
Speaker
like several summers ago and literally we opened up a sleeping bag and like millions of ants came out of it. And it was after dark and there was no bathroom where we went. And like I had to go to the bathroom in like a permanent port-a-potty and there was like a thing you had to pump to wash your hands. It was disgusting. Were you smart? No.
00:17:15
Speaker
I think I'd be bad at that. Plus, I get poison ivy. It's just not good. So you know what? Good for Fauna because she did love and find joy and adventure with being in nature and she was known to love camping, to love hiking and apparently she was quite good at it because I saw an interview with her dad who said she would go on like a 20 mile hike
00:17:39
Speaker
And I'm like, I don't know if I could walk 20 miles straight. I mean, I like short hikes and like, you know. Short as in like, how long does it take you to do it? Well, I mean, we've been to like, the breaks interstate park is close to where I grew up. So there were some summers that we would go there and like do a couple trails and then like eat lunch and then do a pea more and go home. But like, it's not anything rigorous. Right. Right.
00:18:07
Speaker
Well, Fauna, she would wander the trails too, like you were talking about Maggie, and just explore and just be at one with herself, with a peace, at nature. I could not do it by myself. Is she doing this by herself? She would often do it with her brother, Dallas, but she would also go by herself. And she just felt like nature was therapeutic. And that kind of explains even more to me her aversion to phones and social media, because that has a tendency to just muddy up our lives versus being out in nature.
00:18:36
Speaker
her other love was her love for animals especially dogs and I thought of you Maggie when I was reading this about her and she had a golden lab who was her special love and for you sleuth hounds who don't know this Maggie is totally
00:18:54
Speaker
Y'all. Her animals, I love them, because they're like running over to me today when we're reporting this, and I love it. Yeah, we have three dogs and two cats, and I think it would be easier to raise children, but you know, whatever. It is chaos, and you probably hear them barking in the background at random times, but you know, it is what it is. It's love, guys. It's love.
00:19:18
Speaker
Well, this dog provided Fauna with so much joy. But in 2019, Fauna's lab passed away. And she had had her for 12 years. So another source of joy was gone. So now Fauna has lost her mother, her sister, who she found.
00:19:39
Speaker
and now her best friend yeah yeah still reeling from that grief on June 19th of this year 2020 Fauna showed up to work and found that her brother Dallas wasn't at work
00:19:54
Speaker
Well, she waited a little bit, thinking he was gonna show up, and when he still didn't, Fauna went to his house to check on him. It was there that Fauna found her brother unresponsive. What? Yes, she attempted CPR, but it was too late. Dallas had suffered a fatal heart attack. And just like that, her last remaining sibling,
00:20:19
Speaker
was gone as well and he was young probably right like well he was older than her but yeah so now fauna had only her father john left and john fauna so the family of five was now down to two wow
00:20:39
Speaker
So when I say they suffered loss, they knew loss and grief, they knew it. And I'm sure after facing loss, after loss, after loss, you want to hope that that pain is over finally, that there will be some sort of reprieve, but there wasn't.
00:20:59
Speaker
And eventually the weight you're carrying becomes so heavy that it probably seems unbearable. Fauna and John were doing their best though. On June 27th, which is only about eight days after Dallas was found unresponsive. And again, think about that. Fauna found both her sister and her brother. Wow.
00:21:24
Speaker
On June 27th, John and Fauna had a barbecue dinner at the home that they shared, and after dinner,
00:21:33
Speaker
Fauna announced to her dad that she was gonna take some items to the dump. And I didn't read what those items were, so I don't know if she was getting rid of some of the items from Dallas' home, knowing that maybe that was some part of the healing process that she'd learned from past losses, or if, you know, when dealing with grief, I'm surprised to see how many people actually clean.
00:22:01
Speaker
because it's like a test that doesn't require like you to think but it also consumes your thoughts at the same time. I think it's that and I feel like when you're facing grief everything in your world seems out of your control but I can control
00:22:17
Speaker
like where I put my folded, you know what I mean? Like these little things. And so it is mindless at the same time. It's like also a form of you having some control in your life. So I don't know if she was cleaning on her own or like taking things away to like symbolically declutter her world at this moment. But after she went to the dump, Fauna kept driving.
Fauna's Last Known Movements
00:22:45
Speaker
Okay, she drove her dark blue 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee south from Dexter, Oregon to Grants Pass, Oregon. There were some items of her brother Dallas's that Fauna felt like she needed to take to his good friend Shawn. Okay. So I'm assuming that these were things that would have meant a lot to both Dallas and Shawn and she just wanted Shawn to have them.
00:23:12
Speaker
However, and again, I could not find details for a specific time, but it must have been late when Fauna set out on this drive, because it was after dinner, we know that, she had gone to the dump, and because a quick Google search told me that the trip from Dexter, Oregon to Grants Pass is only about a two hour drive, which is nothing, I mean we drive,
00:23:39
Speaker
that all the time but we do know from an account that her father gave that she had spent the night in her car that night somewhere along the route. Much braver than me. Well and again like in an interview I saw he said that they would often do that like if they were gonna hike they'd drive somewhere and they would just sleep like in the back of her Jeep that she had done that before.
00:24:04
Speaker
So I guess this wasn't necessarily out of character to stop and sleep, but that's why I'm saying it must have been late when she left that night to stop somewhere to sleep along the way. And I guess because this was an impromptu trip and because she was only gonna be a couple of hours away from home, even at her end destination, so she didn't pack any luggage to take with her. Did her dad know she was going?
00:24:29
Speaker
Well, he did later that night when she called him. But she just needed to clear her mind to go for a drive and like I said she wanted to take these items to Sean.
00:24:41
Speaker
The next day, on June 28th, Fauna stopped at 10.08 a.m. to get $20 in gas at Crestwell 76 station. And sometime in the hours that followed, she bought some food, she asked someone for directions,
00:25:01
Speaker
and she picked up a female hitchhiker and gave her a ride to Fish Hatchery Road. And the police are aware of this hitchhiker's identity. They've questioned her about the time that she spent with Fauna in the car before Fauna dropped the woman off at her destination. So Fauna was a kind, she saw somebody who needed help, she stops and does what she can. Now that scares me, even if it were a woman, I don't think I would
00:25:31
Speaker
I always feel bad because I'm like oh like especially if it's like cold or raining so I'm like oh my god they're rainy like it's raining on them and all this but then I'm like
00:25:45
Speaker
or they could be a murderer, and then there's another part of me that's like, or they could be an angel, and God's testing you. I know, and then which is it? Yeah, and I'm always torn, like this morning, on the way to work, I saw a car that was pulled over and it looked like it was tilted like it was in a ditch, and I was like, should I help? But I'm by myself, and it was pitch black outside, and I was like, nope, not going to, so I called Rodney, and I was like, I saw a car, so I figured maybe he could go forward or check or something.
00:26:14
Speaker
But I do think that says the kind of person that she was, that she would stop to help. After that, Fauna proceeded then to Shawn's house to drop off those items of her brother's to him. And when asked to recall later, Shawn reported that other than the items that Fauna had brought for him, her car looked empty, which is why we assume that she had gone to the dump earlier in the day, because otherwise her car would be filled with stuff. Right, before she's hearing grants pass.
00:26:43
Speaker
And I couldn't find anything that stated how long the two visited with one another, Fauna and Sean, but I would assume that it wasn't like a quick trip. It probably involved some sort of discussion of Dallas, memories of him, things like that. A couple hours. I would think. And these are my assumptions because instead of leaving Sean's house and heading back to Dexter,
00:27:09
Speaker
she decided to check into Motel 8 on Northwest 7th Street in Grants Pass, checking in at 7.45 p.m. So instead of driving back
00:27:22
Speaker
just decides to stay. Once she was checked into her room around 8pm, Fauna called her dad, so this is when she's calling him to let him know where she is, and she tells him about her trip to drop off these items with Shawn, tells him about the femur
00:27:41
Speaker
tells them about the female hitchhiker that she helped out, and said that this woman who she had given the ride to had actually reminded her of someone that both she and her father knew. And then they also talked about how, this is what Fauna was bringing up, and it's what you just said, Maggie, and I think that's really interesting that she said, you know, maybe some of these people you meet are angels who are put here on Earth. That's what I always think of.
00:28:08
Speaker
And so I guess she was thinking the same thing. She told her dad that she was thinking about making a couple of other visits to people.
00:28:18
Speaker
it seems to me like Fauna needed others around her, again, who could understand, who could share in the grief of the situation, and even in the joy of her cult memories, and all of that being part of the healing process that I talked about in the beginning. Well, her dad John, of all people, did know what she was experiencing, and he also knew how she found peace when she was with nature, which again,
00:28:46
Speaker
I don't get the camping, but whatever. And so he suggested that Fauna check into something more secluded, more her style like a cabin. Oh, okay. Right, instead of this like busy- Like a little getaway? Motel eight, yes.
00:29:00
Speaker
And he said, you know, find a cabin where you can rest, you can have this nice quiet setting, help you refocus. And her father John actually recalls hearing in her voice that she needed it. In fact, he reported to Andrea Cavalier of NBC News, quote, she was still really distraught about losing her brother. She had been through so much. We all have, end quote.
00:29:28
Speaker
So Fauna sounded distressed when he spoke with her on the phone. And of all places, at least Grant's pass was one that could hold out comfort that she so desperately needed because it's a city that's situated on the Rogue River. So it's like this beautiful, natural setting. So she agrees with her dad that she would do just what he suggested.
00:29:54
Speaker
Fauna called and made a reservation at the We Ask You Inn. And when she gave this information to her father, she also told him that she would call him the next day when she checked in. So again, responsible. She's shaking hands. Yes. As she got off the phone with him, she said she was going to take a shower. And then because she hadn't packed anything. Oh, is Gary saying she's going to go get clothes? Yeah. So she said she's going to take a shower and she's going to run by a store and pick up a few things. Gotcha. So John Fry.
00:30:24
Speaker
has yet to hear his daughter Fauna's voice again, though after that phone call. Wow. So let me tell you a little bit about- That was abrupt. Yes, about what we do know.
The Search for Fauna
00:30:39
Speaker
When several days passed with no contact from Fauna, her dad John began to worry, obviously, because at first, I mean, she's an adult, so he's like, I told her to clear her head.
00:30:50
Speaker
and she doesn't have like a cell phone. So she was calling from land lines. Exactly. So he's like, she'll call me in a few days. You know, she was known to go on hikes and things like that. Well, when a few days pass and she hasn't checked in. Well, I'm sure he's worried maybe like she fell on a hike and she broke her leg or something like that. Right. And I mean, he even admits the mental state that she was in when he talked to her on the phone. He's worried. Okay.
00:31:16
Speaker
Well Fauna might have needed some time to herself like I said but I mean he also knew that she wouldn't have wanted him to worry and she would have let him know that she was, I mean again he has lost two of his three children. She is the last one. So she would have checked in. Yeah she doesn't seem like somebody who just
00:31:41
Speaker
would like leave and not let your family, her only family, never know where she's going. Right. On July 5th, John Frye reported his only surviving child, Fauna Frye, missing.
00:32:00
Speaker
And I do want to applaud both John Fry and Fauna's friends because after Fauna was reported missing, they organized search parties on foot on ATV, drone searches, everything.
00:32:16
Speaker
Maggie, I'm saying on that Facebook page, they tirelessly listed areas that were searched, areas that still needed to be searched. They created, have you seen me posters? They printed them, they shared them, they documented where they had posted them. I'm telling you, they were asking for Fauna's image and her story to be shared on ATV groups on Facebook, hiking groups, rafting groups, hunting groups, nature groups.
00:32:46
Speaker
Anybody who had members in the Oregon area to be on their lookout, I mean, their love for Fauna is clear in their efforts. Very detailed, very like, you know, forceful. Organized, yeah.
00:33:02
Speaker
And even in the middle of a pandemic, because remember, this is happening now. I keep thinking that this is like. Right. A lot of the cases were in the past. But even in the middle of a pandemic, even in the midst of raging wildfires in Oregon, people showed up.
00:33:19
Speaker
And I think that says a lot about the nature of humans. The majority of us, when it comes down to it, are good people. Or at least tell myself that. And it's easy to get clouded by the bad. Fauna's father is so grateful for that display of care. He told NBC News Andrea Cavalier, quote, some of those people who helped us search
00:33:47
Speaker
have lost their homes in the fires. Yet they went out of their way to help us, end quote. So even when they've lost everything, they're still helping other people. And you really get the sense of how draining the search must be for John. I mean, he'd already lost two children. Now his only remaining child is missing.
00:34:17
Speaker
And he said to Dateline, quote, I've searched half the state of Oregon. We're at a standstill and don't know where to go from here. We just want our home safe, end quote. Well, this breaks my heart because I love, like, like, daddies that you can, like, feel and hear the love that they have for their children. Like, I think there's nothing more precious than, like,
00:34:43
Speaker
a dad that is not afraid to be like emotional when it comes to like his kids. That's just, that's good. I mean to lose one child, a parent should never have to experience. To lose two children.
00:34:59
Speaker
I can't imagine. To lose two children and now the only one left is missing? I don't even know that I would be able to get out of my bed. That's why I said I applaud him for these. And you can see the exhaustion and yet he keeps going. And I think it is like the kindness and the love that strangers are showing that is what's keeping him motivated.
00:35:23
Speaker
In Fauna's childhood friend, Jenny Hill Stapleton, she kind of intimated the same idea, saying, quote, her father is going out every day camping in his truck, driving all over the state looking for her, his last surviving child. We just love her and adore her and just want her back home, end quote. So remind me again when this happened? This is this year.
00:35:53
Speaker
in June was the last that he spoke with her. Oh wow. And it's now, you know, middle of October. Wow. So this was only a few months ago. And even though they're searching all over Oregon, they didn't find Fauna nor her Jeep Grand Cherokee. So is it possible that she went somewhere where wildfires were and she just couldn't? I'll get to that in just a minute.
00:36:21
Speaker
Because of law enforcement involvement in the search after he reported her missing, Fauna's family and friends were able to get a bit more information. For example, we now know that after getting off of the phone with her dad, Fauna did indeed go to the store to buy a few things.
00:36:39
Speaker
credit card records show that her credit card was used at both a Fred Meyer which I didn't know what that was because we don't have that chain here but it said it was called it said it was a hyper market supermarket which from what I can tell means it's kind of like a Walmart so you can get food and you can buy all kinds of other stuff and it was used at a big five
00:37:02
Speaker
sporting goods store. Okay. Eventually, though not without struggle, the family was able to get details about the items that Fauna purchased that night. Okay, because that can make a difference. And the morning of the 29th. So on the night of the 28th, remember she had talked to her dad the night of the 28th,
00:37:21
Speaker
At around 8.30, Fauna bought some personal items from Fred Meyer, like shampoo and conditioner. She needs those. Yeah, active wear clothing, socks, because remember she hadn't packed a bag or anything for this impromptu trip. She bought a deli sandwich and chips and two cans of Foster's beer. So this is like, she's gonna have a night in, you know, needs clothes, shampoo, socks. Just a normal trip to the
00:37:50
Speaker
Grocery stores. Nothing weird. Right. Security camera footage shows Fauna leaving the store alone in her purple and neon green pullover. Okay, which would be easy to cite. And she's carrying her purchases. And there's footage at the Motel 8, which is where she was saying that shows Fauna arriving back at the hotel alone at night after shopping
00:38:14
Speaker
And the footage shows her leaving alone the next morning with her personal belongings, her bags, and her purchases somewhere between 8 and 9 a.m. Okay. So we got this. We have a good timeline.
00:38:28
Speaker
Around 12.36 on the 29th, Fauna's credit card is used again, this time at that Big Five sporting goods store, to buy some more items, some potentially needed for camping, which remember her dad is like, take some time, go to this cabin, we know she likes to hike, all this stuff. At Big Five, she bought a three pack of flashlights,
00:38:54
Speaker
which I think seems kinda weird if you're going to cabin, but maybe she might be like hiking after dark or something. Right. She bought a lantern, some capri pants, tennis shoes, and a sports bra. Okay, so again, nothing super active wear. Nothing weird. Yeah.
00:39:09
Speaker
I was thinking, you know, usually checkout at a hotel is around 10 to 11, which would explain why she's leaving at like eight to nine. And then check in at a hotel, usually it's around like three, four, something like that. So I'm gonna assume that she just planned to fill those hours in between with maybe a little bit of hiking. That would explain some of the purchases, like the active wear clothing to make it more comfortable and different things like that.
00:39:39
Speaker
But remember, she had called to make a reservation at the We Ask You Inn, and she told her dad, hey, I'll call you when I check in. Fauna never showed up to check in at the We Ask You Inn that day.
00:39:53
Speaker
And the only time her card has been charged, other than those two purchases at the Fred Meyer and the Big Five, was at the We Ask You In, but that is only because she had never canceled her reservation, even though she didn't arrive. So after those two credit card swipes. That's it. That's it.
00:40:20
Speaker
And after the charge from We Ask You In, her credit card has not been accessed since.
00:40:31
Speaker
A few reports of people in the area who believe that they spoke with someone fitting Fauna's description. In fact, two separate people who didn't know each other, which is why we're more inclined to kind of believe their report, said that someone matching Fauna's description wearing the same clothes
00:40:51
Speaker
had a dog with her a brindle pit mix but remember her love for animals so her friends are like well you know that's not again not out of character she would have picked up a stray to take care of it you know whether she's on the road or not so that and remember she had just lost her dog so maybe she's trying to fill a void right according to the facebook page both of these
00:41:17
Speaker
witnesses believe that they saw Fauna on July 30th. So that's like nearly a month after she's spoken with her dad.
00:41:31
Speaker
But if that is the case, one of the women reported that the reason she had an interaction with the blonde woman, thinking that that blonde woman was Fauna, was because the woman had asked the witness for money for gas, saying that she had run out. And when asked, said that her name was Bobby.
00:41:53
Speaker
But that doesn't make any sense to me Maggie because it makes me think that these sightings were not Fauna. And I mean like the only thing I could think of is like maybe she
00:42:05
Speaker
is trying to start over again, so she's just using cash instead of her card, or maybe she had some type of psychiatric break. And I do wonder that, and even in an interview I saw with her dad, he said he wasn't sure that she was 100%. Yeah, because she sounded like...
00:42:26
Speaker
distraught when he was on the phone with her. And I mean, maybe she was just at a point she couldn't really take anymore. But I don't know how common it would be to say a different name. And I still feel like she wouldn't leave her dad. And I don't know, I just get the feeling that it wasn't her. Plus it's a month after. And why would she be in the same clothes a month later? Right.
00:42:54
Speaker
I mean, I, we, I, we, well, I re-wear outfits. Right, but...
00:42:59
Speaker
But I just think that's too coincidental. The last clue that we have, Maggie, was a breakthrough which just came about three weeks ago.
Discovery and Theories
00:43:10
Speaker
On the afternoon of Wednesday, September 23rd, after nearly two months of asking locals to be on the lookout for Fauna or her vehicle, that dark blue 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee with Oregon license plate 339 EYB
00:43:29
Speaker
call came in that someone had noticed a vehicle matching that description. When law enforcement arrived they did positively identify the vehicle as faunas which is why when you said could she have been caught in those fires I said I'll get to that. Her vehicle was found locked
00:43:51
Speaker
and left in an area on Reuben Mountain Road a few miles past Grave Creek Boat Land. So is this near like? It's in Grants Pass. Okay. So it's right in the area where she we last knew that she was. But uh. What? I feel like her dad would have like really searched that area though.
00:44:14
Speaker
Well, again, there's a lot of trails and different things. It's not like this is in a parking lot because that's what I imagine. Right. While Fauna was not found with the vehicle, they believe that the Jeep had been parked there for at least a month, if not more.
00:44:36
Speaker
So that's not that specific. I mean, it was just found September. So they're saying it's been there at least since August, but it could have been July or even June. I feel like there would be no real way to gauge that. Right. And I didn't read why they thought it had been there that long, but I'm guessing it has something to do with weeds or foliage around the tires. Yeah.
00:45:00
Speaker
And where the vehicle is found, like I just said Maggie, is still in Josephine County in Grants Pass, Oregon. And the boat ramp that it was parked near after doing some research is near a trailhead. So at least there's some direction now in terms of
00:45:22
Speaker
you know, where to search, right? Yeah, you kind of maybe have a location of where she might have been. Right, might have gone for a hike. Yeah. Because again, keep in mind her purchases, which obviously is better than having no indication. Right. Her being anywhere. Right. So again, at least there's some hope of a more concentrated search. But so far, those have also proven fruitless.
00:45:51
Speaker
The very next day, September 24th, search and rescue teams canvassed the area and brought with them cadaver dogs, and again, they didn't find Fauna.
00:46:03
Speaker
in a Facebook post made on October 7th, so right at a week ago. One of the moderators, Lorna Patrick, provided a list of the items located inside of Fauna's Jeep. There was a blanket, an eight-pack of tuna, two mocha coffee drinks, one can of Foster's beer, which I assume is leftover, which you got too,
00:46:27
Speaker
a travel-sized toothbrush and toothpaste, a pair of tennis shoes, some t-shirts and socks, the new sports bra, new shorts, her purple and green pullover that we saw in the camera footage, and an empty package to the three palm-sized flashlights. So she obviously took the flashlights with her, and an empty package to an AM FM radio. So again, nothing like
00:46:54
Speaker
that stands out as crazy. Many had originally worried, you know, what if she was in a car accident, you know, kind of similar to you. Like what if she ran into danger having something to do with the vehicle. Maybe she accidentally drove into a ravine. But when her car was found safely parked, that obviously eliminates that possibility.
00:47:17
Speaker
but I have not read about the Jeep being processed. Okay that was what I was going to say. Yeah. After they towed it away. So I don't know how long it takes to process something like that and I didn't know if it was even a viable option after they said it had been there for so long. So I actually looked it up and I found a research article that said that
00:47:42
Speaker
Fingerprints can actually last on objects an average of three months to two and a half years. Well I was gonna say if it's like undisturbed then there would be nothing really to like wipe away the fingerprints with evidence.
00:47:59
Speaker
but I will also say that so far I have not seen any information about what, if anything, was found on her Jeep and there was one Facebook post on the group that seemed to indicate that the local sheriff's department did not have plans to process the vehicle. So this sounds very much like
00:48:24
Speaker
the Crystal Rogers case where they wouldn't process her vehicle for a really long time. But with Crystal Rogers, I saw one of the episodes said something like because of funding, they could only process like a certain number? Yeah, so many pieces of evidence. Which is crazy to me because what if you choose the wrong pieces? Yeah, and I think they talked about that in one of those episodes on Crystal Rogers, like wasn't that on Amazon? Because they said there's so many pieces of evidence, how do you know
00:48:50
Speaker
you're picking the correct pieces. Right, literally the answer could be right there. Yeah. And you just haven't processed it. Many people could do like a GoFundMe page. There is one. I'm gonna tell you about it. So, but we keep questioning, I mean here's her vehicle. So what happened to Fauna? Like where is she? Yeah, where could she be? As you can imagine, I mean due to the pain and trauma of recent events, there are those who suspect suicide.
00:49:20
Speaker
They wonder if it was just all too much to bear, but I don't think so. There was that part of me for a second that said maybe she is trying to start a new life or something like that.
00:49:39
Speaker
I don't see her leaving her father. This reminds me a little bit about the case, about the basketball player that we did. Rico? Yeah, but I feel like she was a lot more stable than him. Yeah, there's nothing about this that seems to indicate suicide to me.
00:50:03
Speaker
I mean obviously she was distraught about Dallas and the wounds were still fresh. But number one, logically, I don't think she would have bought clothes and camping items and food if this is the plan. And reserved a cabin.
00:50:20
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. Why would she have reserved a cabin if that were her plan all along? Right, because don't people, you also talk about that, like people, or maybe I did. You don't make plans. You don't make plans. And she wouldn't have told her dad. Like, hey, I'm gonna call you. Exactly. And number two, my gut just says, like you said, Maggie, she wouldn't have done that to her dad. Not after everything that they had experienced. But if not that, then what?
00:50:48
Speaker
There are a couple of theories. First is that maybe she picked up another hitchhiker because she had picked up one earlier in the day. Maybe she picked up a different one or the same woman. But we talked to that woman, right? Right.
00:51:06
Speaker
And from what I read, people around town knew who she was. I guess she would hitchhike a lot. But again, if she hasn't been arrested, then I would assume that there's not, and hasn't been named a person of interest, so. And she had spoken to her dad about angels here on earth, so did she pick up somebody else maybe, but this time it was somebody who did her harm? So it's not an angel, but a monster.
00:51:35
Speaker
But then if that's the case, I feel like her vehicle wouldn't have been left. Because if this theory is true, then the one who harmed her would also not have had a vehicle because she would have picked them up as a hitchhiker. And so then I feel like they would have stolen the vehicle. Or at least used her credit card or her debit card to get money out of the vehicle. Right. So that theory doesn't make sense to me.
00:51:57
Speaker
Second, her father worries that Fauna could have fallen victim to human trafficking. Let's talk about how scary this problem is. Like, when are we gonna do something about this? And it's so weird because I feel like if you bring it up to people, they're like, human trafficking, that doesn't happen here. Not in America.
00:52:17
Speaker
and yet it's everywhere. And her dad is legitimately worried about it because he said both human trafficking and a drug cartel are really bad in southern Oregon which is where she's like so southern Oregon it's almost California. And he said it's really bad there so he's worried
00:52:40
Speaker
you know, did she go on this hike and then stumble? Yeah, and I feel like we hear more and more about that kind of thing. And then part of me wonders like, do we keep hearing, and this kind of talks about like hits on the social media thing, like do we hear so much bad stuff because like,
00:52:55
Speaker
We have a constant source of news now. News is 24 hours a day, whereas when our grandparents grew up, it was the six o'clock news, and that was really it. And anything that was going on in California, they wouldn't necessarily know here. So do we, has problems like human trafficking, have they become more of a problem recently, or has it really always been there, but we're just now kind of hearing about it? That's a legit question. I think it's a little bit of both. Yeah, regardless, something needs to be done. It's crazy.
00:53:25
Speaker
A final theory is that Fauna went exploring and came across trouble while doing so. One post on the hashtag FindFaunaFry Facebook page noted that Fauna knew the Grants Pass area well.
00:53:42
Speaker
Mickey said that Fauna had actually lived in the Grants Pass General area until the summer before 10th grade and then had moved back there for a bit later in life. So that tells me she would have felt really comfortable with the trails, the land around the area, and maybe even knew like what to expect. And I feel like as an experienced outdoor enthusiast anyway, I mean I would think she would be prepared.
00:54:11
Speaker
But being somewhere during the day, and this is the thing that stood out for me, would not call for a lane turn in flashlights. And that's why I thought that was a kind of weird purchase that she made because if you're going hiking during the day, I mean unless
00:54:26
Speaker
you know, maybe you don't know like how long it'll take you to get back or something like that. Why would you need flashlights in a lantern? You're returning to a cabin. Right. That stood out to me. And so then I was thinking, okay, in my head, it could indicate like one of two things. Either she planned on staying the night somewhere, but if so, why not buy a tent or a sleeping bag? Well, she did have the blanket in her car. But it's still in her car. That's true. Nevermind.
00:54:56
Speaker
unless she made plans to meet up with someone who already had those items. Someone who she knew, because that could be the case. I mean, she had lived there in the past. And she did say she wanted to like visit other people. So maybe she's meeting a friend. Who knows? So she could have just brought this stuff thinking, oh, they've got a tent or whatever. So that's one theory that I had.
00:55:22
Speaker
But then if she knew she was going to stay the night, why would she not take food with her? Yeah, why would she leave the tuna in her car? Yeah, that doesn't make sense to me. So then I was thinking, well maybe she was just going out for a hike. She planned to come back to the Jeep after just a couple of hours. Like maybe she got hurt or
00:55:41
Speaker
maybe she planned on exploring some caves. That seemed logical to me because- Oh, that makes sense, the flashlight's in the lanterns. In the middle of the day. Yep, that's what I was thinking. I was thinking maybe she was gonna explore some caves and so she took the flashlights because you wouldn't want to have backup ones. And then now I understand why she would have it, like you said Maggie, during the day.
00:56:07
Speaker
So if it were me, I feel like that's where I would concentrate my effort. So are there cave systems in this area? There are. Like explored? Are we talking like Mammoth Cave and like we know a lot of it or are we talking like people go like we don't really know where this cavern could lead? I am picturing. I don't know.
00:56:27
Speaker
I am picturing more like Carter Caves, which is what I grew up going to. It's in Carter County, Kentucky where like there are certain caves that they'll lead tours into, but it's not like big touristy like Mammoth Caves.
00:56:43
Speaker
And with Carter Caves, while there are like two or three that people go into, it's a whole cave system and you can go on your own. Like there's nobody stopping you. Oh, okay. See, I think it's monitored at Mama's Cave. Okay. I went with my cousin Barrett once and some of his friends and some of my friends and I can remember we, I was scared.
00:57:02
Speaker
because at one point we went in one, I remember, and we were like crawling on our stomachs because it was so such a tight squeeze. And then we got to the end and it was like a big drop off. So we had to like crawl back. But I'm picturing like what if she went into one of those caves and maybe she hurt her leg or something happened. So I feel like that's where they should concentrate their efforts.
00:57:28
Speaker
Because if you think about like even the most skilled hikers or rock climbers can still have accidents in familiar places. Like think about that guy that had to like saw his arm off because or wasn't that like a hiker that like got pinned and he had his own. So like that's kind of how I lean is that maybe
00:57:49
Speaker
you know she was in a cave or she was hiking somewhere and there was just an accident a rock slip or you know i don't know i mean whatever happened to her i hope he can get some type of piece because i feel like
00:58:06
Speaker
he deserves to be able to start healing from yet another loss. And what's sad, I started thinking about this too, is that, you know, one clue that law enforcement uses a lot is pinging someone's cell phone for location, but because she didn't carry a cell phone, we can't.
Support and Continued Search Efforts
00:58:29
Speaker
Oh, they lost that piece of. Right. In a Facebook post from Jenny, Mickey and Lorna on October 5th,
00:58:36
Speaker
they made several pleas to the public, all of which you can help with, Sleuthhounds. First is for the Josephine County Sheriff's Office to turn Fauna's case back over to the Oregon State Police so that her Jeep may be processed, to ping Dallas's cell phone just in case Fauna happened to have it in her possession, and to subpoena the incoming calls to John Fry's landline
00:59:03
Speaker
as well as that we ask you in to see if they provide any additional clues.
00:59:09
Speaker
A second plea is to consider helping to fund the search for Fauna Fry. Right now, that burden has fallen on her father, who has spent nearly all of his money to aid in every effort to find his daughter. Should you be willing to give, please go to www.gofundme.com.
00:59:33
Speaker
forward slash find fauna fry and again fry is spelled f-r-e-y but their final plea is the most urgent to share her story and her picture with anyone and everyone you know ask for flyers post her image on your own facebook groups for hunting sporting atvs hiking rafting camping send her picture to friends or relatives
01:00:03
Speaker
tell her story. Any detail, big or small, could be crucial to this case, so share.
01:00:12
Speaker
Fauna is five foot six, weighing between 135 and 150 pounds with blonde hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing a neon green and purple pullover, capri pants, and a dark t-shirt. A $25,000 reward is being offered by the family for anyone with information that leads to Fauna's whereabouts. Anyone with that information concerning Fauna Fry
01:00:40
Speaker
should contact the Josephine County Sheriff's Office at 541-474-5123.
01:00:50
Speaker
The pain of loss grips tight these days for John Fry as he wonders about Fauna. His exhaustion is visible. There have been so many days without answers, without peace. But the power of his love for Fauna still lingers in his eyes.
01:01:12
Speaker
He and Fauna's friends are trying to change the world with their touch of love and hope. I just pray that finding Fauna and once and for all providing some answers will be the impact of this legacy of love and faithfulness.
01:01:33
Speaker
Again, please like and join our Facebook page, Coffee and Cases podcast, to continue the conversation and see images related to this episode. As always, follow us on Twitter, at casescoffee, on Instagram, at coffee cases podcast, or you can always email us suggestions to coffeeandcasespodcastatgmail.com. Please tell your friends about our podcast so more people can be reached to possibly help bring some closure to these families. Don't forget to rate our show and leave us a comment as well. We hope to hear from you soon.
01:02:03
Speaker
Stay together. Stay safe. We'll see you next week.