Resources for Missing Persons

According to current statistics, 4,000 people in the United States go missing every day. Sometimes a child suddenly vanishes from the bus stop or the local park or even from their own yard or bedroom. Or a teenager doesn�t return home after a walk to the neighborhood grocery store or a bike ride or a party with friends. Other times, an adult is mysteriously absent from their job or neighbors haven�t seen them for several days, and family and friends haven�t heard from them either.

Missing Person Case Updates with Photos

Toby Eugene Anderson
Toby, date, approximate 1986; Age-progression to age 50 (date, approximate 2019); Almer "Billy" Wright, Toby's uncle
Date Missing 09/01/1986
Missing From
Selma, Oregon
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Male
Race
White
Date of Birth 12/18/1969 (52)
Age 16 years old
Height and Weight 5'5 - 5'7, 150 - 170 pounds
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Brown hair, green eyes.
Details of Disappearance Toby was last seen in Selma, Oregon sometime in September or October 1986. (Many agencies give the date of disappearance as August 22, 1988.) At the time of his disappearance, due to family problems he had been staying back and forth among different relatives. They heard different stories as to what happened to him, including that he had run away or that he died in a car wreck.
His cousin, Denise McGarity, began investigating his disappearance in 2018, and discovered that Toby's paternal uncle, Almer W. "Billy" Wright, is the last person he is known to have lived with. He attended Illinois Valley High School. When McGarity wrote to Wright about the , he stated Toby had been caught trying to rape one of his daughters and had hidden in a chicken coop afterwards. Wright found him there and drove him away from the property in his car.
Where they went after that is unclear and Wright told inconsistent stories about it. At one point he said he dropped Toby off at either the juvenile hall or the police department in Cave Junction, Oregon and left him there. Another time, he said Toby was probably dead, and if he died he was killed by being struck in the back of the head, and that his body was buried on a property in California. Other family members told McGarity that after Toby went missing, Wright had threatened them, saying that they would end up on a hill like Toby.
It is worth noting that, at the time of Toby's disappearance, Wright was involved with the drug trade, and he also has a history of domestic violence. Several months after Toby went missing, Wright took his family and moved to Arkansas. He claimed he had to take care of his sick mother, but his mother was not sick. He is currently in prison for rape and child molestation and is supposed to be released in September 2021. A photo of him is posted with this summary.
The circumstances of Toby's disappearance are very unclear. Contrary to some of the rumors within the family, there is no evidence that he died in a car accident, and the police stated if Toby had been dropped off at the police station or juvenile hall as Wright claimed, a report would have been filed and Toby's parents would have been contacted.
McGarity and law enforcement have been unable to find any indication that Toby was alive after 1986. McGarity believes her cousin was murdered on the night of his disappearance and that his body is buried somewhere on the five-acre property where he lived with his uncle. His remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
Oregon State Police
800-442-2068
Other
NamUs
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
MISSING: Toby Anderson (Interview with Denise McGarity)

Missing Person Photos

A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are unknown. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2 to 5 percent of missing children in Europe. By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends. A number of organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and images of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece.

Resources for Missing Persons

According to current statistics, 4,000 people in the United States go missing every day. Sometimes a child suddenly vanishes from the bus stop or the local park or even from their own yard or bedroom. Or a teenager doesn�t return home after a walk to the neighborhood grocery store or a bike ride or a party with friends. Other times, an adult is mysteriously absent from their job or neighbors haven�t seen them for several days, and family and friends haven�t heard from them either.

Missing Person Case Updates with Photos