Key facts
- Name: Fauna Roseanna Frey
- Born: c. 1974–1975
- Age at disappearance: 45
- Last seen: June 29, 2020, 3:38 p.m.
- Location: Gooseberries organic grocery, Grants Pass, Oregon
- Height / build: 5’6″, 135–150 lbs, blonde hair, blue eyes; tattoo on back
- Status: Still missing — Josephine County case #20-1267; reward available
- Investigating agency: Josephine County Sheriff’s Office
Grieving
On June 27, 2020, 45-year-old Fauna Frey left her family home in Dexter, Oregon. She was grieving the sudden death of her brother and had planned to visit some of his loved ones in the Grants Pass area. She’d bought camping equipment. She had a reservation at the Weasku Inn in Grants Pass — a reservation she would never claim.
Two days later, on June 29, she was seen buying groceries at Gooseberries, an organic food store in Grants Pass, at 3:38 p.m. She was also captured on video at the Umpqua Bank in Rogue River that day, and reportedly seen at a Fred Meyer, a Big 5, and the Super 8 Motel in Grants Pass.
She was wearing a pink or purple zip-up lightweight jacket, black cotton Capri leggings, a light-colored shirt, light sneakers, and white Champion ankle socks.
After that, she vanished. Her last contact with her family was July 1. She had mentioned to her father that she’d picked up a hitchhiker.
The Jeep
Nearly three months later, on September 23, 2020, Fauna’s dark blue 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee (Oregon plate 339EYB) was found — locked — on a remote, dead-end spur off BLM road 30-4-81 in the Mount Reuben Road area, a few miles past the Grave Creek Boat Landing in Josephine County. Over an hour’s drive from the grocery store. Some of her belongings, including recently purchased food, were still inside. Investigators believed the Jeep had been parked there for at least a month, if not longer.
Extensive searches of the rugged area turned up nothing. Cadaver dogs found no leads.
Then came the frustration that has defined the case since: DNA evidence and fingerprints taken from the Jeep were put at the end of a long processing queue. State police told Fauna’s father the evidence was deprioritized because there was “no evidence a crime has been committed.”
“I’ve searched half the state of Oregon,” her father John Frey told Dateline NBC. “We’re at a standstill and don’t know where to go from here. We just want her home safe.”
The details that don’t fit
Fauna left her laptop and her primary cell phone at home — though her father noted she often used burner phones instead. The hitchhiker she mentioned was found, questioned, and cleared; police say that person is not a suspect.
She was a grieving woman on a trip to remember her brother. Nothing about the Gooseberries run suggests a woman planning to vanish: groceries, errands, a motel and inn in her plans. And nothing about the Jeep — locked, stocked with food, parked for a month on a dead-end logging spur — suggests a woman who drove there herself and walked away.
Theories: what might have happened
Foul play after the grocery store. A woman alone, grieving, in an unfamiliar area — the Jeep’s location, an hour from where she was last seen, on a road she’d have no reason to take, reads like someone else drove it there. The unprocessed DNA and fingerprints are the case’s great unfinished business: the answers may literally be sitting in an evidence queue.
A second person. The hitchhiker was cleared. But the Jeep didn’t drive itself to Reuben Mountain Road, and Fauna’s plans — the Weasku Inn reservation, the people she meant to visit — all pointed back toward town, not into the forest.
Misadventure. A grieving woman, camping equipment newly purchased, remote forest roads — a wrong turn, a breakdown, a walk for help that went wrong. But the Jeep was locked, food was inside, and the searches — including dogs — found nothing in rugged country where a person on foot leaves traces.
Voluntary disappearance. She bought groceries for a trip she was taking, kept her inn reservation, and stayed in contact with family until July 1. Nothing supports a planned vanishing.
Have information?
Contact the Josephine County Sheriff’s Office at (541) 474-5123 (ask for Deputy Michael Robbins; case #20-1267). The family also maintains an anonymous tip line at 541-359-5638 and findfaunafrey@gmail.com. A reward is available. In an emergency, dial 911.
Timeline
- c. 1974–1975 — Fauna Roseanna Frey is born.
- June 2020 — Her brother dies suddenly; Fauna grieves.
- June 27, 2020 — Leaves her Dexter home for the Grants Pass area; buys camping gear; reserves the Weasku Inn.
- June 29, 2020, 3:38 p.m. — Last confirmed sighting: Gooseberries grocery, Grants Pass. Also seen at Umpqua Bank (Rogue River), Fred Meyer, Big 5, Super 8.
- July 1, 2020 — Last contact with family; mentions picking up a hitchhiker.
- September 23, 2020 — Her locked Jeep found on a remote spur off Reuben Mountain Road; extensive search, no trace.
- 2020–2021 — Hitchhiker questioned and cleared; DNA/fingerprints from Jeep await processing; Dateline NBC covers the case.
- 2024 — Detective Perspective (Derrick Levasseur), Episode 60: “MISSING: Fauna Frey.”
- Today — Still missing.
FAQ
Is Fauna Frey still missing?
Yes. Fauna Frey has been missing since June 29, 2020 — more than six years. The Josephine County Sheriff’s Office case (#20-1267) remains open with a reward available.
Where was Fauna Frey’s Jeep found?
On September 23, 2020, her locked blue 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee was found on a remote dead-end spur off Reuben Mountain Road, miles past the Grave Creek Boat Landing in Josephine County — over an hour from where she was last seen. Some belongings and recently purchased food were inside.
What about the hitchhiker Fauna Frey picked up?
Fauna mentioned to her father that she’d given a ride to a hitchhiker. Police found and questioned that person, who was cleared and is not considered a suspect.
Why hasn’t the DNA from Fauna Frey’s Jeep been processed?
State police told her father the evidence was placed at the end of a long queue because there was “no evidence a crime has been committed” — a decision the family has called a standstill in the case.
How old would Fauna Frey be today?
Fauna was 45 when she vanished in June 2020 — she would be 51 now.
How can I help?
Share this case file. Anyone with information should contact the Josephine County Sheriff’s Office at (541) 474-5123 (case #20-1267) or the family’s anonymous tip line at 541-359-5638.
Sources
- Official / law enforcement: Josephine County Sheriff’s Office ((541) 474-5123; case #20-1267); Missing Persons Center directory.
- News: That Oregon Life (2021, 2024 updates); Dateline NBC (John Frey interview); KDRV/KOBI.
- Reference: Crime Solvers Central case file; Missing Persons Center — “Fauna Roseanna Frey.”
- Media: Detective Perspective, Episode 60 — “MISSING: Fauna Frey” (Derrick Levasseur, 2024).
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