Detectives in southern Oregon have reopened a decade-old cold case this week following the discovery of possible human hair and tissue near the residence of a missing woman.
Investigators are re-examining the disappearance of Stephanie Anne Warner after a mushroom hunter made the discovery near her home on the 9000 block of Highway 238, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office announced on Wednesday.
Warner, 43, was last seen around 4:30 p.m. July 4, 2013, when she left a Fourth of July parade in Ashland with her boyfriend, Lennie Ames, the department wrote.
The couple drove away in Warner’s green 2003 Nissan Xterra, and were believed to be returning to her residence in Ruch.
Police now believe Warner was the victim of a homicide and her body was left in the Applegate area.
Ames and his son, Jared Fournier, are believed to know something about Warner’s disappearance but have been “uncooperative,” according to the JCSO.
Investigators sent the tissue and hair to the Oregon State Police Forensics Laboratory for identification. In the meantime, detectives and search and rescue officers are searching for evidence in the China Gulch Road area.
At the time of her disappearance, Warner, who is 5 feet, 2 inches tall and 115 pounds, was wearing jeans, black lace-up boots, and a pink or beige shirt.
