Beloved Oregon Woman and Dogs Disappear as Community Helps Investigators Solve Case

A sudden absence in Welches

Phoenix Lane’s friend Sarah Caswell noticed that Lane had not put out signs at the Hoodland Bazaar, where Lane worked. Caswell said Lane would not normally miss work without warning.

Caswell contacted Clackamas County sheriff’s deputy Aaron Clark, who advised Lane’s boss to ask the sheriff’s office for a welfare check. Deputies went to Lane’s home that night. The lights were on and the door was unlocked, but Lane and her two dogs were gone. After Lane missed work again Saturday, Clark drove to the Mount Hood area to speak with her friends and coworkers.

A life rebuilt on Mount Hood

Many people knew Lane as Phoenix, though she had used her legal name, Susan, for years. She had two adult sons, Jesse and Dakota, whom she raised in California and Kansas with her former husband, Fred.

Fred died in a car accident in 2009. Her son Dakota said the loss was devastating and that his mother struggled to find her footing afterward. Lane later got a trucking license and drove with Michel, trading shifts behind the wheel. After a trip in 2009, she bought a fixer-upper near Highway 26, and they moved to the mountain. They married in 2012, and she later adopted the name Phoenix, which Caswell said reflected rebuilding her life.

Friends describe her community role

At the Hoodland Plaza Shopping Center in Welches, Lane worked at the Hoodland Bazaar beside Caswell’s pizza shop. The plaza served as a meeting place for local residents.

Christen Prudence recalled Lane joining a women’s circle and leading a sound bath. Prudence also remembered Lane’s knowledge of crystals and described the gift shop as a fitting place for her.

Clark described the area as a tight-knit community where people often look after one another. Caswell said limited law enforcement in the region could mean long waits for help, so residents sometimes handled problems themselves.

Search begins among friends

Lane’s son Dakota said Clark told him his mother was missing. The report also describes Cari Gesch setting out for a hike without knowing Lane had disappeared the previous day.

The account ends with Gesch entering the National Forest. It does not provide further details about what investigators or the community found.