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Jeremy Doland Bright was born May 25th 1972 and he disappeared August 14th 1986. Jeremy's disappearance happened under very mysterious circumstances while attending the Coos County Fair in Myrtle Point, Oregon. Jeremy lived in Grants Pass and was visiting family in Myrtle Point. On August 14th, Jeremy was at the Coos County Fair with his younger sister. The siblings were separated during the day and Jeremy failed to meet her that afternoon at the carnival's Ferris wheel. Several witnesses reported seeing Jeremy forcibly removed from the fair by an unknown man and this case has remained unsolved.
To report a tip on the Jeremy Bright cold case, call 541-396-7800
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SUMMARY
Jeremy Doland Bright was born May 25th 1972 and he disappeared August 14th 1986. Jeremy's disappearance happened under very mysterious circumstances while attending the Coos County Fair in Myrtle Point, Oregon. Jeremy lived in Grants Pass and was visiting family in Myrtle Point. On August 14th, Jeremy was at the Coos County Fair with his younger sister. The siblings were separated during the day and Jeremy failed to meet her that afternoon at the carnival's ferris wheel. Several witnesses reported seeing Jeremy forcibly removed from the fair by an unknown man and this case has remained unsolved.
BACKGROUND
On August 13th, 1986, Jeremy Bright attended the Coos County Fair with his friend, Johnny Fish. Jeremy called his mother, Diane, from a payphone and made plans for her to pick him and his 10 year old siter S'te (ESTEE) up from Myrtle Point. They were to be picked up in two days, on August 15th. Later that day, Jeremy met with his stepfather at a tavern that this grandmother owned and he was given money to attend the fair again the next day.
INCIDENT
On Thursday, August 14th, Jeremy went to the fair for the second time and he brought his sister, S'te along. It was kids day at the fair. Around 2 PM, Jeremy and S'te agreed to part ways and they were planning to meet back up at 5PM near the ferris wheel. On this day, Jeremy was last seen wearing a black windbreaker jacket, a red tank top, nylon blue shorts, and a pair of black, size 13 Nike shoes with red shoe laces. Jeremy was 6 feet tall and 140 pounds. He had bright green eyes, brown hair and had a mole on his chin.
Now, I'm not entirely sure what happened here, but Jeremy's mother arrived at his stepfather's home in Myrtle Point the next day on August 15th to pick the kids up. She found Jeremy's wallet, watch, and the keys to their apartment, but couldn't find him. She was the one that ended up contacting the authorities and reported him missing.
INVESTIGATION
When law enforcement began their investigation, they initially suspected foul play. Within the week following Jeremy's disappearance, there were several reported sightings of him in the area and this prompted the detectives to reverse their decision and they temporarily classified Jeremy as a runaway on August 23rd, 1986. The police believed at this point, that Jeremy had run away with the traveling carnival. Several individuals, including S'te, had reported that they witnessed Jeremy being forcibly removed by a man near the ferris wheel between 1:00 and 1:30PM. And it was also stated that he left the fair with two men. This sparked numerous rumors over the years and in one of them, people believe that Jeremy, whoi had a heart murmur, overdosed on a beer laced with illegal drugs at a party and the people at the party had to get rid of his body. Another rumor that was submitted by an anonymous tip through a prison inmate said that Jeremy was shot by local men while swimming in the Coquille River or he had been shot during target practice and the locals attempted to nurse him back to health in a remote cabin, but he died and they buried him in a shallow grave. Police did follow up on both rumors, but didn't find any evidence.
On the first day that Jeremy went to the fair, he had gone with his friend, Johnny Fish. Johnny's sister, Cecelia Fish, told the police that on the night of Jeremy's disappearance, she saw an unamed male resident of her apartment building stumble inside the entryway, covered in blood.
Another tip came in stating that Jeremy's body was placed in a well and this came in around mid August in 1986. The police searched, but were unable to find anything.
The wells were actually sucked dry and they lowered people to the bottom. They use high-pressured pumps that empties the well down to the muck. They lower someone to the bottom and check the debris. They didn't find anything significant from this lead. In fact, all they found, was rat and raccoon skeletons.
They received another tip that suggested they follow a road to a concrete bridge in western Nebraska. Coincidentally, the police ended up receiving another tip about a young man named Jeremy Bright who worked for a circus company in Florida, but it was determined to be someone else who happens to share the same name and works with traveling carnivals.
SUSPECT
A local man who babysat Jeremy previously, Terry Lee Steinhoff was a suspect in the disappearance after he ended up being convicted of murdering a 32-year-old woman. There had been reports that Jeremy was seen in Terry's truck the day of the disappearance. Terry died in prison in 2007 from a heroin overdose.
Now one thing that I found very interesting in this case is that first, no one called the police when Jeremy didn't come home on August 14th. The next day, when his mom arrives, she finds his brand new watch that he just bought and his wallet. If he went to the fair, you would think he would take his wallet because he was just given money to go. Also, how was he supposed to watch the time and meet back up with his sister if he didn't have a watch? Jeremy's mom said she initially thought it was a good sign that she found his wallet and watch because she knew he wouldn't leave without these items and figured he must be close by.
Jeremy's mom says that he was very protective of his younger sister and would never have agreed to take her to the fair if he had a plan of just disappearing. Jeremy was a good kid and never really got in trouble. He went missing the summer before he started high school and we was a standout basketball player. He wanted to make the basketball team at his new school and had been coaching a basketball team at the Boys and Girls Club in Grants Pass.
Now, there is another rumor that has popped up over the years. Jeremy's best friend, Johnny Fish, has never been the same after the night that Jeremy went missing. On the night of Jeremy's disappearance, Johnny Fish went to a friend's house and they say he was visibly distraught, but refused to say why. Many people believe that he was actually there when something happened to him. It's known that he started having horrible nightmares and developed a serious alcohol addiction and ended up dying. Some people believe that Johnny witnessed Jeremy's murder, but may have been threatened and couldn't talk about what happened. It's also believed that the bloody man his sister, Cecelia saw that night, was David Steinhoff, the cousin of Jeremy's old babysitter, Terry Lee Stenhoff.
THEORY:
At first, it seemed plausible that the stepfather had something to do with the disappearance because the watch and wallet were found at the house, indicating that Jeremy never went to the fair and there is the strange fact that the stepfather never reported him missing, but we have to keep in mind that S'te has always maintained that they went to the fair together and both her and Jeremy were seen there. I do believe, they must have gone to the fair like they planned. If Jeremy was seen being forcibly removed from the fair and there were two men in the truck, it could absolutely be possible that it was his old babysitter, Terry Lee and his cousin, David. Cecelia does believe that it could have been David that she saw covered in blood. This was a small town where everyone knew each other and Terry Lee was a bad dude. Could he have given the watch and wallet to Johnny Fish and forced him to put it back in the house to throw everyone off? Maybe he threatened him and this is what destroyed his life?
To report a tip on the Jeremy Bright cold case, call 541-396-7800
Resources:
Time to do the right thing: Investigators still search for the answers almost 28 years after Jeremy Bright's disappearance
Following leads on the cold case of Jeremy Bright
Missing Jeremy Bright
https://unsolved.com/missing-jeremy-bright/
Disappearance of Jeremy Bright
https://wiki2.org/en/Disappearance_of_Jeremy_Bright
The Disappearance of Jeremy Bright
https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/81uvhs/the_disappearance_of_jeremy_bright/
