Search for Missing CTUIR Member Wesley Jones Enters Second Month

MISSION – More than a month has passed since the disappearance of Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) member Wesley Dixon Jones, and the Umatilla Tribal Police Department (UTPD), his family and others are still searching for him.

UTPD Det. William Morris said from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2, the MMIW Search & Hope Alliance led a search for the 71-year-old on the Umatilla Indian Reservation (UIR) in the area where he was last seen.

“Wesley Jones has now been missing for over a month, but we have continued our search, and the investigation is ongoing,” Morris said. “There was a search over the weekend led by the MMIW Search & Hope Alliance, and throughout the weekend they were searching with a cadaver dog on foot and ATVs. They were also using an AI sonar device called AquaEye to search places along the (Umatilla) river.”

Jones was last seen on camera at approximately 3:15 p.m. on Oct. 5 along east Short Mile Road in a gray 2003 Ford Escape with Oregon license plate SM15454. Morris said when the vehicle returned west on the same road Jones was no longer visible in it. The driver’s identity hasn’t been disclosed because of the investigation.

Jones is described as a 5-feet, 8-inch-tall Native American weighing approximately 140 pounds with long black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a black and red Tiger Scott jacket, black shirt, black sweatpants and boots.

Morris said the MMIW Search & Hope Alliance-led search included an area called the Maze, which is east of Sampson Lane and Short Mile Road along the railroad right-of-way, as well as upriver around the Cayuse community. “Unfortunately, the search was unsuccessful locating Wesley Jones,” he said.

Although no additional searches are scheduled, Morris said the next steps could entail expanding the search area, but more information is needed. “Right now we have searched pretty thoroughly the area based on his last known whereabouts,” he said.

When asked, Morris added that it’s not impossible Jones left the UIR, however, he doesn’t have any information leading him to believe that occurred.

The UTPD is still requesting the public to provide video footage of the area in which Jones is suspected of going missing on Oct. 5. “If there is still someone who hasn’t seen that message or heard that request, who has the video, that would still be relevant,” Morris said.

To upload video, visit https://umatillatribalpd.evidence.com/axon/community-request/public/wes-jones or call the UTPD at 541-278-0550 or Morris at 541-969-7139.

The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation is comprised of the Cayuse, Walla Walla and Umatilla Tribes, and formed under the Treaty of 1855 at the Walla Walla Valley, 12 Stat. 945. In 1949, the Tribes adopted a constitutional form of government to protect, preserve and enhance the reserved treaty rights guaranteed under federal law.