Missing
Benita Gay Chamberlin
Chamberlin, approximately 1978
Date and time person was reported missing : 02/23/1978
Missing location (approx) :
Eugene, Oregon
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Female
Ethnicity :
White
DOB : 10/27/1953 (67)
Age at the time of disappearance: 24 years old
Height / Weight : 5'5, 120 pounds
Description, clothing, jewerly and more : A black turtleneck sweater, a red and blue ski jacket, white pants and earth shoes.
Medical conditions : Chamberlin had given birth ten days before she vanished and was nursing at the time of her disappearance.
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian female. Blonde hair, blue eyes.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Chamberlin was last seen between 10:00 and 11:00 a.m. on February 23, 1978, leaving Sacred Heart General Hospital in the vicinity of 13th Avenue and Hilyard Street in Eugene, Oregon. She had given birth on February 13 and was released from the hospital, but her baby daughter remained hospitalized due to prematurity and low birth weight.
Chamberlin went to the hospital that day to nurse the baby. She was told she could take her home sometime after 1:30 p.m., and telephoned a female friend to tell her the good news. She has never been heard from again. Her mother reported her missing at 1:00 a.m. on February 24.
At 2:30 a.m. that day, Chamberlin's purse was found lying on the ground in a parking lot on the University of Oregon campus. Shortly after 5:00 a.m., her blue 1966 Mercury Comet was found in the parking lot of a Coca-Cola bottling factory on Franklin Boulevard, near the hospital. There was no sign of her at the scene.
Chamberlin was in the process of a divorce at the time of her disappearance. She was separated from her husband and lived in the 20 block of Howard Avenue; her older two daughters lived with their father. She had worked as a maid at the Holiday Inn on Coberg Road for approximately five months before she went on maternity leave.
Her coworkers said she was well-liked and a reliable employee, and she was also described as a dedicated parent. who would never have left her three children, the oldest of whom was seven years old in 1978. She is a graduate of Churchill High School.
Her case remains unsolved and the circumstances surrounding her disappearance are unclear.
Other information and links : ncy
Lane County Sheriff's Office
541-682-4167
September 2021 updates and sources
A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are not known. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2�5% of missing children in Europe.
By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends.
Several organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and imAge at the time of disappearance: s of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece.
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The Eugene Register-Guard
October 12, 2004. March 9, 2014; picture added, Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : updated.
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