Missing: Brian Page
On a cold January night in 1975, four friends traveled from Portland Oregon to Salem Oregon for a house party. In the early morning hours, one of them would go missing after following his friend out of the house. This is the story of the disappearance of Brian Joseph Page.
Even though Brian would be in his 60s today and I only feature missing children, Brian was only 16 years old when he went missing.
Brian was born in 1958 and grew up in Portland, Oregon. He went by the nickname Joe. He lived in Southeast Portland in the Mount Tabor area, attending Franklin High School.
Portland, the largest city in Oregon, and its state capitol, Salem, is the second largest city and lies just 45 miles to the south of Portland. It’s a quick drive on I-5 to get between the two. On the night of January 12th, 1975, Brian, his sister, and his friends took his bright turquoise 1962 VW Bug down to the party.
The Disappearance
The party was in downtown Salem, near the intersection of SE State Street and 25th Street. This area is just a mile east of the state capitol and right next to the Oregon State Penitentiary. While it is a densely populated area in Salem, the area is still largely residential, with primarily one level single family homes or small apartment complexes
According to multiple reports, Brian listened to music at the party with his friend David. Reportedly, David took some LSD and wasn’t feeling well, so he went outside around 2 am. Brian’s friends encouraged him to follow David and make sure he was okay. Brian was wearing jeans, a blue shirt with “Hilton” on it, and brown hiking boots. This is the last time Brian was seen.
It’s unclear where they went after this. David has said he has no memory of that evening. What is known is that by 5 am, David was alone, a mile southwest of the party, at a car lot on the west end of downtown Salem near the Willamette River.
David found himself at Capitol Chevrolet, located at 605 Commercial St NE. He allegedly broke in and stole the keys to a 1973 car and drove it off the lot. A short police chase ensued, and he was arrested in downtown Salem. David was reported to have said that he thought he was in hell. David was later sentenced to a one-year suspended sentence and three years of probation for charges related to the car incident.
Brian and his 1962 VW Bug was never seen again. David was never reported to have any additional memories of that night surface.
The Search
Initially, there wasn't a search conducted simply because law enforcement in 1975 believed Brian was a teenage runaway. There has been speculation that Brian’s car may be in the water. The area in Salem that Brian was around has several bodies of water and some have even suggested that it may have ended up in the Willamette River. The Willamette River runs south to north along the valley corridor and is just a few blocks away from where Brian was last seen. Recently a search team led by Doug Bishop who runs a YouTube channel called Adventures with Purpose went out to the Willamette River one July morning looking for Brian. Although a body wasn't located, Doug's team did recover 3 stolen cars that haven't been in the river for more than 2 years. Adventures with Purpose has traveled to 48 states, solving 23 cold cases in the past two years. His channel you can find it here
Conclusion
This may forever be a cold case, unfortunately. Only a dedicated dive team with time and knowledge and new details on the case will eventually find Brian. The lack of a police investigation and limited resources at the time didn't make it easy for his family. Law enforcement tried to make it harder for them by making it seem like Brian was a drug vagrant who left his home that night, however, they knew something wasn't right. They knew he was in trouble. Brian was simply a good kid who attended all his classes. Judging someone's character based on a silly night at a party, experimenting with LCD, and listening to music doesn't change that. If that was the case we wouldn't have Apple products today.
The car’s Oregon license plate is 7P3626. Brian was 5’6” and 140 pounds at the time of his disappearance, with brown hair and brown eyes. If you have any information about the disappearance of Brian Joseph Page, contact the Portland Police Bureau at 503-823-0000.
