http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120118/NEWS/201180347/-1/rss14Search continues for Medford teen missing since 2008
Brandon Perdue vanished in 2008; his case recently was featured on 'Missing'January 18, 2012
By Chris Conrad
Mail Tribune
Police investigators are ready to "think outside the box" in their search for a Medford teen who was last seen near White City before dropping completely off the radar in 2008.
The trail of Brandon Edward Perdue, now 21, went cold soon after he left his family and girlfriend behind and vanished on June 13, 2008.
However, a television show dedicated to missing people has kicked up tips from across the country, Medford police Detective Sgt. Mike Budreau said.
"The tips are coming in, but so far none have proven to be (Perdue)," Budreau said. "We have checked into each one and determined that the person in question is not Brandon."
Perdue was last seen at a Dairy Queen in White City in his 1998 Honda Civic.
Perdue left troubling messages on his Myspace page before his disappearance. The page was linked to the song "When I'm Gone" by Eminem, and he had posted a message saying, "I don't want to be here anymore."
The day before he vanished, Perdue reportedly told his girlfriend he might harm himself by overdosing on pills.
Police tracked a cellphone signal from Perdue's phone that bounced off a tower near Lake of the Woods at about 8 p.m. the night he disappeared.
Officers from several police agencies were given information concerning Perdue, and Jackson County search-and-rescue teams combed the areas surrounding Lost Creek Lake and Lake of the Woods to no avail.
Perdue's family and friends have indicated the troubled teen often took long drives into rural areas to relieve stress. The area where his cellphone signal was recorded is popular with hunters, so investigators were hoping someone would locate Perdue or his vehicle.
But nearly four years later, no sign of Perdue has been found.
Budreau said detectives from Medford police and the Sheriff's Department regularly meet to discuss the case.
"We actually had a meeting (Tuesday) to talk about this," Budreau said. "We are ready to step outside the box in our search."
Budreau said investigators plan to comb through and call junk and scrap yards seeking Perdue's red Honda Civic.
"The car should stand out if it was parked on a logging road or somewhere in the woods," Budreau said. "It's really odd that we haven't had someone come across it."
The car could hold valuable clues to Perdue's whereabouts, Budreau said.
Perdue was recently featured on "Missing," a nationally syndicated show on NBC affiliates dedicated to missing-persons cases.
"We are hoping the tips generated by the show will lead to something," Budreau said. "We are going to keep trying until we find (Perdue). But right now, we aren't any closer to finding him than we were in the past."
Anyone with information on Perdue's whereabouts is asked to call Medford police detectives at 541-774-2230.
