Ore. Mom and 3-Year-Old Son Have Been Missing for More than a Week
Police in Oregon are searching for a young mother and her son who have not been seen or heard from since last week.
Karissa Alyn Fretwell, 25, and 3-year-old William “Billy” Fretwell were reported missing by family on May 17, according to a Salem Police Department press release obtained by PEOPLE. Her family told police the pair had been missing since May 13.
Two months before their disappearance, a neighbor recalled some troubling activity at the pair’s apartment.
“We heard a man and woman arguing incredibly loud,” Robert Allen told local station KOIN. “The man was swearing a lot and there was a kid crying in the background, and the woman was yelling at him to get out of her apartment.”
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The backdoor of Allen’s apartment faces Fretwell’s backdoor. He told KOIN when a woman claiming to be Fretwell’s sister asked him if he had seen Fretwell, he offered to keep an eye on her apartment.
“I have noticed that the television screen, it’s been on the same screen for about a week, so obviously there’s no one in the apartment,” Allen said, KOIN reports.
Megan Harper, a friend of Fretwell’s, told the Salem Statesman Journal the last time she spoke to Fretwell was on May 11 when she had asked her about installing a security camera system.
Harper said she sometimes babysat Billy because Fretwell was studying education at Western Oregon University while also working as a security guard at night.
“I feel ill with worry about William,” Harper told the Journal. “Last night, I held my daughter’s hand so tightly while she slept and I couldn’t sleep because my mind was going over all the possibilities of what could be happening to him.”
Police describe Fretwell as a white female, 5 feet 9 inches tall weighing approximately 135 pounds. She has blue eyes and naturally blond hair that she dyes red. Billy is a white male, approximately 3 feet tall, weighing approximately 30 pounds. He has blond hair and blue eyes.
Anyone with information about the case should call the Salem Police Tips Hotline at (503) 588-8477 and leave a message for Detective Jake Burke, or call the Salem Police Department non-emergency number at (503) 588-6123.
