Search for Idaho woman missing since June resumes after shirt found mile from abandoned car

Saleen Martin, USA TODAY
Updated ·2 min read
88

Investigators are resuming their search for a missing Idaho woman who was last seen at an Oregon convenience store on June 27.

A T-shirt belonging to 27-year-old Gwen Brunelle was found on Sept. 10 about a mile and a half from where her abandoned car was found in June, the Malheur County Sheriff’s office told USA TODAY.

Malheur County Undersheriff David Kesey said Wednesday that authorities are set to relaunch search efforts Saturday, Sept. 23. The latest search will focus on the surrounding area of where the shirt was found.

Brunelle is from Boise and left the area on June 26, Kesey said. She was last seen around noon on June 27 at Sinclair gas station in Jordan Valley, Oregon, about 83 miles southwest of Boise, according to posts from the Boise Police Department and a family member.

Since then, the Malheur County Sheriff’s Office in Oregon and the Boise Police Department have been working to find her. USA TODAY has reached out to the Boise Police Department for more information.

Gwen Brunelle, a woman whose car was found on June 28, 2023 abandoned in Oregon. She was last seen in a Jordan Valley convenience store.
Gwen Brunelle, a woman whose car was found on June 28, 2023 abandoned in Oregon. She was last seen in a Jordan Valley convenience store.

'Numerous' searches centered on abandoned car

Brunelle was last seen wearing a dark-colored short-sleeved shirt, black leggings and black knee-high boots with flat soles. She is 5-foot-7, weighs 160 pounds and has medium length brown hair and brown eyes.

“Boise Police investigators have been working to establish a digital footprint to help detectives track her last communications and possible locations,” Boise police wrote in an August 2 Facebook post.

A patrol deputy found her vehicle abandoned on a road near the Oregon-Idaho border on June 30, Kesey told USA TODAY. The deputy ran the registration and saw that the vehicle belonged to Brunelle.

The vehicle Gwen Brunelle was driving when she was last seen in June 2023.
The vehicle Gwen Brunelle was driving when she was last seen in June 2023.

Investigators searched the immediate area that night and then on July 1, another search was conducted using both ground crews and an airplane.

"Since that time there has been numerous other searches conducted by the sheriff’s office, private citizens and non-profit organizations," Kesey told USA TODAY, adding that multiple groups and private citizens with airplanes have helped search for her.

The Malheur County Sheriff’s Office stopped its search in the area of the abandoned vehicle on July 6.

Missing: Ex-NFL player Sergio Brown missing after his mother killed near Chicago-area home

Missing: Police say a Virginia mom, her 3 kids are missing. Her husband says he's not concerned.

The Malheur County Sheriff's Office in Oregon also posted pleas for help finding Brunelle, noting that she was last seen at a convenience store and no one had heard from her.

Since Brunelle went missing in June, a family member has shared updates on Facebook, adding that the family is trying to “keep hope alive” she’ll be found safe.

Anyone with information should call Boise police at 208-377-6790 or the Malheur County Sheriff at 541-473-5125.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gwen Brunelle: Search for missing Idaho woman focuses on shirt found