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OFF PAGE ONE
East Oregonian
Thursday, December 31, 2020
Ghosts: Disproving evidence is the goal of investigators
Continued from Page A1
Indeed, she said, in
almost every house she
lived in she has encoun-
tered spirits. They have all
been friendly so far, just
coming and going within a
few seconds.
“At first, I thought it was
the houses that we lived in,
but I kind of think it’s me,”
she said. “Probably because
they say, there is a theory,
that spirits know if you’re
open to seeing them.”
This year she’s taken that
theory and founded a group
of seven kindred spirits
who tour private homes as
paranormal investigators
who attempt to make con-
tact with the dead.
Called Northeast Ore-
gon Paranormal, the group
started in January and con-
ducted its first investigation
in early March.
The crew went to the
historic Frazier Farmstead
in Milton-Freewater to
see if they could find any
ghosts in the 1880s home,
now a museum.
“Hey, who’s here?”
Fujan said she heard the
question in a recording she
was using in a bedroom,
predicting it was one of the
Fraziers who had lived on
the property. Likely a father,
based on the low tone.
“That was so exciting
to hear that because it was
very clear you didn’t have to
replay it,” Fujan said.
“It’s exciting, for me any-
way, when I get evidence
like that because sometimes
you think nothing’s hap-
pening,” she added. “And
then you go back and lis-
ten to the recorders, and
they’re answering you,
answering your questions
or sometimes just talking
between themselves.”
Chloe LeValley/Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
An array of paranormal investigation equipment is laid
out on the dinning room table of the Fujans’ home in Mil-
ton-Freewater.
Chloe LeValley/Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
Sandy Fujan and her husband Roger explain how to use their thermal imaging camera to
show temperature variations during paranormal investigations.
Kathy Thorberg, a Walla
Walla, Washington, resident
and member of the group,
said they also got to talk to
someone who died in a war.
Although they use sev-
eral instruments in their
investigations, they were
using a simple flashlight in
a room with military items.
Asked yes or no questions,
the spirit’s responses were
based on light flickers,
Thorberg said.
The flashlight must be
set with the switch almost
to the on position, so when
a spirit taps the flashlight it
flickers on, Fujan said.
The group asked ques-
tions, such as “Were you
in the war?” and “Did you
die in the war?” The flash-
light would turn on, mean-
ing yes,” Fujan said.
Gearing up
Much of what the group
does is try to disprove evi-
dence. That’s why they
bring in Fujan’s husband
Roger, the “tech guy” and
“resident skeptic.”
He said he has fun dis-
proving evidence based on
what else might have caused
specific readings from their
equipment, such as car driv-
ing by or a dog barking in
the distance.
As such, the investiga-
tors must be aware of their
surroundings so they can
record when a seeming
paranormal activity is actu-
ally, for example, someone
clearing their throat.
Before an investigation
begins, the group does an
initial walk-through of a
home with their equipment,
such as an electromagnetic
field reader to note emis-
sions from appliances or
electricity in the walls. That
will help determine whether
something beyond those
readings might be paranor-
mal activity, Sandy Fujan
said.
A digital video recording
system, night vision camera
and a thermal imaging cam-
era are among other inves-
tigative tools. The latter
indicates temperature varia-
tions and shows up on their
phones as a heat map, with
blue showing a cold spot in
a room.
Sandy Fujan said she
is still skeptical about a
recently purchased device
that scans radio frequencies
that supposedly ghosts can
use to talk through.
But the gear isn’t all
hi-tech. They will take
dowsing rods, traditionally
used to detect underground
water sources, on their next
investigation. The person
holding the rods will remain
still, and a ghost is sup-
posed to move the rods to
answer questions and point
to people.
Learning the history of
the place they will inves-
tigate also is vital, group
members said. It allows
them to ask more specific
questions if they encoun-
ter a possible paranormal
activity.
“We’re all kind of his-
tory buffs, and so we want
to know the history of the
place, and some of the
names so we’re familiar of
who to talk to and who to
ask,” she said.
Reconnecting
Like Fujan, Thorberg
said she also has had expe-
riences where she recon-
nected with a departed
loved one. She said she’s felt
her mother stroke her hair,
something she always used
to do in her earthly life.
The group recently con-
ducted a paranormal inves-
tigation in a private home in
Milton-Freewater, where a
woman’s mother had died.
The woman told them that
when she left her kitchen
the cabinet doors would
be closed, and when she
returned they would be
open.
Thorberg said a radi-
ating electro-magneticity
pod was used in the inves-
tigation. The device lights
up and makes a noise when
there are activities, such
as something touching it
or moving within a certain
perimeter of it. The pod
was on the bed in the liv-
ing room where the mother
died.
“I think the daughter was
asking, ‘Mom are you here
with us?,’ and the REM pod
would go off, and I think
she asked more personal
questions,” Thorberg said.
The daughter told them
the answers confirmed it
was her mother. The group’s
electromagnetic
detec-
tor also went off when the
REM pod did.
“There was activity in
the home,” Thorberg said.
No voices were picked up
on the recorder, however.
“I think she follows her,”
Thorberg said of the moth-
er’s spirit. “That’s what we
thought, you know, it would
stop when (the daughter)
would go outside, and it
would start back up when
she would come back in.”
Fujan said discovery of
paranormal activity in a
home can help bring clo-
sure to people who call on
Northeast Oregon Paranor-
mal to investigate.
“Who’s to say it’s a rela-
tive or not,” Fujan said, “but
sometimes ... you have a
good judgment.”
Physician: Sisterly togetherness
Continued from Page A1
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Morrow County Sheriff Ken Matlack receives his first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine
from registered nurse Erin Anderson at the Bartholomew Building in Heppner on Wednes-
day, Dec. 30, 2020.
Vaccine: ‘2020 has been a
rough year for all people’
Continued from Page A1
ru-style vaccination clinic
served as a test run for
future vaccination events.
Morrow County Health
Department
Director
Nazario Rivera said the
county received roughly 70
doses of the Moderna vac-
cine from Pioneer Memo-
rial Hospital and expected
to receive the first dedicated
shipment of 100 vaccines
later the same day.
“We received about 70
doses from the hospital from
what they had left over and
we’re expecting to receive
100 more,” he said.
Rivera stressed the
importance of organization
and cooperation in getting
the vaccines out to as many
people as possible. Since
the vials each contain a set
number of doses and must
be used within a limited
time period after opening,
Rivera said it was important
to ensure that the appropri-
ate number of people were
scheduled so the vaccines
weren’t wasted.
“It’s definitely going to
be a challenge moving for-
ward,” said Rivera. “There’s
about 11 doses in each vial
so making sure that we don’t
not-too-shabby 3 hours, 37
minutes.
She takes her runner’s
high into the clinic where
she works with two other
doctors and four physician
assistants.
Woodbury seems to
have come almost full cir-
cle in some ways. She grew
up in the Pacific Northwest
town of Tumwater, Wash-
ington. Her father taught
at Evergreen State College
in nearby Olympia. She
and her younger sister, who
are less than a year apart
in age, forged a close-knit
relationship.
After high school, Wood-
bury attended Amherst Col-
lege in Massachusetts, and
then medical school at the
University of Pennsylvania.
“I decided when I was 8
years old I was going to be a
doctor,” she said.
After her residency, she
spent 20 years as a fam-
ily physician for a hospital
system in Conshohocken,
Shooting:
Continued from Page A1
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Morrow County Health Department registered nurse Erin
Anderson administers a dose of the Moderna COVID-19
vaccine to Morrow County Sheriff’s Office communications
deputy Travis Carr during a vaccination clinic in Heppner on
Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020.
waste any of our resources
is definitely going to be
important.”
Nevertheless,
Rivera
expressed confidence in
his staff and their ability to
schedule and distribute the
vaccine. Rivera said the first
doses of vaccines are going
to be distributed to first
responders, with long-term
care facilities to follow.
“We have a good por-
tion of EMS that will be
taken care of today, and if
not today, (Jan. 5, 2021) for
people up in the north part
of the county,” he said.
Rivera said he doesn’t
expect any issues distrib-
uting the vaccine and said
the county has enough per-
sonnel available to cover the
entire county.
“2020 has been a rough
year for all people, so hope-
fully people can take advan-
tage of this and hopefully
bring some hope for the new
year,” he said.
in the investigation.
Nelson added that staff-
ing and resources also
played a role in the decision
to hand the case to OSP. He
said the Morrow County
Sheriff’s Office is still
assisting OSP in the investi-
gation, providing available
detectives and resources for
the agency to keep track of
minor details while search
warrants are carried out.
Nelson also said he
believes more people know
about Bowles’ whereabouts
than have approached
investigators, and that they
are neglecting to disclose
information because they
assume law enforcement
already know about it.
“I’ve even heard off-
hand from guys who come
to me and say, ‘Oh, so and
so talked to so and so and
they know that this is what
happened,’” Nelson said.
“And I say, ‘Well gosh, I
know law enforcement has
Pennsylvania. The last four
years, she worked as medi-
cal director for an occupa-
tional medicine clinic.
The last couple of years
brought changes to Wood-
bury’s life. Her mother died
of cancer, she got divorced
and her youngest son headed
to college. The lure of fam-
ily and an urge to get back
to family medicine grew
strong. She put out feelers
for a position in Pendleton.
“Deborah was looking
for a change in her life and
was interested in relocating
to Pendleton. We fit the bill,”
said Dr. Jon Hitzman at
Pendleton Family Medicine.
“Her credentials are stellar.
She is well trained and well
versed. We’re really glad to
have her.”
Woodbury loves being
back in family medicine.
“Family practice is pretty
awesome,” she said. “I get
to know each patient as a
whole person.”
Those who matter most
to Woodbury are close by.
Her son, John, is living at
home, taking college classes
remotely. Tom will soon
start his military posting
at Fort Lewis in Washing-
ton. She’s got her beloved
12-year-old dog, Goldilox,
and she lives close to her sis-
ter’s large, nurturing family.
The person happiest
about Woodbury’s arrival
in Pendleton is likely her
sister, Sarah. The siblings
nurtured their relationship
during 30-plus years liv-
ing on opposite sides of the
country, but now are enjoy-
ing as much sisterly togeth-
erness as they want. They
live a mere six blocks apart
and have a standing weekly
lunch date.
Because
restaurants
aren’t offering dine-in ser-
vice, the sisters often drive
downtown in Sarah’s small
RV, find some takeout and
enjoy it while sitting inside
the camper.
“I couldn’t be happier,”
Sarah said. “All those years
on opposite coasts, now
we get to have lunch every
week.”
not heard that.’ And some-
times these rumors are true,
but people always assume
that law enforcement is
aware.”
He is urging anybody
with information about
Bowles’ location to contact
Oregon State Police, as any
piece of information can
help.
“Any small thing can
change a case,” he said. “It
can find a culprit or expand
who we need to interview.
And it might seem small to
people, but every little bit
(helps).”
Court records show
that a David Lee Bowles,
born in 1977 and a long-
time Heppner resident, has
a list of criminal charges
and convictions spanning
more than two decades in
multiple counties, includ-
ing Morrow, Washing-
ton, Wasco, Yamhill, Hood
River and Umatilla.
In 1995, he was sen-
tenced to 39 months in
prison for attempted mur-
der. And in 2007, he
was convicted of sec-
ond-degree burglary and
fourth-degree assault.
Nelson said he could not
confirm nor deny Bowles’
criminal history at this
time, although the man
he said law enforcement
is seeking has the same
full name, year of birth
and longtime residency
as the Bowles whose his-
tory is detailed through the
records.
Nelson said Marlen
Bowles has one 14-year-old
son and two children over
the age of 18, but he was
unsure if any of them were
David Bowles’ children.
He added that she was well
known in the community
and worked at the Gateway
Cafe in Heppner.
Bowles was last seen
driving a brown Chevrolet
Impala with Oregon license
plate URG552. He is a
5-foot-6, 180-pound white
male with graying hair and
blue eyes.
Police are urging resi-
dents to not confront him,
but to call 911 or OSP Dis-
patch at 800-442-2068 and
reference OSP case No.
SP200348879.