COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL, AUGUST 16, 2017
3A
Woman found, answers still missing Pay it Forward shuts
down warehouse,
fundraiser
By Caitlyn May
cmay@cgsentinel.com
PHOTO BY CAITLYN MAY/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
Demi Helenius' mother, Melody, speaks with Cottage Grove Councilor Amy Slay and Cottage Grove Police's Doug Skaggs during a search party held in
Cottage Grove after the woman's car was found behind a gas station on Hwy. 99.
By Caitlyn May
Though the manner in which ee who said a male had turned
Helenius' mother, Melody,
cmay@cgsentinel.com
Demi Helenius, 23, went
missing from a Landmark
Worldwide self-help seminar
held in Portland on Saturday,
August 5.
Authorities reported her to be
safe and healthy in Roseburg on
Tuesday, August 8. However,
questions surrounding the cir-
cumstances of her disappear-
ance have gone unanswered.
"Ms. Helenius left on her
own for personal reasons," the
Washington County Sheriff's
Offi ce said in a statement. "Ms.
Helenius was found to be not in
danger and in very good health.
she did it caused a lot of people,
including us, much concern, we
respect her privacy."
Her family issued a statement
on the Facebook page it set up
after Helenius' disappearance
saying, "We were happy and
relieved to fi nd out Demi was
found safe Tuesday evening."
The statement went on to thank
local law enforcement and
volunteers who helped in the
search.
Helenius did not return home
to Washington after the second
day of the Portland conference.
Her phone was answered by a
Creswell Dairy Queen employ-
the phone in after fi nding it in
the parking lot. Reportedly,
he told authorities that he wit-
nessed someone tossing the
phone from a moving car.
On Monday, August 7, the
black Volkswagen Helenius had
been driving was located be-
hind a gas station on Hwy. 99
in Cottage Grove with her iden-
tifi cation, keys and money still
inside. Forensic tests, reported-
ly showed no blood inside the
vehicle.
Shortly after, family, law
enforcement and volunteers
swarmed the area handing out
fl iers and starting a search party.
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noted that she did not think her
daughter had left Portland and
that she would never leave her
car unlocked. She described her
daughter as an over achiever
and someone who suffered from
high anxiety.
Helenius recently started a
new medication to manage her
anxiety but her mother said she
did not think it was a "big fac-
tor" in her disappearance.
Further details surrounding
Helenius' disappearance were
not made public by law enforce-
ment or family members.
Local group Pay it Forward (PIF) is closing its doors.
The announcement came late Monday afternoon just hours after
reminders for the group's fundraiser on August 27 had gone out on
social media. That fundraiser has since been canceled as well.
" It's with a heavy heart that's I'm announcing the cancellation
of the fundraiser and the closing of PIF warehouse. I'm not will-
ing to add extra burden on our members and the community, in
an effort I feel will not accomplish our ultimate goals of provid-
ing a warehouse for PIF that will accommodate a free store. It has
been an honor to serve our community for the last four years with
the warehouse on my private residence," PIF Founder Mindy Beer
wrote on the group's Facebook page. Beer did not return a request
for comment.
The group sent out a call for help earlier this year noting that it
was running out of storage space for items it collected for the com-
munity. The website was started by Beer and her daughter Jennifer
Neil as a way for residents to give back to each other. Items could
be donated to PIF which would then allow Facebook users to claim
items it had collected and pick them up from Beer's residence on
designated days. Beer also allowed individuals who needed baby
formula to request it without fi rst laying claim to it on the website.
It also hosted a "free day" that let residents come onto the property
and pick from a pile of items without having to fi rst request them
and each fall, the group donated school supplies and clothes to chil-
dren around the city.
However, both Beer and Neil reached out to the community for
space to be donated or otherwise offered so the operation could
move into town and off Beer's property.
Sentinel staff member Aaron Ames organized a fundraiser for the
group, scheduled for August 27 to help raise funds for a space in
town. It had plans to include a silent auction with prizes that includ-
ed passed to Disney.
Despite the effort, Beer and Neil opted to forgo the move with
Neil posting to Facebook late Monday night, "Thank you everyone
for all your support. This has been a very challenging decision to
say the least for my mother and I. We built this non profi t from the
ground up and it took years to gain the trust of our community. We
didn't want to beat around the bush to anyone on why we're closing.
Within the last two years (our busiest time) my parents have went
with a empty fridge to sustain PIF cause it's so costly to run, have
permanent physical issues due to excessive carrying heavy loads
of furniture and a fi ght or two within our family because of having
zero privacy and couldn't even sit down and have a dinner as a
whole. It's time. We've tried for years to get a off site building and
the truth is, it's not going to happen. So thank you everyone for the
donations and tremendous support over the years. We will see you
the 27 for our last free sale and back to school giveaway."
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