Missing Mom Found Dead In Van With Special Needs Daughter After Camping Trip

An Idaho mother and her 16-year-old daughter who were reported missing after a recent camping trip was found dead in their van near Drewsey, Oregon on Thursday, July 7.

Dawna Roe, 51, and her 16-year-old daughter Gabrielle, who had Down syndrome, were last seen alive on June 30 before embarking on their camping trip. Days after they disappeared without a trace, on Thursday, July 7, their decomposing bodies were found inside Dawna’s van by employees at an Oregon ranch near Drewsey, almost two hours away from Caldwell, the Daily Beast reported.

The horrifying discovery came just a day after police officers in Caldwell, Idaho, sought the public’s help in locating the missing mother and daughter, saying that there was “concern for both Dawna and Gabrielle’s safety.”

“Gabby and Dawna might have been on their way to go camping. Family and friends do not know where they might have gone and camping is out of character for Dawna,” police said in a statement.

The officers have not released an official cause of death. However, Caldwell Police Chief Rex Ingram stated that the deaths appeared to be a murder-suicide, and added that a toxicology report and autopsy are forthcoming.

According to Rex, Dawna Roe reportedly had a history of mental illness. However, he stressed that there were no signs that “specifically said that she was gonna put themselves in danger.”

Following Dawna's death, a GoFundMe page was set up by Maria Villesca, who identified herself as Dawna’s daughter and Gabrielle’s sister. Villesca stated that Dawna had battled with a mental illness for years, the Daily News reported.

“I have always felt deep sadness for how lonely she must feel. How she must always feel panicked and helpless over meeting life’s demands. It’s horrifying to be stuck in a sick mind,” she wrote on her Facebook account.

Meanwhile, another man who identified himself as a family friend on Facebook revealed that Dawna had taken her daughter on what was supposed to be a camping trip after quitting her job.