A mother and her teenage daughter from Idaho have both been found dead after they disappeared while on a camping trip.
Dawna Roe, 51, together with her daughter, Gabrielle, who had special needs, were both last seen on June 30 after telling friends and family they were going on the trip, which they said was ‘out of character’.
Their bodies were both found inside Dawna’s car, a 2004 Toyota minivan, by the workers of an Oregon ranch near the village of Drewsey, some two hours away from Caldwell, Idaho where they lived.
Employees with Silvies Ranch found the vehicle in a remote location.
Oregon officials have found the bodies of a missing Idaho woman and her daughter
The bodies of Dawna Roe, 51, center, and her 16-year-old daughter, Gabby, seen far left and right, were found in Dawna’s vehicle near the town of Drewsey, Oregon
Employees of an Oregon ranch were working in a remote area on Thursday when they came across a mini van with the mother and daughter inside
Oregon State troopers, Oregon State Police Forensic personnel and the Major Crimes Team responded to the scene together with deputies from Grant and Harney counties.
‘Preliminary information shows it appears to be a murder suicide by gunshot,’ said Caldwell Police Chief Rex Ingram to KTVB.
The Grant County Sheriff’s Office said, ‘no other individuals are being sought at this time.’
Dawna Roe’s daughter said her mother battled mental illness all of her life
Gabrielle Roe was also said to have suffered from Down Syndrome
Autopsy and toxicology reports are still pending.
‘Gabby has a genuine and pure soul. She has always emanated contagious joy everywhere that she went, and all who met our girl will forever remember her palpable and unfiltered love,’ daughter Mariah Villesca wrote.
‘My mother battled with and eventually succumbed to mental illness, and Gabby was a victim of that illness as well.
‘I’m just going to miss that. I’m going to miss her smiles, her laugh, her pure, unfiltered love,’ Villesca added.
‘My mom loved Gabby, she absolutely did. My mom had six children and Gabrielle was the favorite,’ she told KTVB.
Daughter, Mariah Villesca, posted about her grief online days after the pair’s death
Caldwell Police said the deaths of the pair appeared to be a murder-suicide by gunshot
‘So many people thought this would never happen, because of how much my mom loved Gabby. So many people didn’t listen to how severe things were.
‘If somebody’s ill, you know, they can appear lucid. You don’t know what’s going on in their mind,’ she explained.
‘Gabrielle, we call her Gabby. She was sassy. She was clever. She was witty. She had the purest heart,’ Villesca said in tribute to her sister.
A GoFundMe has been set up to raise money to help pay for funeral costs and has managed to raise $11,000 so far.
For confidential support call the National Suicide Prevention Line on 1-800-273-8255
Sister Mariah Villesca holds her Gabby in a Facebook photo from her page from years ago