Oregon on edge after a woman runs out of gas and then disappears when someone stops to help her

A mystery has gripped Oregon’s Willamette Valley area after Maria Linda Jade Kilmer from Salem vanished March 28 under unusual circumstances, prompting an active search by law enforcement and concern from family and friends.

According to local reporting, Kilmer, 28, was last seen at approximately 9 p.m. on Saturday, March 28, 2026, along Highway 22 near milepost 15, east of Rickreall, after her vehicle reportedly ran out of gas while she and a passenger were traveling from Lyons to Salem.

According to Oregon State Police, the passenger told investigators that Kilmer left the stranded vehicle and subsequently got into the car of an unidentified motorist who had stopped to help.

Since then, she has not been seen or heard from despite ongoing efforts to locate her.

What Kilmer left behind

The circumstances of Kilmer’s disappearance have raised alarm because of what was left at the scene. When family members arrived shortly after her last message, they found the vehicle abandoned with her belongings still inside, including her keys, purse, identification, cell phone, birth certificate, eyeglasses, and daily medications.

Family members have described the scene as “baffling”, questioning why Kilmer would leave essential items behind if she intended to get help or leave voluntarily.

Reported account of the person with her

The passenger’s account to the police is one of the few pieces of official information in the case. That person reported Kilmer left with the unknown driver who stopped after Kilmer’s car ran out of gas, but provided no identifying details about the vehicle or the individual who offered assistance.

Kilmer’s mother, Amber Brecht, told Portland’s KATU,

I was actually the person in the car with her sister coming out to help so that I could drive Maria’s car back. We knew really nothing about why she was out where she was. She had just dropped us a pin on the side of Highway 22.”

via KATU

Brecht added, “Her car was pointed like they were headed towards Salem. And when we arrived, it was just the passenger there who said, ‘Oh, she left with someone else.'”

Brecht said she has received texts from unknown numbers claiming to be Kilmer, but she says the messages do not sound like her daughter.

Online discussions on crime forums such as Websleuths have also noted the unusual nature of the account, with some users pointing out that it makes little logical sense that Kilmer would accept a ride without her personal effects and phone. Others have speculated about alternate explanations, though no verifiable evidence has emerged from those threads.

Ongoing investigation

Oregon State Police and local authorities continue to urge anyone with information about Kilmer’s whereabouts or the identity of the motorist who stopped that night to call 911 or contact Oregon State Police dispatch at 677 (OSP) and reference the case number SP26‑104740.

Kilmer’s mother told the press, “Something is not adding up. We realize something is wrong here. Something might have happened that she doesn’t want to tell us about, which is fine, absolutely. We don’t need to know what’s happened. We just want to know that she is safe and alive.”