Disasters & Accidents

Missing Eugene Man Found Dead With Vehicle, Investigation Into Death Underway

KLCC | By Brian Bull

Published February 1, 2021 at 4:02 PM PST

Lane County authorities say a missing Eugene man has been found dead, after his car apparently went off the road.

80-year-old James Otterlee was last seen Wednesday morning (Jan. 27) on his way to Fred Meyer on West 11^th. Family reported him missing that evening, and there were concerns that Otterlee didn’t have his daily medication.

On Sunday, someone called the Lane County Sheriff’s Office when they spotted Otterlee’s vehicle. Officials say it hit a tree off Pine Grove Road. The Lane County Medical Examiner’s Office is helping investigate the cause of death.

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Brian Bull

Brian Bull is a part-time reporter for the KLCC News department who first began working with the station in 2016. He's a senior reporter with Underscore Native News and was also a journalism professor at the University of Oregon.

In his 30 years working as a public media journalist, Bull has worked at NPR, Twin Cities Public Television, South Dakota Public Broadcasting, Wisconsin Public Radio, and ideastream in Cleveland. His reporting has netted dozens of accolades, including four national Edward R. Murrow Awards (25 regional), the Ohio Associated Press' Best Reporter Award, Best Radio Reporter from the Indigenous Journalists Association, and the PRNDI/NEFE Award for Excellence in Consumer Finance Reporting.

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