Much like the 17 June ground search at the Grissom site, this entry will lack a proper ending for a bit, although both days concluded with me waiting at the junction of US 20 and Soda Fork Rd for a Linn County Deputy to arrive.
The day began much as the previous 5 searches had. I arrived at the landing early, about 9am, and walked back to my first search location of the day. I skirted the edge of the swamp, then went to work in an area that was dry, but was at the same contour level as the swamp. It had the appearance as an area where debris collected, and I spent about 2 hours there going through the debris and looking under the ferns.
After completing my search of that area, I proceeded to the north and went past the “alcoves” I had searched the week prior and began working deeper in the alder thicket. I marked out with surveying flags a 50mx50m box before searching, and used the flags as my boundaries. After that box was searched, I was planning to mark out the next one, and keep repeating the process until the alder thicket was searched.
The vegetation of the thicket is tight enough that I knew that this search technique would take a lot of time to complete. It’s quite difficult to walk through it standing up, as it is so thickly grown in, it is easier to hunch over to walk, or just crawl. There was a large fallen tree within the search box, covered in moss, and was relatively easy to walk up to. In fact, taking the path from the landing to here is almost a straight shot, easy walking, and it “fits” with the description in the February 1978 article about the location where Karen’s clothing was found. I decided to use the tree as “12 o’clock” and started searching the ground from there.
After an hour, I was packing up, with a GPS waypoint marked and technical photograph on my phone of what I found. After a few hours wait, the Deputy and I trekked back into the forest, packaged the find, shook hands and we departed. I arrived home at 6pm, almost 12 hours after I left. It had been a long day, both physically and mentally.
The Search for Karen Jean Lee and Rodney L. Grissom 
I cannot tell you how much I appreciate you. After decades of no one looking, to know someone is, is exhilarating. I’ve only been looking into the disappearance of my cousin for a few years. But I have been blocked by the passage of time and resources. Rodney has always been that “dirty little secret” of my family. I felt like I was the only one who cared anymore. Please let me know how I can help from afar… 🥰
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Deni, thank you so much for this. It’s my privilege to help you and your family and to try to locate and return him home after all this time. My email address is ryanauclair99@gmail.com if you would like to get in touch with me.
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