A woman in Oregon has been reported missing after she was picked up by a stranger when she ran out of gas.
Oregon State Police said that 28-year-old Maria Linda Jade Kilmer and a passenger were driving to Salem from Lyons when her vehicle ran out of gas near Milepost 15 along Highway 22 around 9 p.m., according to KATU.
“According to the passenger, Kilmer left the vehicle and departed with an unidentified motorist who had stopped at the scene,” state troopers said in a statement.
Kilmer has not been seen or heard from since the interaction with the motorist.
Police said that Kilmer is known to frequent the Willamette Valley from Salem to Portland.
She is described as having dark hair and blue eyes, while she stands 5-foot-8 and weighs 180 pounds. Kilmer has a piercing in the middle of her lower lip and often dresses in all black.
After she was reported missing, Kilmer’s mother, Amber Brecht, told the outlet that her daughter sent her a message saying she was stuck. Brecht said that she was on her way to help before Kilmer disappeared.
“I was actually the person in the car with her sister coming out to help so that I could drive Maria’s car back,” Brecht said. “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.”
She continued, “At that time, 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 told the outlet that she believes the passenger — who has not been publicly identified — may have more information than they’re letting on.
She went on to add that Kilmer’s family first grew concerned when they learned that she left her car without her belongings.
“When we got to her vehicle, her car, her keys, her wallet with her ID, her birth certificate, her eyeglasses, her meds that she takes every day, everything that she needs to live her life is left in that vehicle,” Brecht said.
Brecht said that her daughter could have been driving to Portland to go to a rave, though pointed out she wouldn’t be able to get in without her wallet or ID on her.
“Something is not adding up,” Brecht said of the situation. “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.”
Brecht also said she’s received a few text messages from different numbers claiming to be Kilmer, though she said none of the messages sound like they were composed by her daughter.
Police are asking that anyone with information regarding Kilmer’s whereabouts call 911 or contact Oregon State Police dispatch at *677, and reference case number SP26 104740.
