One more search for Eric Westfall in Malheur County leaves more questions than answers
By Garrett Christensen on Monday, September 30th, 2024 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
MALHEUR – 50-year-old Eric Westfall, originally from Kirkland Washington, went missing in late April near Juntura. After another major search effort, authorities are still not much closer to finding him.
Westfall was last seen in the area on April 24, with his mother (who initially reported him missing) last having contact with him on April 17. Westfall’s mother initially told law enforcement that he was traveling from Kirkland WA to Arizona and camping in “off-the-grid-areas” along the way. Search and rescue crews initially covered around 1000 miles of road across Malheur County but were unable to locate him at the time.
Recently, however, another major search effort was conducted involving resources from multiple counties. Additional details have also been disclosed indicating that another individual may have been involved in Westfall’s disappearance.
According to Malheur County Sheriff Travis Johnson, the Eastern Oregon Search and Rescue Group (which includes SAR teams from multiple agencies, such as Union County SAR) along with Idaho Mountain Rescue assisted the Malheur County Sheriff’s office in a major search effort September 21 and 22 in the area of Grasshopper Flats Road off highway 20 near Juntura. During this search, numerous personal items of Westfall’s were found, including a notebook. However, Westfall himself is still missing.
Sheriff Johnson also told Elkhorn Media Group that some of Westfall’s items may have been deliberately distributed around the area by another man, Shaun Salsman of Greeley Colorado. Salsman himself was initially reported missing by the Weld County Sheriff’s Office on March 28, 2024, last seen traveling on March 22 in Loveland Colorado.
It is speculated by law enforcement that, at some point, Salsman (right) and Westfall (left) encountered each other in a remote area of Malheur County. What specifically transpired between the two is unknown, though Salsman’s vehicle (a black Dodge 1500 pickup) was found in the search area. Further, however, Salsman himself was later found deceased on May 28 in a remote area of Archuleta County Colorado inside of Westfall’s vehicle (a 2013 Nissa Xterra). According to Sheriff Johnson, Salsman’s cause of death is believed to have been a drug overdose.
As of the time of writing, no additional major search efforts for Westfall are currently planned. Sheriff Johnson told Elkhorn Media Group that it doesn’t appear authorities are any closer to finding him. There are some talks of eventually searching along the river in the area or even conducting a drone search, though authorities are still debating whether this will ever happen.
