JOSEPHINE COUNTY, OR — A missing person case that started in Medford ended with three deaths in rural Josephine County after Oregon investigators discovered buried human remains at the property tied to a shooting. Authorities say the remains were identified as Andrew Forrest Odom, 67, of Incline Village, Nevada, who had been reported missing on Oct. 1.
Detectives had been tracing Odom’s movements after learning he traveled from Carson City, Nevada, to Medford on Sept. 21. His last known whereabouts were in Josephine County on Sept. 22. As investigators followed the trail into the county and found suspicious circumstances, the case was transferred to the Oregon State Police and a major crime team was activated.
Investigators traced the missing man from Nevada to Josephine County
Medford police first received the missing person report involving Odom, and their early work showed that his trip to Oregon had begun more than a week before he was reported missing. Officials said he had left from Carson City and reached Medford on Sept. 21, then was last known to be in Josephine County the next day.
That timeline became important as the investigation deepened. Once detectives identified suspicious circumstances, the case moved from Medford police to the Oregon State Police. The Josephine County Major Crime Team was also brought in to help handle what had become a more serious and complex investigation.
By that point, authorities were no longer treating the matter as only a missing person case. The new information pointed them toward a rural property in Josephine County, where the investigation would later turn deadly.
Detectives were met with gunfire at a rural Williams Highway home
On Oct. 6, Oregon State Police detectives contacted a man during the follow-up investigation in the 10000 block of Williams Highway in rural Josephine County. According to investigators, the man ran into a residence and fired shots at detectives.
That prompted a larger law enforcement response. Tactical resources from the Grants Pass Police Department and the Josephine County Sheriff’s Office were sent to the area as officers worked to secure the scene and clear the home.
The confrontation marked a major turning point in the case. What had started as a disappearance now involved an armed encounter between detectives and a suspect inside a residence on the property under investigation.
Two men were found dead inside after the residence was cleared
After officers cleared the residence, they found two dead people with apparent gunshot wounds inside. Medford police led the investigation into the shooting.
Authorities later identified the dead as Rick Odom, 73, and his son Spencer Odom, 40. Police said Spencer Odom died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Rick Odom was the brother of the missing man, Andrew Odom.
The identifications tied the shooting directly to the missing person investigation. At that point, law enforcement was dealing with the deaths of two members of the same family while still searching for answers about Andrew Odom’s whereabouts.
Buried remains were later discovered on the same property
On Oct. 8, detectives returned to the property with help from the Oregon State Police Crime Lab and located human remains buried there. Investigators identified the remains as Andrew Odom.
That discovery connected the missing person case to the rural site where the shooting had occurred two days earlier. Police did not release additional details about how the remains were found, but the identification confirmed that the search for Andrew Odom had ended at the same location tied to the deadly standoff.
The finding also brought a third death into the case, turning the investigation into one of the most serious incidents in the county in recent days.
Medford police and state investigators say the case remains open
Officials say the investigation is ongoing. Medford police are leading the shooting inquiry, while Oregon State Police detectives and the crime lab have been involved in the broader work tied to the missing person case and the discovery of the remains.
So far, authorities have not said what led to the confrontation or what caused the circumstances that ended in three deaths. They have also not released further information about the sequence of events on the property beyond the details already confirmed by investigators.
The case now centers on how a missing person report in Medford led investigators to a rural Josephine County residence, a gunfire exchange, and the recovery of Andrew Odom’s buried remains.