Search continues for guardsman/student from Klamath Falls (UPDATED)

Below is an update from the Corvallis Police Department (January 1, 2022).

Missing Corvallis Man Found Deceased on Mary’s Peak

At 4:54 PM today, Deputies of the Benton County Sheriff’s Office responded to a remote area of Mary’s Peak in regards to information about Steven Mainwaring, a missing person from Corvallis. Volunteers who had been assisting in the search for Mainwaring reported finding a vehicle matching the description of the Ford Bronco Mainwaring was thought to be driving.

When Deputies arrived in the area, they located Mainwaring near the Ford Bronco deceased. An investigation completed by the Benton County Sheriff’s Office found no evidence of criminal activity or indications of foul play.

The Corvallis Police Department would like to share our appreciation for the assistance of the Benton County Sherriff’s Office in this investigation and for the countless hours put forth by the volunteers who assisted in the search for Steven.

Note: At this time there is no additional information available related to this incident. Any updates on the investigation will be disseminated through the Benton County Sheriff’s Office at a later date.

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CORVALLIS, Ore. - Law enforcement agencies are asking for help locating a missing 22-year-old who was last heard from on December 18. His family said he disappeared without a trace.

According to Corvallis police, Steven Mainwaring’s last presumed location was in near Alsea, Oregon.

Mainwaring is from Klamath Falls, a National Guard airman with extensive outdoor hiking experience, and an engineering student at Oregon State University.

Corvallis Police Department Public Information Officer Lt. Gabriel Sapp says police and searchers have not located 22-year-old Steven Mainwaring or his pickup.  His family in Klamath Falls says he was last in contact on December 18.

Sapp says a search crew went to a possible location for Mainwaring and found no sign of him.

Sapp says Mainwaring's cell phone had connected to a cell phone tower near Alsea as a last known phone connection.  An evaluation put the signal within 800 meters of a specific forest location which is where searchers went this morning, even cutting trees to get to the site, without any trace of Mainwaring.

Additional searches near Alsea are underway, west of Corvallis. 

The organized search has included resources from the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, Alsea Fire, and Oregon Air National Guard.  Sapp says the weather is not cooperating for Civil Air Patrol to fly as hoped.

Sapp says the uncertain location of where Mainwaring could be leaves police in a situation where they “Don’t necessarily know where to start” with the search, and detectives are working to determine where to best send resources.

Sapp added, police have no other coinciding missing persons there who could be with Mainwaring and they have nothing criminal identified in this case.  He says anytime someone is missing they cause a suspicious situation which makes Mainwaring’s case an active, ongoing police investigation for now.

Mainwaring is about 6-foot-2-inches tall, weighing around 170-180 pounds, with green eyes and blonde hair. He is thought to be driving a 1994 blue Ford Bronco with Oregon license plate 196-LRU.

His stepmother, Kristina, said it's extremely out of character for her stepson not to stay in touch.

"it's not the typical college student where you go, oh give him a week, he's out partying on the coast, and that's not him," she said in an interview with KATU news. "It makes your gut go, something's wrong, something's absolutely wrong for him, especially with his mom or his dad, not reaching out to say, 'Hey, I'm going to go here.'"

Corvallis police went to his apartment. Neighbors said they've hadn't seen Mainwaring or his Bronco in days.

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Steven's father immediately set out for Alsea to search for his son. Locals stepped up and joined the efforts, until the winter storm hit.

"They had lots of power outages, lots of trees down, they had mudslides and landslides, and rain upon rain, and then dense fog," Kristina said.

The search has since resumed.

Kristina said Steven usually had a daypack with food, a first-aid kit, and tools for an emergency. They're holding out hope he may be hunkered down in the wilderness.

"We are day 11 since that ping, and we're talking about some pretty severe weather that happened in that time frame, so I know time is of the essence, but they are definitely -- I am trusting they are working diligently to exhaust every resource they can before they move from that search area," Kristina said.

If you see him, or his vehicle, or have any helpful information, call authorities at 541-766-6911.

A Facebook Group has also been established to share information, Help Us Find Steven Mainwaring, https://www.facebook.com/groups/646523007224150/