The mystery of Dawna and Gabrielle Roe: Missing mom and special needs teen daughter found dead
BOISE, IDAHO: A mother in her 50s along with her special needs daughter was found dead after they went missing on a camping trip. Dawna Roe, 51, and Gabrielle, who had Down Syndrome, hailing from Caldwell, Idaho, were believed to have been shot in a car at a ranch near Drewsey in Oregon and the case is being labeled as a murder-suicide. Caldwell Police Chief Rex Ingram broke the news as they found the bodies in Grant County, Oregon, on Friday, July 8, and were last seen on June 30.
Chief Ingram told KTVB, "Preliminary information shows it appears to be a murder-suicide by gunshot." Caldwell Police Department also updated their Facebook post where they had been looking for the two missing parties. The post read, "Gabby and Dawna have been located and their family notified." The Grant County Sheriff's Office further confirmed that Dawna and Gabrielle were found in Dawna's light blue 2004 Toyota Sienna van. According to the revelation, deputies with Grant County and Harney County responded to a report of two individuals deceased in a van on Thursday afternoon, July 7. The police located the vehicle stranded in a remote location.
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The van, which had Dawna's and Gabrielle's bodies inside it, was located by the employees working with Silvies Ranch. Along with Grant County and Harney County deputies, Oregon State troopers, Oregon State Police Forensic personnel, and the Major Crimes Team also responded and rushed to the scene. The Grant County Sheriff's Office said, "No other individuals are being sought at this time. It was also shared that the officials stayed at the alleged crime scene through Thursday night and did not leave until Friday at 9 am." Idaho Department of Health and Welfare is yet to respond to this mysterious development.
Family remembers Dawna and Gabrielle
As Caldwell Police mentioned, their family members were notified. Following this, Dawna's daughter and Gabrielle's sister Mariah Villesca decided to speak out in an exclusive interview with KTVB and shared that fury, grief, and guilt rushed through her head. Villesca said, "I'm just going to miss that. I'm going to miss her smiles, her laugh, her pure, unfiltered love."
Villesca shared that she and her other sister had called Child Protective Services in 2021, but no concrete action was taken. Moreover, she shared that while Dawna was never diagnosed with anything officially, she always believed that her mother had a mental illness.
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Villesca continued, "My mom loved Gabby, she absolutely did. My mom had six children and Gabrielle was the favorite. So many people thought this would never happen, because of how much my mom loved Gabby. So many people didn't listen to how severe things were. If somebody's ill, you know, they can appear lucid. You don't know what's going on in their mind. Gabrielle, we call her Gabby. She was sassy. She was clever. She was witty. She had the purest heart."
A GoFundMe page was also started to cover the funeral expenses which read, "Gabby has a genuine and pure soul. She has always emanated contagious joy everywhere that she went, and all who met our girl will forever remember her palpable and unfiltered love. My mother battled with and eventually succumbed to mental illness, and Gabby was a victim of that illness as well."
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).