Ashley Pond

On January 9, 2002, twelve-year-old Ashley Pond disappeared at 8:00 am while walking to her bus stop in Oregon City, Oregon. She was running late for her bus, which was only 10 minutes away from the Newell Creek Apartments where Ashley lived with her stepmother. But on that very day, Ashley never made it to Gardiner Middle school. Though many search efforts were made by local authorities and the FBI, no clues surfaced. Ashley was a very popular girl at school and was proud to be on the swim and dance teams. Due to this, her friends, the investigators, and her mother found it hard to believe she could have a reason to run away.

Miranda Gaddis

On March 8, 2002, just two months after Ashley Pond’s disappearance, thirteen year-old Miranda Gaddis also vanished at 8:00 am while walking to the same bus stop. When studying this new case, investigators found the timing of both Miranda’s and Ashley’s disappearances to be confusing. Ashley and Miranda were good friends and lived in the same apartment complex, just 10 minutes away from the bus stop. Miranda’s mother, Michelle Duffey, had left for work about 30 minutes before her daughter was to catch the bus. When Duffey discovered that Miranda was not at school, she called the local police. Though they investigated further, they could not find the reason behind her disappearance. 

Ward Weaver III

In August 1997, Ward Weaver III rented a home in Oregon City, Oregon, with his two kids. Weaver had a daughter who was the same age as Miranda and Ashley. They were good friends and would have sleepovers with a couple other girls at Weaver’s home. However, this all changed when Weaver attempted to sexually assault Ashley. Her mother reported this incident to authorities but no formal charges were made. When both girls went missing, that information came to light and Ward Weaver became one of the suspects in Ashley’s and Miranda’s cases. Though, in an interview with a news TV broadcast, he showed his home to prove that he had no part in the disappearances of Miranda and Ashley, while walking on a fresh slab of concrete…

Suspects

Investigators worked hard to figure out what happened to these girls. They started to look into possible suspects and thought the person who did this might be someone both girls knew. Police had 28 possible suspects who lived in the same apartment complex (or around it) that Ashley and Miranda lived in. A call was made to the local police station on August 13, 2002, that narrowed the list completely. Weaver’s son contacted police to report that his father attempted to sexually assault his girlfriend. He also told police that his father had confessed to murdering Ashley Pond and Miranda Gaddis. After that, Weaver became a prime suspect in Ashley and Miranda’s case and the FBI were able to get a warrant to search his property on August 23.

The Girls Discovery

When Weaver was placed in jail, his landlord placed eviction notices all over the home. While placing them down, he noticed flies surrounding cardboard boxes in the shed that were in the backyard, but he didn’t think much of it. On August 14, TV news cameras captured Pond’s stepmother taping a sign on the concrete slab that was in the backyard reading “Dig me up,” as she suspected the girls’ bodies were under there. Tents were put up by the FBI on the property where the concrete slab was and another was placed by the shed. The news reporter who interviewed Weaver before broke down crying as she and the families got the information that Ashley Pond was found in a cardboard box in the shed. The family’s worst fears didn’t end there. Police discovered an oil barrel beneath the concrete slab that contained the remains of Miranda Gaddis. Weaver’s son, Francis Weaver, was the one to dig up the hole where the concrete was poured, not knowing it was for something much worse; his father told him that it was for a jacuzzi.

Family of Evil

Ward Weaver III came from a family with generations of violence and evil. Ward Weaver Jr., his father, was the one to begin the evil legacy. Weaver, Jr. was sent to California’s death row for the murder of two people. Like his son, he buried one of his victims underneath a slab of concrete. Francis Weaver became the third generation of murderers convicted. On February 14, he was arrested and charged with the murder of a drug dealer in Canby, Oregon. He was found guilty and was sent to life in prison. Francis Weaver’s mother revealed that he wasn’t Ward Weaver III’s biological son. Yet, Ward Weaver III had already gotten caught up in his stepfather’s evil legacy.

Aftermath

The discovery of the girls left their families depressed and hopeless after the FBI’s findings. Ashley’s and Miranda’s mothers filed lawsuits against the state, claiming that child-welfare workers could have prevented this crime by charging Weaver appropriately for the attempted sexual assault. As a result of the case, The Department of Human Services implemented changes, like increased staff training and better communication with law enforcement. Ashley’s and Miranda’s cases were also used as primary inspiration for the 2011 movie Megan is Missing. Today, the families of Ashley Pond and Miranda Gaddis continue to deal with their loss, albeit decades after the girls were murdered by their neighbor. Some family members have occasionally spoken out in media interviews or legal contexts about the girls and their cases, but they still feel the pain left by the murder of these two young girls.

Work Cited:

Dakss, B. (2002, August 24). Oregon Town Mourns Slain Girls. Retrieved from Cbsnews.com website: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oregon-town-mourns-slain-girls/

https://www.facebook.com/thoughtcodotcom. (n.d.). Victims Ashley Pond Miranda Gaddis and the Ward Weaver Murder Case. Retrieved from ThoughtCo website: https://www.thoughtco.com/the-ward-weaver-case-971098

News, A. B. C. (n.d.). Crime Runs in the Family. Retrieved from ABC News website: https://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=91283&page=1

Patmore, N. (2022, November 8). He Raped And Killed Two Girls — Then Gave A Local News Interview While Standing Right Where He Buried Them. Retrieved from All That’s Interesting website: https://allthatsinteresting.com/ward-weaver-iii

Staff reports. (2023, November 14). Ward Weaver killings, family explored in book on the origins of evil – Oregon City News Online. Retrieved from Oregon City News Online website: https://oregoncitynewsonline.com/2023/11/14/ward-weaver-killings-family-explored-in-book-on-the-origins-of-evil/