*Last Updated – June 17, 2024*
UPDATE
MAY 2024:
The Malheur County Sheriff’s Office announced that they’d recovered Gwen Brunelle’s remains, just two miles from where her car was discovered off US Highway 95, near the Idaho/Oregon border. The location was just outside of the original search area that had been determined by investigators.
The discovery of Gwen’s remains came via the assistance of two drone companies: Terracotta and Aloft Drone Search. An operator with the former had taken 13,399 photographs of the 4,500-acre area over the course of a month. He, along with the team from the latter, then began reviewing each image.
On April 8, 2024, Aloft Drone Search informed the Sheriff’s Office that a volunteer had possibly spotted human remains in one of the photographs. Deputies were dispatched to the location that same day and found them.
Dental records were used to confirm they were Gwen’s remains.
At present, foul play is not suspected in Gwen’s death, with her family stating they believe she suffered from an undiagnosed mental illness. A funeral was held for her at Sacred Heart Church in Boise, Idaho, on June 1.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
EARLY LIFE:
Gwendolyn Margaret “Gwen” Brunelle was born on December 9, 1995, to Betsy and Andy Brunelle.
Throughout her childhood and into her teenage years, much of Gwen’s energy went into raising and showing purebred rabbits, with her talents nationally recognized. She began in 4H and, by 2007, had won the Showmanship Championship title at the Western Idaho Fair. She went on to compete in the American Rabbit Breeders Association and was named its Queen at the national competition in 2011.
At the time of her disappearance, she was working to become a certified rabbit judge.
On a more personal level, Gwen struggled with a condition that made her moody and inattentive, for which she was taking medication.
LEAD UP TO DISAPPEARANCE:
On June 26, 2023, Gwen left her family’s home in Boise, Idaho, for a road trip to a small town just outside of Fresno, California, where she said she was going to meet a renowned rabbit judge. When spoken to after the 27-year-old’s disappearance, the person in question denied ever speaking to Gwen or having any knowledge of her plans to visit.
At 11:00 AM, Gwen set off, promising her boyfriend, Gerald Sanderson, and her parents that she’d keep in touch and that she may possibly make a stop in Reno, Nevada, to break up the several-hundred-mile drive.
However, her cellphone’s signal soon disappeared. Both Gerald and her father tried to get in contact with her over the next several hours, but received no response to their texts. By the next morning, the former was worried enough to share his concerns with Gwen’s parents, who reported her missing to the Boise Police Department.
DISAPPEARANCE:
What happened between Gwen leaving home and her being reported missing is all based on surveillance footage and witness accounts. When she was 20 miles from her residence, she stopped at a convenience store in Nampa, as confirmed by both security video and her debit card records.
While footage showed her purchasing snacks, the most interesting bit was that she’d changed her clothes. She’d left home wearing a blue shirt and Nike-brand tennis shoes, but had changed into a red shirt and knee-high dress boots. What also struck her family as odd was that she’d visited the store three hours after she’d embarked on her journey, a rather long time to have travelled just 20 miles.
The next time Gwen was caught on surveillance footage was at 12:00 PM on June 27, 2023. This time, she was at the Sinclair gas station in Jordan Valley, Oregon, and she was seen purchasing gas, after which she went to Mrs. Z’s convenience store, where she bought water and some peanuts. She’d also asked if the establishment sold razors, but was told they didn’t.
Despite telling the gas station attendant that she was in a hurry, Gwen was seen sitting in her car after an hour. Concerned, the worker went to check on the 27-year-old and was told she was doing okay.
SEARCH:
Three days after Gwen was reported missing, on June 30, 2023, her car was found, abandoned, at Succor Creek in Malheur County, Oregon, just a mile away from US Highway 95. It had allegedly been in the area since the 28th, when a UPS driver first saw it parked off the road during his lunch break. A police officer was dispatched to the area for an unrelated reason and, curious, ran the 2008 Honda Element‘s plates and discovered Gwen’s missing persons report.
When found, the vehicle was facing northeast, in an area commonly used by visitors to the location. It was unlocked, with the key still in the ignition, and the windows were partially opened. Also found inside were Gwen’s leather shoulder bag, which contained her wallet, credit cards and driver’s license; travel bags with her personal items; protein bar wrappers and empty soda cans; and three cages holding 11 rabbits, five of which were deceased.
A water trough and a week’s worth of food were also within the car.
Not far from the Honda Element, police found Gwen’s purple bath robe, which had been folded up as if someone had used it as a cushion, as well as the water jug she’d purchased at the convenience store, now half empty.
The vehicle’s discovery prompted an extensive search of the area, with investigators and Gwen’s family and friends looking on-foot, manning ATVs and even going on horseback, in an attempt to locate any clues as to her whereabouts. Four trained dogs were also brought in to help with the search.
After days of failed efforts, police suspended their search on July 10, 2023.
The next clue in the case didn’t show up until two months later. On September 10, 2023, one of Gwen’s t-shirts was found tangled in a barbed wire fence about 1.5 miles from her car, at Dog Creek. This prompted the search to partially resume, with her boots and a pair of mismatched socks being located approximately 80 yards south of where the shirt had been found. Interestingly, the boots had been stacked in a crisscrossed manner.
DETAILS:
Gwendolyn Margaret “Gwen” Brunelle went missing in Jordan Valley, Malheur County, Oregon, on June 27, 2023. She was 27 years old, and she was last seen wearing a dark-coloured t-shirt, black leggings and black knee-high dress boots with a flat sole. She stands at 5’7″ and weighs between 140-160 pounds. She has brown eyes and long medium brown/auburn hair that’s usually up in a ponytail. Gwen’s ears are pierced, and she’s left-handed.
At the time of her disappearance, Gwen was driving a grey 2008 Honda Element with Idaho license plates 5WT6X.
CASE CONTACT INFORMATION:
At present, Gwen’s case is classified as a missing person’s investigation, with her parents concerned that she may have become disoriented and wandered from her car or been abducted. There’s also a possibility she’d lied about the reason for her trip, with her family positing that she may have been meeting up with an unknown individual.
Anyone with information regarding the case is asked to contact the Boise Police Department at either (208) 377-6790 or (280) 570-6000. Tips can also be called into the Malheur County Sheriff’s Office at (541) 473-5125.
Image Credit: Find Gwen – Official Missing Persons Website
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