Searchers Find Body of One Missing Woman, Another Remains Missing

The two women were both last seen wearing light blue hooded rain jackets and gray rain pants.

Photo: Lincoln County Sheriff

(LINCOLN CITY) - A search has resumed this morning for two women who were reported missing Tuesday after they went for a walk around Glenn Avenue in Gleneden Beach and never returned. The Depoe Bay Fire Department says they have recovered the body of one of the women.

More information will be released once the family has been notified. The search began yesterday for 78-year-old Elma Benefiel, of Beaverton, and her daughter-in-law 61-year-old Jan Benefiel, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, and continued until midnight but the women were not found.

The women were first reported missing by family members at about 5:30 AM Tuesday. The pair were staying at a vacation rental home in Gleneden Beach, had gone for a walk in the area around 1:00 PM and never returned. They were both last seen wearing light blue hooded rain jackets and gray rain pants. Depoe Bay Fire Department personnel reportedly saw the women walking near Glenn Avenue at about 2:00 PM. A local resident in the area reported seeing the women walking on the beach at about 4:00 PM just south of where some cliff work was being done. The U.S. Coast Guard says that at the time, there was high surf, high winds and a high tide. At the request of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department, the U.S. Coast Guard deployed a search team and helicopter to search the beach and cliffs in the area. The Depoe Bay Fire Department, Lincoln County Search and Rescue personnel, and deputies with the sheriff’s office searched the local wooded areas and canvassed the neighborhoods. Tracking dogs were also brought in and located the scent of the women. The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office is asking the public for assistance. Anyone with information regarding the missing women is asked to call the Lincoln County Communication Center at (541) 265-4231.