Remains found of missing Plainview-area woman

The remains of a 24-year-old Plainview-area woman who left her home last Tuesday and failed to return, prompting an extensive search, have been found near a small camp she had set up in a wooded area less than two miles from her home, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies said Saturday.

Authorities earlier in the week had asked for the public’s help in finding Nickel C-Ann Bird, who last was seen at her home on Palladin Drive early Tuesday afternoon.

She had no vehicle, her cellphone was turned off and it was believed she might have hitchhiked from the area on Highway 20, said sheriff’s Lt. Chad Davis. Authorities also disclosed she was suffering from a mental health condition and might have been armed with a handgun.

Since then, several tips from the public were reported, which deputies and detectives followed up on, Davis said. Special service deputies and a K=9 unit helped with searches on the ground and an Oregon State Police plane helped search the area from the area. Davis said detectives also did numerous follow-up interviews with family and friends of Bird to gather more information.

On Friday, around 10:30 a.m., family members contacted sheriff’s detectives to report they had found a mountain bike in a wooded area about ¾ of a mile south of the home, near BLM land, Davis said. Since the initial missing-person report was filed, they had determined a mountain bike was missing from the home.

Detectives responded, helped by two special services deputies and a Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue volunteer team, to begin a new ground search for Bird, the lieutenant said.

Two detectives followed footprints from where the mountain bike was found, going about ½ to ¾ of a mile until they found the woman deceased near a small camp.

Davis said Bird had made a small camp, with a sleeping bag and a small amount of supplies, where she spent an undetermined amount of time.

The county Medical Examiner’s Office responded to the scene to help in the death investigation, and Bird’s family was notified of her death.

Davis said toxicology tests will be conducted to confirm the cause of manner of death, but added that those tests can take several weeks to months to complete.

“The investigation at this point can confirm that Bird was not a victim of foul play,” Davis said in a news release. “Use of prescription medication and exposure to the elements were likely contributing factors in her death.”

SAR volunteers helped conduct a grid search for evidence and later helped transport the remains out of the woods on a wheeled litter, Davis said.

He also said the sheriff’s office wants to thank the public for tips provided in response to the earlier request.