MISSION – Umatilla Tribal Police Department (UTPD) officials said they recently received a tip in the case of missing Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) member Wesley Dixon Jones, but that it failed to yield results.

On Jan. 29, UTPD Det. William Morris said he received a lead about the 71-year-old Jones, who went missing Oct. 5, but that it didn’t lead to any results. Morris did not go into details about the nature of the lead because of the investigation.

As for now, the case remains open, but Morris said in January that if no new leads develop, then investigators would eventually determine if they should classify it as a cold case. A cold case is an unsolved investigation that remains open but is not active pending the discovery of new information.

“An open investigation and an active investigation are not exactly the same thing,” Morris said. “I can’t say the investigation is closed because we haven’t discovered the truth, so it’s open but functionally inactive.”

That’s why he still encourages the public to bring forth any new leads to the UTPD. Anyone with information can call the UTPD at 541-278-0550.

Jones was last seen along East Short Mile Road on the Umatilla Indian Reservation in a gray 2003 Ford Escape with Oregon license plate SM15454. When the vehicle returned west on the same road, Jones was no longer visible in it. The driver’s identity hasn’t been disclosed because of the investigation.

He is described as a 5-feet, 8-inch-tall Native American weighing approximately 140 pounds with long black hair and brown eyes. Jones was last seen wearing a black and red TigerScott jacket, black shirt, black sweatpants and boots.

Since Oct. 6, the UTPD has conducted searches with the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office Search & Rescue, aerial drone searches over parts of the Umatilla River and searches on foot. Other areas included in the investigation are between Cayuse and Bingham roads, as well as Short Mile Road to Cayuse Road, including River Road.

From Oct. 31 to Nov. 2, the MMIW Search & Hope Alliance used sonar at deeper spots in the Umatilla River. That search also included an area east of Sampson Lane and Short Mile Road along the railroad right-of-way, as well as upriver around the Cayuse community.

On Nov. 18, the UTPD, with the help of CTUIR’s Geographic Information Systems, conducted an aerial drone search in three previously unsearched locations. Citing the investigation, Morris did not specify the locations, other than that they were farther away from the Umatilla River.

On Dec. 3, a five-member FBI dive team searched Johnley Pond near Cayuse with boats using specialized equipment, including an underwater drone. However, the search yielded no results.