'We want Michael back': Parents search for son who disappeared from Oregon campground
COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. - Michael Bryson is still missing. The search for him continues for his family.
"We are going to keep his name out there. We are definitely never going to stop looking," Tina Bryson said as she stapled up another laminated missing person poster.
Tina and Parrish Bryson have driven Row River Road countless times since August 5, 2020 - the day their son Michael disappeared from Hobo Campground about 25 miles southeast of Cottage Grove.
Three to four times a week they travel the winding road investigating tips and making sure flyers of Michael are up on trailheads, bulletin boards and at the campsite.
The Brysons shared with us some off the last pictures of Michael, taken at what some describe as a "renegade" or "rave" party in the woods.
There were 40 to 60 people, music, drinking and drugs.
"Where our car is parked here, that's where the big bus was," Parrish said.
It's the bus where witnesses say Michael was last seen before he walked away at 4 in the morning.
"He got upset and walked off the bus and nobody has seen him," Tina said. "By the time we found out it was almost 12 hours since he had been missing."
"The moment I put my foot out of the car," Parrish said, "I knew Michael was gone."
"People weren't looking for Michael," Tina said. "They were sitting around, drinking, eating, laughing - nobody was out searching for him, so I felt in my gut something had happened."
"There's been a lot of conflicting stories from the beginning," Parrish said. "One story is that he walked away from camp. The other story is that a group of individuals picked him up on the road."
The tips that come in support both of these theories, they said.
Search and rescue didn't find any signs of foul play last August.
For 19 days straight, searchers along with a team of volunteers combed the area in steep terrain with overgrowth and dense with trees.
Volunteer drone pilots covered more ground and provided a birds eye view.
Drone footage of the search area:
To date, the Lane County Sheriff's Office has coordinated over 15 separate searches spanning two counties.
Paid and volunteer searchers have logged over 700 hours.
As recently as last weekend, search and rescue investigated yet another tip.
Our news crew was on scene December 11 where items were found near a swimming hole about a mile from Hobo Campground, visible from the road and in an area Parrish says was searched multiple times.
"The blue ribbon right there is where two of the items were found. And the blue and orange ribbon is where the other items were found," Parrish said.
Parrish confirmed the items belong to Michael.
"I'm 99.9% sure that these items were planted," he said.
It is the unknown that weighs heavy on their hearts.
"Every morning during my devotions, I pray that prodigal son story will happen for us, but then I have to be realistic," Parrish said.
The Brysons will be the first to tell that Michael struggled with addiction.
But it didn't define him.
They say he was a good son and loyal friend.
"Michael didn't know a stranger. Michael had a heart and love for everybody he met," Parrish said. "Never judged anyone."
The Brysons say they're not giving up on their son.
The Facebook group Let's Find Michael Bryson is up to 20,000 followers, with followers from every state.
Posts and comments give the Brysons encouragement to keep Michael's story front and center.
"We have really good idea of what's happened, some ideas as to who's involved. And we are just waiting on that last tip to open everything up," Parrish said.
"We just want the truth," he added. "We want Michael back."
