Clipping found in Arizona Daily Sun published in Flagstaff, Arizona on 2/7/1993. Woodrow Grimland
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Clipping found in Arizona Daily Sun published in Flagstaff, Arizona on 2/7/1993. Woodrow Grimland
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Family searches for Dad Needles man left Flagstaff three years ago By J. LEON KEITH Sun Staff Reporter
Janet Grimaland last saw her father-in-law on a May morning in 1990, as he headed east down Santa Fe Avenue, bound for Plainview, Texas. Woodrow Wilson Gnmland never reached Plainview, where several of his relatives live. What became of him remains a mystery to his family and law enforcement officials in three states. At this point if we could think of something else to do wed sure do it, Janet said. A death is easier to accept. Not knowing is the hard thing. Woodrow Gnmland, who would be in his mid-70s now, left no clues to his whereabouts save three people who saw him at a Clines Comer, N.M., truck stop about 60 miles east of Albuquerque on Interstate 40. Efforts to find the 6-foot tall, blue-eyed, gray-haired man, his dachshund, Gretchen, and his truck, a 1985 dark green Dodge Ram pickup with a dark brown camper shell, have proved fruitless . The investigation originated in Needles, Calif., where Grimland lived. San Ber-nadino County Sheriffs Department Detective Bill Fcrtig said that while no progress has been made in finding the man, he and his truck are listed with the National Crime Information Center. Authorities who call up information on the man or the vehicle will be alerted that they have been missing. Fcrtig said all authorities can do is sit and wait. The police have been very understanding, but I guess theres nothing they can do, Janet Grimland said. Its hard, they have no clues, no vehicle. There are other things going on they can do something about. Woodrow Grimland had stopped in Flagstaff to see his son, Ronald, Janet and their family on his way to Texas. He left town May 9, 1990, and headed cast on 1-40, expecting to arrive in Plainview by the next afternoon. On May 1 1 the Grimlands filed a missing persons report in Needles. A few days later Ronald and Janet followed the route his father normally took to get to Plainview, putting up fliers everywhere possible. Three employees at the Clines Comer Truck Stop recognized Woodrow Grimland and said he had stopped there the afternoon of May 9. Janet said he would have been easy to remember because of his dachshund and his hands, which were crippled by arthritis into a hook-like shape. What happened beyond the truck stop is anyones guess authorities lack even the smallest clue, Janet said. Law enforcement officials and relatives of Grimland have scoured routes the missing man may have taken, checking out every turnoff. See DAD, Page 3
DAD From Page 1 The family has kept abreast of unidentified men, or John Does, that have appeared in the region, but Grimland has not yet been found. Grimland left town with about $800 cash and an income tax refund check. The check might have been a clue if someone had tried to cash it, but no one did. Family members even solicited the help of a psychic who had worked with police on other cases, but to no avail. In October 1990, Ronald Grimland wrote the television show, Unsolved Mysteries, in hopes of getting nationwide attention for the search, but the show rejected the idea. Janet said she contacts police occasionally to see if any new John Does have been discovered, but doesnt know what else to do at this point but wonder what happened. She rejects the possibility of suicide. He wouldnt have done it that way, she said. He had the dog; he would have taken care of things WOODROW GRIMLAND first." He also wouldnt have simply decided to leave without a trace, she said. Woodrow Grimland was very close to Ronald, Janet said. Father and son lived next door to each other in Needles until Ronald and his family moved to Flagstaff. Woodrow Grimland, whose wife died a year before he disappeared, had planned to move in with the family, Janet said. He may have been robbed and killed, she said. He used to pick up hitchhikers. We thought hed never do it again, but he may have. Janet said she sympathizes with police, who are not actively searching for Grimland and have many other missing people, especially children, to deal with. And while she holds little hope that her father-in-law is still alive, not knowing puts a heavy emotional burden on the family. Its hard to tell a kid, Well, we dont know, said Janet, who has two boys, ages 7 and 10. The older one, he thinks he died. But the younger one doesnt understand. Is he dead? they come out and say that to you. Then he asks, Why cant we bury him next to Grandma? If nothing about Woodrow Grimland is discovered within five years of his disappearance, he can be declared legally dead. The Grim-lands then would have a funeral service for him, Janet said. A death certificate would help a great deal, she said. Once the service is over, it helps. Its hard to explain how it helps.
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