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http:// --> Ashland, Oregon HOME Valley & State Sports Nation & World Opinion/Editorial Classifieds Business Columnists Obituaries Weather Archive Hot Topics Forum Photo Gallery Past Readers Polls Revels Etcetera Backpage O-Zone Special Sections Real Estate Guide Menu Guide Shakespeare Subscribe Contact Us Rate Card Place an Ad Online Games Movie Preview October 3, 2006 Former Ashland man missing since May By Robert Plain Ashland Daily Tidings Patrick "Thatcher" Mahurin has been missing since May and his family fears the worst. He moved to Ashland with his parents in 1997. A 42-year-old who suffers from bi-polar disorder, Mahurin was known for always having his keyboard with him, which he played at various establishments in and around Ashland. Then this March he moved to Cave Junction. Two months later he disappeared, according to his mother, and he hasn't been heard from since. "We believe he is dead," his mother, Lee Mahurin, said. "He told his brother someone was going to shoot him if he got drunk again." Lee Mahurin usually hears from her son all the time but has not heard from him since Mother's Day. At that time, he called her from his rented trailer in Cave Junction and played her a song he wrote on the keyboards. After he played, he came back to the phone and told his mother that he loved her. "I just had this really forboding feeling," she said. "I called right back and he was gone." Josephine County Sheriff's Department has been investigating Mahurin's disappearance, but to no avail, said Mahurin's mother. She said they have been reticent to look into foul play. A detective for the Sheriff's Department working on Mahurin's disappearance has been contacted several times but has not returned calls as of press time. "The police think people who don't want to be found, won't be," Lee Mahurin said. But she doesn't think her son is on the lam. He left a half loaf of bread on his counter, "like he was going to be right back," Lee Mahurin said. He hasn't picked up his government assistance check since he disappeared, she said. The biggest tell-tale sign for Patrick Mahurin's mom that something strange happened to her son is that his keyboards were left behind. "He never went anywhere without his keyboards," she said. "We think he has met dire consequences." Patrick's older brother Mike Mahurin heard from him a few days before Mother's Day, and believes his younger brother may have shed light on what happened to him. "He called me before he disappeared and said he might be in trouble," Mike Mahurin said. "He said he had done some things in a blackout and made some people angry. He didn't say who and he didn't say what." Patrick's mother said in addition to suffering from bi-polar disorder her son also struggled with alcohol and drug dependency. Patrick "never went more than seven days without calling my Mom," his brother Mike said. "He was her baby." Equally unlikely is that Patrick Mahurin would not pick up his government assistance check. "He's never not picked up his money," Mike Mahurin said. Patrick's family doesn't believe his disappearance is related to his mental illness because they think he would have been located by now if he was in the grips of a manic episode. His disappearance has been registered with the National Center for Missing Adults for about six months now and Josephine County Sheriff's would be notified if he was picked up by law enforcement anywhere in the country. A hold has also been placed on his government assistance. "At this point it doesn't matter what happened to him," Patrick's brother Mike said. "We just want his body back." Staff writer Robert Plain can be reached at 482-3456 x. 226 or [email protected] Leave a Comment: Advertisement: Advertisement: Paid Advertising Inkjet Printers Student Loans Water Filter Helzberg Diamonds Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Advertisement: Copyright © 2006 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers. All Rights Reserved.