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Discovery brings closure for family Remains determined to be those of former Medford man By Paul Fattig of the Mail Tribune When Lynn English was a child reared near the tiny hamlet of Galice on the banks of the Rogue River, her family often went on summer camping trips. "My dad used to say that camping in the mountains was the safest place in the world to be," said English, 56, whose family once lived on a mining claim known as English Meadows along Taylor Creek in the Siskiyou National Forest. "Well, that's all changed now," she added. "It's too bad." Bones found last September in a fire pit near Timothy Lake in the Mount Hood National Forest were identified last week as those of her son, Gregory David White, 35, of Gresham. White, who was reared in Medford, attending Washington Elementary School and Medford Senior High School, had been missing since a camping trip on Memorial Day weekend of 1998. DNA samples taken from White's mother and sister and matched with those taken from the remains allowed forensic experts to identify the bones, said Andrew McVey of the Clackamas County Sheriff's Department. Authorities have not released the cause of death, but say evidence indicates it was a homicide. They found White's 1997 Ford Taurus abandoned and torched on a Forest Service road about 30 miles southeast of Estacada. "He was just up there fishing, camping and getting away from the city for a while," his mother said. "That was his thing. "The people who did this to him don't realize the destruction they've done to our family," she added. "You have to wonder what goes on in somebody's mind when they do something like this." White leaves behind his wife, Shannon Dimmitt, and two daughters, Andriea, 16, and Marissa, 8, all of Gresham. He also has a brother, Don White Jr., and a sister, Teresa. Memorial services are pending. His father, Don White Sr., died less than two months after he disappeared. Identifying the remains helps to bring closure to a painful period for the family, said his mother, a 1962 graduate of Grants Pass High School. "One of the few satisfying things is that we know he didn't take off or commit suicide," she said, noting that some media reports in the Portland area had speculated the latter was the case. "That was real hurtful," she said. "It has been so horrifying, the circumstances of what happened. It has continued so long it has just worn us all out." "There is closure but every night I think about what happened to him," added Don White Jr., 36, also a product of Medford Senior High School. "This has been hard for me to deal with. It has been a long journey." He remembers his brother, who worked for a Portland firm that makes knives, as an easy-going person who enjoyed being outdoors. "He loved to hike and camp," he said. "He was very well-liked by everyone. He was just a good guy. "He was a nonviolent individual -- I loved him very, very much," he added. "We're all distraught over this." English, a hair stylist, and her family moved from Medford to the Portland area in 1981. "Greg was a thinking person, kind of quiet," she said. "His kids were really important to him. He was a special person." English cited the detectives at the Clackamas County Sheriff's Department for their efforts. "All I know is that we have the best investigating team Oregon has on this case," she said. "They've shown they are very caring. They said they won't leave a leaf unturned until they solve this. I have faith in them." Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA