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Missing duo found; mom, daughter reunited By Jill Briskey A bogus job application filled out by a missing Ashland man helped reunite a mother and daughter Wednesday. One week after reporting her husband, Jeff Wisdom, and their 4-year-old daughter, Jill, missing, Julie Wisdom now has her daughter back, safe and sound. "She�s happy, she�s healthy, and she�s well," a friend of the family said of Jill�s mood Thursday. "Her daddy would never hurt her." The unanswered question, of course, is why did he leave? Authorities say they�re not sure, and so far no one has offered an explanation. Father and daughter were first reported missing Nov. 8 when they failed to return home from a family visit in Cottage Grove. Wisdom�s Suburban was later found abandoned near Drain, with a note inside stating there had been mechanical problems and the two were walking for help. At 6 p.m. Thursday, Julie Wisdom was on her way home from Washington with her daughter, and was not available for comment. No criminal charges will be filed against Jeff Wisdom, and the Jackson County Sheriff�s Department has closed the investigation. According to law enforcement officials, Jeff Wisdom spent the past few days in Bellingham, Wash., 10 miles south of the Canadian border. Authorities were able to track Wisdom after he applied for a job Monday at a carpet cleaning business using incomplete and phony information. People at the business became suspicious and called Bellingham police, who later called authorities in Jackson County. They told Julie Wisdom her daughter had been found. Jeff Wisdom had been spotted late last week in the Portland area when he withdrew money from bank and credit card accounts. According to Jackson County Sheriff�s Det. Eric Fox, on Monday Wisdom entered the Bellingham business and filled out the application using the name Zachariah Winston. He did not give his driver�s license, social security number or date of birth, Fox added. Under references, Wisdom claimed three in Lakeview, Fox said. "None of the phone numbers were working and things didn�t add up," Bellingham Police Sgt. Dave Richards said Thursday. "The employee thought this was kind of suspicious." While Wisdom was filling out the application, an employee grew concerned after chatting with Jill, who used her real last name, contradicting the name on the application. When the father and daughter�s names did not match up, and the references turned out to be bogus, Richards said, the employee contacted police. Richards said the investigation led to the Jackson County Sheriff�s Department. Julie Wisdom and her family were in the office discussing the case when the call from Bellingham came in. Since Jeff Wisdom had not committed a crime, Fox said, law enforcement officials did not detain him or seize Jill. "The feeling that we were getting were (that the couple was having) marital problems," Richards said. "They were just having a tough time." A manager from the Villa Inn motel, where Wisdom and his daughter stayed, said Wisdom was a cordial guest and that he didn�t notice anything amiss during the pair�s stay. Richards said that after Julie Wisdom arrived to collect her daughter, her husband indicated he would return to Oregon. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.