Toby Eugene Anderson

Toby, circa 1986; Age-progression to age 50 (circa 2019); Almer "Billy" Wright, Toby's uncle

  • Missing Since 09/01/1986
  • Missing From Selma, Oregon
  • Classification Endangered Missing
  • Sex Male
  • Race White
  • Date of Birth 12/18/1969 (54)
  • Age 16 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'5 - 5'7, 150 - 170 pounds
  • Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Brown hair, green eyes.

Details of Disappearance

Toby was last seen in Selma, Oregon sometime in September or October 1986. (Many agencies give the date of disappearance as August 22, 1988.) At the time of his disappearance, due to family problems he had been staying back and forth among different relatives. They heard different stories as to what happened to him, including that he had run away or that he died in a car wreck.

His cousin, Denise McGarity, began investigating his disappearance in 2018, and discovered that Toby's paternal uncle, Almer W. "Billy" Wright, is the last person he is known to have lived with. He attended Illinois Valley High School. When McGarity wrote to Wright about the case, he stated Toby had been caught trying to rape one of his daughters and had hidden in a chicken coop afterwards. Wright found him there and drove him away from the property in his car.

Where they went after that is unclear and Wright told inconsistent stories about it. At one point he said he dropped Toby off at either the juvenile hall or the police department in Cave Junction, Oregon and left him there. Another time, he said Toby was probably dead, and if he died he was killed by being struck in the back of the head, and that his body was buried on a property in California. Other family members told McGarity that after Toby went missing, Wright had threatened them, saying that they would end up on a hill like Toby.

It is worth noting that, at the time of Toby's disappearance, Wright was involved with the drug trade, and he also has a history of domestic violence. Several months after Toby went missing, Wright took his family and moved to Arkansas. He claimed he had to take care of his sick mother, but his mother was not sick. He is currently in prison for rape and child molestation and is supposed to be released in September 2021. A photo of him is posted with this case summary.

The circumstances of Toby's disappearance are very unclear. Contrary to some of the rumors within the family, there is no evidence that he died in a car accident, and the police stated if Toby had been dropped off at the police station or juvenile hall as Wright claimed, a report would have been filed and Toby's parents would have been contacted.

McGarity and law enforcement have been unable to find any indication that Toby was alive after 1986. McGarity believes her cousin was murdered on the night of his disappearance and that his body is buried somewhere on the five-acre property where he lived with his uncle. His case remains unsolved.

Investigating Agency

  • Oregon State Police 800-442-2068

Updated 2 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated October 19, 2020; date of disappearance corrected, age-progression added, details of disappearance updated.