OR KAYLEE BIRT: Missing from Fields, OR (while on road trip from Oregon to Iowa) - 4 April 2025 - Age 29

Female road-tripper, 29, vanishes without trace on eerie landscape in one of America's remotest places​

Fears are growing for a young female road-tripper who vanished without a trace while traversing an eerie landscape in one of the United States' most remote places.

Kaylee Birt disappeared on April 4, sparking a huge multi-agency search using helicopters, horses and K9 units.

The 29-year-old was last seen leaving The Fields Station restaurant in Fields along with her car.

But on Sunday the golden colored 2008 Chevy Malibu with Oregon plate GW21073 was discovered abandoned with no sign of Birt.

The hiker was travelling from Klamath Falls in Oregon to Iowa when she disappeared.

Police said her phone last pinged in a remote location which they had been forensically combing.

But they stressed the isolation of the barren area means that they cannot rely full on the cellphone data.

No further trace has been found of Birt, despite days of searching in at times brutal conditions and encounters with wildcats.

Fields, where Birt was last seen, sits in Harney County, an exceptionally remote and sparse area of natural beauty in Eastern Oregon that is one of the most isolated areas on the west coast.

The county measures 10,300 square miles but is home to just 7,500 people, with vast expanses of empty high desert sitting between its few small settlements.

Temperatures the night she vanished dipped below in Fields, with the mercury likely to have plummeted much further out in the exposed wilderness.

On Thursday Harney County Sheriff's Office announced it was calling off the search, despite failing to locate her.

'While active operations will conclude, Kaylee will remain listed as a missing person in the law enforcement data system,' a statement read.

Very little information given so impossible to know what to think. They dont say if anything was found in her car for items or evidence. They don't say how they know she was headed to IA nor why she was. The remarks below the article are interesting but could be meaningless.

FACEBOOK: Finding Kaylee Birt


History and facts of Kaylee’s last interactions:

Thursday, April 3, 2025:
• Kaylee met Lindsey at lunch, saying that she wanted to go visit her nana (grandma Sheri) in Shenandoah, Iowa. Kaylee and Lindsey discussed different flight options vs driving to Iowa. Kaylee left, saying she would talk with Nana about the options.
• At 16:35 pacific time, Kaylee texted Lindsey saying she would be back in a few days, depends on when she gets there.
• Kaylee called Lindsey at 19:40 pacific time, saying she was at a quarter tank of gas in Denio Junction, NV. She said the pumps were locked/closed for the night. Lindsey encouraged Kaylee to drive back to Klamath Falls, OR. Kaylee agreed. At 20:11 pacific time, Kaylee texted to say she was going to try to make it (to Winnemucca). Despite multiple attempts at calling/texting, Kaylee did not respond to Lindsey again.
• Kaylees mother speaks to at midnight. Kaylee is lost and scared.

Friday, April 4, 2025
• Kaylees Nana received a phone call from Kaylee from a local rancher’s phone north of Fields, OR around 8:30 am pacific time. Kaylee tells Nana her phone reset, isn’t working, she is out of gas. Local rancher provides Kaylee with 3 gallons of gas, points her towards the Fields General Store. Kaylee leaves and comes back shortly, did not make it to Fields General Store. Local rancher provides her with additional 3 gallons of gas. They caravan to the Fields General Store. Local rancher is concerned about Kaylee and contacts local authorities.
• Kaylee makes it to the Fields General Store, pays for gas with cash, fills up. Cameras at the general store show her leaving south on Hwy 205.
• Kaylee’s Nana contacts Lindsey. Together they start contacting law enforcement agencies: Harney County Sheriff (Oregon), Nevada State Police, Utah State Police, Ada County Sheriff (Idaho), Klamath County Sheriff (Oregon), Oregon State Police.
• Sometime between 8:56 and 11:39, Kaylee’s phone stops going straight to voicemail and will actually ring through to voicemail.
• Around 1600 pacific time, Harney County Sheriff gets the authorization to ping Kaylee’s phone. Phone pinged off Buckskin cell tower, located on Whitehorse Ranch Road, between Fields, OR and Hwy 95 to the east.
• Ping was dated as the next day, meaning the ping is unreliable. This was the last tower her phone was connected to.
• Sheriff deputies were in the area driving the main roads this day. Community members were notified and asked to keep an eye out on their property for her car.

Saturday, April 5, 2025
• Kaylee was officially listed as a missing person.
• Search and rescue efforts started, with Harney County and community members assisting.
• Denio Junction (NV) gas station’s cameras do not show Kaylee as having made it that far south (24 miles from Fields).

Sunday, April 6, 2025
• Search and rescue efforts underway. Air support from Oregon State Police (OSP) airplane, K9 search dog from Grant County, Harney County, Lake County, and community members on horseback, foot, and ATV.
• Kaylee’s car is found around 1415 pacific time. Car found on Trout Creek Mountain Road. Road had washed out, Kaylee had stopped, car was drivable. Items in the car: phone, keys, wallet. Car had half a tank of gas.
• K9 was on her scent, footprints visible around the car and in conjunction with dog’s path.
• Search continued until approx midnight when the terrain turned unsafe to continue in the dark.

Monday, April 7, 2025
• Search and rescue continued again. OSP plane unavailable, plane from Reno, NV unable to fly due to 60mph winds. K9 dog from Lake County on her scent. Drone from Harney County and second drone with thermal from individual in the area. Harney County, Lake County, local ranchers on horseback and ATV.

Tuesday, April 8, 2025
• Search and rescue continued again. OSP plane available for air support. K9 still in use however did not hit on the same scents as yesterday. Harney County, Lake County, Malheur County, and local ranchers on horseback and UTV participated in search. Drone with thermal in use.

Wednesday, April 9, 2025
• Helicopter from Washoe County, NV assisting today. OSP plane assisting today. Dogs not available. Harney County, Malheur County, ranchers assisting with search.

Thursday, April 10, 2025
• Scaled back search, 2-3 people on foot.
• Search suspended.

Hmm. Withholding/not forming an opinion. Suspect there's more than I know.

There is a lot in that.

Out of all of it, this was odd to me for just one of a few things.

Denio Junction (NV) gas station’s cameras do not show Kaylee as having made it that far south (24 miles from Fields)

It makes no sense to me, maybe I am just tired.

Only other thing I'll say is that it doesn't sound very well thought out for a 29 year old, and gas was an issue from the start more than once.

GrandmaBear said:

Very little information given so impossible to know what to think. They dont say if anything was found in her car for items or evidence. They don't say how they know she was headed to IA nor why she was. The remarks below the article are interesting but could be meaningless.

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I wonder if her car was locked even? It doesn't give a lot of info, I agree. Was she camping on this trip, for example. She clearly had her phone with her if they could track it but they say the accuracy in that remote area due to cell tower coverage is unreliable.

Well her phone was in her car according to this from upthread. Weird huh?

From the Sunday entry -

"Items in the car: phone, keys, wallet. Car had half a tank of gas."

The road was washed out too, it says.

I took a trip with a friend of mine in 2019. I think it was? To eastern Oregon. It gets very very remote out there. We had a problem with her battery cable breaking off her battery terminal and thankfully a man and a woman in a truck randomly came by and he was able to give it up enough for us to get to John Day. We didn’t see anybody else on that road that day. Cell phones are off more than they are on due to poor coverage. I’ll be honest, there is no way I would drive out there by myself unless I had the most stellar of reliable vehicles and plenty of money and gas and provisions. (Attached are pics from our journey)

Why didn’t she just fly?

Sounds like the poor girl was in way over her head with this trip.

That is a long trip.

Tresir said:

I wonder if her car was locked even? It doesn't give a lot of info, I agree. Was she camping on this trip, for example. She clearly had her phone with her if they could track it but they say the accuracy in that remote area due to cell tower coverage is unreliable.

Well her phone was in her car according to this from upthread. Weird huh?

From the Sunday entry -

"Items in the car: phone, keys, wallet. Car had half a tank of gas."

The road was washed out too, it says.

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Yeah. And something about even the phone ping giving wrong date or some such. Never heard of anything like that before. All kind of odd but yeah, now she had gas, her stuff in her car. Very clearly not enough told us here to form an opinion, at least not for me.

A few of the comments under the one article were interesting. I tried to open it up to see more comments but it didn't work. Could have been troll types though. And they aren't fact so didn't quote or use them. Hard to say.

She is 29 not 19... Had gas and issues almost immediately. Friend told her to turn around and come back. Nothing seems very well thought out. I suspect there is more to this story is the only thing I've decided, and perhaps it is being talked of elsewhere.

No hint unless I missed it of why she was going to Iowa. How long she planned to take to get there. How long she planned to be there.

YES that is a LONG trip from Oregon to Iowa.

I work with someone I've talked with a few times recently. She just went from MN to CA and drove. To see her parents. She told me she does it in two days but it is a ton of hours of driving a day and you have to be the type to want to do that. I think she had a week, not 100 percent on that but close to that, she wouldn't have had much more if any extra days. She told me her mom wasn't thrilled as driving lost time to spend with them. My point is 2 days to get there, 2 days back leaves three at most seeing them. And that is with POWER driving meaning on a mission to get there and not stopping to go hiking on the way, etc. All interstate mainly.

Personally? I would NEVER do that. I don't like to travel that way. Now if I had a month? I might drive but I'd stop off and such. You certainly don't go to do such either unprepared at 29 years old.
A similar cross country trip. She is back safely. She is an adult.

I don't know what my point is here but how long did she have, why was she going and how prepared was she? Doesn't sound as if she was very prepared.

And if you are traveling alone as a female, I'd say you do it differently as well and take precautions. This coworker and I talked of this too just recently. She isn't young, she's done it before, she knows. You don't take backroads or chances of no gas station and so on. She knows how to look out for herself.

Anyhow again I don't know what my point really is here other than to say maybe this isn't the 70s.

I guess too I wonder about locale. Did she have to be going this way or could she have gotten on say an interstate?

There is MORE to this is the only thing I really am taking away from it right now.

GrandmaBear said:

No hint unless I missed it of why she was going to Iowa. How long she planned to take to get there. How long she planned to be there.

YES that is a LONG trip from Oregon to Iowa.

I work with someone I've talked with a few times recently. She just went from MN to CA and drove. To see her parents. She told me she does it in two days but it is a ton of hours of driving a day and you have to be the type to want to do that. I think she had a week, not 100 percent on that but close to that, she wouldn't have had much more if any extra days. She told me her mom wasn't thrilled as driving lost time to spend with them. My point is 2 days to get there, 2 days back leaves three at most seeing them. And that is with POWER driving meaning on a mission to get there and not stopping to go hiking on the way, etc. All interstate mainly.

Personally? I would NEVER do that. I don't like to travel that way. Now if I had a month? I might drive but I'd stop off and such. You certainly don't go to do such either unprepared at 29 years old.
A similar cross country trip. She is back safely. She is an adult.

I don't know what my point is here but how long did she have, why was she going and how prepared was she? Doesn't sound as if she was very prepared.

And if you are traveling alone as a female, I'd say you do it differently as well and take precautions. This coworker and I talked of this too just recently. She isn't young, she's done it before, she knows. You don't take backroads or chances of no gas station and so on. She knows how to look out for herself.

Anyhow again I don't know what my point really is here other than to say maybe this isn't the 70s.

I guess too I wonder about locale. Did she have to be going this way or could she have gotten on say an interstate?

There is MORE to this is the only thing I really am taking away from it right now.

Click to expand...

She was going to see her grandmother.

On a side note, my max traveling time in a car is 8 hours.

So when she was in Denio Junction, she told a friend she was going to try to make it to Winnemucca on a 1/4 tank of gas. Instead of going south, she went north to Fields on 205.

RoundPeg said:

She was going to see her grandmother.

On a side note, my max traveling time in a car is 8 hours.

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Lol 7 to 8 for me, I prefer 7. Heck if I had my way, I'd have time and it would be more like 5. IF SOMEONE was dying or it was some emergency of course I'd fly the next flight and if couldn't, drive straight through (these days dont think I could drive though but before these injuries), of course I would. For normal planned travel though? No. I hate traveling like that even if there are two or three drivers to change off, I don't want to travel like that for that many hours in a vehicle. It is one big difference I and my ex had, they, his family too, are almost anal about travel with set things and that's just how it is. I won't go into it but I hate traveling that way. It makes for bad trips imo.

I think I did see she was going to see grandma. Been on Daybell so much didn't recall but I do know there is a lot missing.

Let's just saying one had a dying grandma, you'd fly ideally. If a birthday and had time maybe you'd drive.

Not totally immersed here yet and don't know enough but I am wondering some of the details. She had gas issues off the bat. I recall one trip where we back roaded in South Dakota and it was getting to where it was like is there ever, ever going to be a gas station...? Seriously. Not the main area most go out there we were to the north in reservation area initially and just never thought of the idea there wouldn't be some small town with a gas station and I checked and there were small towns but believe it or not, the one I figured on it was closed. We finally did find one and boy it wasn't any convenience store and it was many, many miles. However, I would never travel that way by myself. NEVER. The hub was with. Only time ever I think can I even relate to something like going on some long trip and not having or being able to get gas in short order. We were simply in an area where things still were few and far between and not open 24/7.

I guess what is missing is knowing more about her. I'd think she'd be better prepared for a cross country trip AND wanting to get there. Just not enough info here.

RoundPeg said:

So when she was in Denio Junction, she told a friend she was going to try to make it to Winnemucca on a 1/4 tank of gas. Instead of going south, she went north to Fields on 205.

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at some point I need to reread this short thread and map it I think. I know the friend told her to come back. but I don't have straight where she was, where she was from and the direction she went.

all I know is it isn't adding up or making sense.

i'm not the best mapper. i know how to look up a distance and some things but not the best at knowing how to link and so on. so at first i thought denio junction was where she had been or was Fields.

i know someone had to give her gas.

just not up on it enough yet i guess.

GrandmaBear said:

i know someone had to give her gas.

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From timeline post

SheWhoMustNotBeNamed said:

• Kaylees Nana received a phone call from Kaylee from a local rancher’s phone north of Fields, OR around 8:30 am pacific time. Kaylee tells Nana her phone reset, isn’t working, she is out of gas. Local rancher provides Kaylee with 3 gallons of gas, points her towards the Fields General Store. Kaylee leaves and comes back shortly, did not make it to Fields General Store. Local rancher provides her with additional 3 gallons of gas. They caravan to the Fields General Store. Local rancher is concerned about Kaylee and contacts local authorities.

Click to expand...

This is an unofficial map that a friend of the family created so people can get a general understanding of the geography.

GrandmaBear said:

at some point I need to reread this short thread and map it I think. I know the friend told her to come back. but I don't have straight where she was, where she was from and the direction she went.

all I know is it isn't adding up or making sense.

i'm not the best mapper. i know how to look up a distance and some things but not the best at knowing how to link and so on. so at first i thought denio junction was where she had been or was Fields.

i know someone had to give her gas.

just not up on it enough yet i guess.

Click to expand...

I'm just always curious when it comes to traveling.

The timeline says she initially was thinking about going back to Klamath Falls (home) on a quarter tank of gas. That could be why she changed to a different city. She was a bit over 200 miles from home with about 100 miles worth of gas left in her car.

2008 Impala has a 16 gallon tank with around 420 miles on a full tank.

SheWhoMustNotBeNamed said:

From timeline post

Click to expand...

THANK you. I read all that was it yesterday, not sure but couldn't recall specifically. Just not in me today to review things and take in. I forgot also that he contacted authorties and was concerned... So LE was called...

I'd like to point out (because I just realized this) she encountered the rancher and also left the Fields gas station the morning after she talked to her friend. She ended up on that road in broad daylight.