Last month, Mark Bosworth—a former adjunct professor of geology at PSU—disappeared while volunteering at Cycle Oregon. Bosworth had been acting confused and disoriented during the time leading up to his disappearance, according to other event volunteers and participants.
Currently, his family and doctor believe that the cancer Bosworth has battled over the last few years has returned, and may have spread to his brain. This theory would explain his behavior leading up to his disappearance, and why he hasn’t contacted his family or headed home.
Bosworth was last seen in Riddle, Ore., on Sept. 16, 2011. There are several speculations as to where he may be currently—some reports place him in Canada, while others indicate that he may be in Idaho.
For five days after Bosworth’s disappearance, police and family combed the Riddle area hoping to find him. Now, all police-directed searches have been called off.
Bosworth’s family has been fervently searching for him. They have set up Twitter and Facebook accounts related to their search, and they established the website FindMark.org.
According to a media release by FindMark.org, “No concrete clues have been reported in the search for Mark Bosworth, but family, friends and even strangers remain vigilant in their efforts to raise awareness about his disappearance.”
Over the past week, volunteers have been calling hospitals all over the country in hopes of finding Bosworth.
The case has attracted media attention and has even gained the support of Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, who posted to his followers on Twitter: “Please RT [re-tweet]…Fellow cancer survivor lost – this is a MEDICAL EMERGENCY…”
Family members describe Bosworth as a musician, role model and explorer. Bosworth, a two-time cancer survivor, maintained a blog about his experiences battling the disease. His last blog post, dated April 9, 2011, celebrated one year of being cancer-free.
“I love my wife, I am shopping for a new bike, and going to Costa Rica to learn Spanish, and my youngest child is graduating from college, and…Well, now my life is boring and just normal,” Bosworth wrote.
Bosworth’s wife Julie has posted a statement asking the community for help and explaining the dire nature of the situation: “One of you will see Mark and bring him home to his daughters Kelly and Claire and to me so we can put our arms around him and care for him.”
Bosworth is 54, with gray hair and blue eyes. He is 6 feet tall and was last seen wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, black bicycling pants, a yellow baseball cap and a blue Cycle Oregon wristband. Bosworth may be disoriented.
Those with tips have been asked to call the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Tip Line at 541-957-2099, and refer to Douglas County Sheriff’s Office case #11-3534, or just MARK BOSWORTH. Those who think they have seen Bosworth have been asked by his family to call 911.