Reward fund for missing 5-year-old Oakville girl exceeds $20,000

A reward for information regarding missing 5-year-old Oakville girl Oakley Carlson has exceeded $20,000, according to the fund’s organizers.

The reward is for credible information that leads to Oakley’s whereabouts or for information that leads to the arrest of anyone involved in her disappearance.

Those with information are encouraged to call the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office non-emergency line at 360-533-8765, Detective Sgt. Paul Logan at 360-964-1729 or CrimeStoppers at 800-222-8477.

Oakley was reported missing on Dec. 6, 2021, though the last credible sighting of the 5-year-old was 10 months earlier, on Feb. 10.

Oakley’s biological parents, Jordan Bowers and Andrew Carlson, are suspects in her disappearance. Both were recently convicted in Grays Harbor County Superior Court on unrelated charges and are serving jail sentences. Those charges were related to the couple exposing their other young children to methamphetamine.

Oakley’s former foster parents, Erik and Jamie Jo Hiles, started the reward fund. The Hiles’ efforts are aided by the Light the Way Missing Persons Advocacy Project, which describes itself as “a small, private team of individuals who advocate for families of the missing and attempt to locate missing people by using various open source investigation techniques.”

More information on Oakley’s case and a link for donations can be found on the Justice for Oakley website.

Organizers’ next goal is to raise the reward fund to at least $25,000 by May 25, which is National Missing Children’s Day.

The reward expires on Dec. 6, 2022. In lieu of the reward not being claimed or extended, the funds would be used at the discretion of Erik and Jamie Jo Hiles. Examples include providing a service and headstone for Oakley, setting up a college fund or scholarship in Oakley’s name, or setting up a trust fund for Oakley’s siblings.