Missing Roseburg Man Found Crossing Border

Missing Roseburg Man Found Crossing Border

Border Patrol Officers in San Ysidro, California detained Mallory last night when he attempted to enter the US from Mexico. Mallorys name came up as a missing person in the border patrol computer system.

But Sheriffs Office spokesman Dwes Huston says there was no reason for authorities to hold him. Hutson says authorities could probably charge Mallory with a misdemeanor, though he didnt say for what, but the Sheriffs Office is focused on more pressing and local cases.

According to Hutson, search teams scoured the area around the location of Mallorys abandoned truck more than a year ago, including dive teams who found no sign of him. To find him now and get a statement would take more resources that are not worth it to us or the citizens of Douglas County.

Mallory told the border patrol he has been living in the San Diego area for the past eight months.

When Gotta Hava Java owner Michael Mallorys pickup was found over an embankment just four miles from his home back in March of 2008, speculation as to what happened began.

The Sheriffs office had searchers comb the area and the nearby river for signs of the missing 52 year old Glide resident. Detectives have been investigating the case for over a year and a half as people guessed about what may have happened.

When Gotta Hava Java closed in October of last year, it was facing serious issues. One location was about to be evicted from the space it occupied. Employees had been getting let go and one former staffer told KQEN things had really been going downhill.

The former employee, who spoke to KQEN on the condition of anonymity, said she believed Mallorys alleged truck accident near the river was planned and set up. She said the company had not been making some employer tax payments and was facing financial pressures on several fronts.

Mallory bought Gotta Hava Java from his father in 1999. Bert Mallory started the coffee drive-through in 1992. It eventually grew a half dozen locations. After Michaels disappearance, his wife Rochelle ran the business until the three remaining outlets were closed on October 21st of last year.

Rochelle and Bert Mallory met in court over a dispute in a lawsuit that had been filed against the company. The elder Mallory and his wife said Michael still owed them over $150,000 and had quit paying. An attorney for the younger Mallorys said the contract to buy the business had been verbally renegotiated in 2006, something the elder Mallorys denied.

At the time of that court hearing, Rochelle Mallory cried on the stand and said she did not know where her husband was.

Courtesy Kyle Bailey/KQEN Radio