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Deputies follow Allyson Watterson tips back to North Plains

Washington County deputies returned to the North Plains area to look for Allyson Watterson, Jan. 8, 2020. (WCSO)

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Deputies were back in the North Plains area a week-and-a-half after suspending official search efforts for Allyson Waterson.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were north of North Plains on Wednesday evening “following up on some new tips and leads we received as part of the ongoing investigation.”

However, KOIN 6 News learned investigators had cleared the scene a short time later after finding “nothing new to report.”

On Dec. 28 — after five days of unsuccessful searching — deputies announced they were suspending active search efforts for Watterson pending new information.

“To be clear, we will only search when we have something that has given us a reason to search,” said Incident Manager Tony Morris at the time. “What that takes is something in our search area that is driving decision-making.”

The nature of the tips that led deputies back to the North Plains area on Wednesday night is unclear.

An undated family picture of Allyson Watterson. (Courtesy: Watterson family)

The search for Allyson

Allyson was last seen around noon on Sunday, Dec. 22 near Old Pumpkin Ridge Road in the North Plains area. She disappeared sometime between Sunday and Monday.

Her boyfriend Benjamin Garland was the last person to see her. It’s still unclear why they were in the area. Search and Rescue teams looked for five days and scoured 1,600 acres before the search was suspended.

There will be a candlelight vigil on Friday, Jan. 10 in North Plains to bring awareness to the continued search for Allyson. Volunteers are also looking to schedule another day to come out and try again.