Nika Bartoo-Smith
Underscore Native News+ ICT
Four years ago, Lacy Murillo answered a call from an unknown number only to be informed by a detective with the Lane County Sheriff’s Department that her brother, Manuel Bayya, was missing. Family and community members are organizing a rally in his honor on March 27 at 11:30 a.m. in Eugene, Oregon.
“Manuel going missing really changed my life,” Murillo said. “I got clean and sober a month after he went missing. It just made me see things different and him going missing made me crazy. I used to be numb, but I couldn’t do enough drugs to be numb to that.”
Bayya, a citizen of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, was 47 years old when he went missing on March 17, 2022. A father of two, he loved hunting, fishing and riding his motorcycle.
“He was fun. He was the life of the party,” Murillo said. “He liked making people laugh. And he just had the best smile.”
Bayya looked out for Murillo as his little sister. She remembers many summer days tagging along with him and his friends to the river. She thinks fondly about him coming home with the salmon he caught, proud to show her his accomplishment.
Bayya was the protective older brother, always there to look out for her. When she was in grade school a kid in her class was bullying her and Bayya, eight years older than her, made sure that kid knew not to mess with Murillo. She had a big brother on her side.
Now, Murillo is Bayya’s biggest advocate, making sure that the search for him is not forgotten.
Bayya was last seen in Elmira, Oregon on March 7, 2022. At the time of his disappearance, he commonly rode a red motorcycle, according to a flash alert from the Lane County Sheriff’s Office. Bayya is 5’10” with brown hair and brown eyes.
Since Bayya went missing, not a day has passed that Murillo is not doing something to search for or remember her brother, she says. She actively communicates with detectives on his case, posts regularly on her TikTok about Bayya and often wears a shirt with his face on it.
On March 27, 2026, Murillo and other community members are holding a rally in his honor in Eugene, where they plan to march to the Lane County Sheriff’s Office. They are asking participants to meet at 11:30 a.m. at four different parks: Skinner Park if your name starts with letters A though F; Washington-Jefferson Park if your name starts with letters G through L; Alton Baker Park if you name starts with letters M through R; and Charnel Mulligan Park if your name starts with letters S through Z.
“We’re just keeping Manuel’s name out there. Because if somebody knows something, I’m just hoping that they come forward,” Murillo said. “We’re just bringing awareness to his case and letting the sheriff’s office know that he matters. We’re not gonna stop. I won’t stop.”
Since Bayya went missing, Murillo has been looking for answers.
About eight months ago, Detective Brandon Rich at the Lane County Sheriff’s Office took over as lead on Bayya’s case. He said one of the first things he did was contact Murillo.
“His sister’s been super helpful. One, just getting me in touch with people. Two, keeping his name out there,” Rich said. “Hopefully people come forward and give us tips or information if they haven’t. But, it’s definitely still top of my list and we’re still actively working [the case] so I can’t make a ton of comments about it.”
He urges anyone with any information at all to come forward, whether that be first hand information, second hand information, or even rumors.
Even though Murillo has been in regular contact with the detective on this case, she still worries that her brother’s case has not been taken as seriously because he has a criminal record, having been in and out of prison.
“I feel like, because of my brother’s history and his record, they just feel like they’re doing society a favor or something,” Murillo said.
She continues to search for answers, as does the Lane County Sheriff’s Department, according to Rich.
“We just want the truth,” Murillo said. “And we want to bring him home, however that means. He deserves that and his daughters deserve that.”
Anyone with information regarding Bayya’s whereabouts should contact the Lane County Sheriff’s Office at 541-682-4150 opt. 1.
To pass on information directly to Detective Rich, call or text him at (541) 520-6683.
This story is co-published by Underscore Native News and ICT, a news partnership that covers Indigenous communities in the Pacific Northwest.