Michael Edward Golleher

Michael Edward Golleher was a 20-year-old man with his life ahead of him in the spring of 1973. A white male, he stood five feet, ten inches tall, weighing about 160 pounds, with shoulder-length brown hair and brown eyes. On the last night of his life, he was dressed in layers against the cool Oregon air: a brown, red, and green plaid hip jacket over a red, black, and tan plaid shirt, with grey corduroy pants. His future was abruptly stolen in a moment of violence that has remained a mystery for over five decades.

In the earliest hours of Saturday, April 28, 1973, the sound of a single gunshot cut through the quiet of a residential neighborhood in Clackamas County. At approximately 12:15 a.m., residents near the intersection of Southeast Oatfield Road and Southeast Maple Street heard the shot. Shortly before 12:30 a.m., a passing motorist came upon a startling scene at that very intersection. A man was standing over Michael Golleher’s body, which lay in the street.

The witness, whose name has not been publicly released, was driving through the intersection when their headlights illuminated the figure standing over Michael. Caught in the sudden glare, the unidentified male immediately turned and fled the scene, disappearing into the darkness before any identifying details could be made out. When first responders arrived, they found Michael had been shot once in the back. The motive for the shooting and the identity of the person seen standing over him remain unknown.

The Clackamas County Sheriff's Office launched a homicide investigation, but the case quickly grew cold. The primary lead was the motorist's fleeting glimpse of the man at the scene, but without a detailed description, a suspect could not be identified or apprehended. The sudden and seemingly random nature of the crime left investigators with very little physical evidence to work with. The case has been reviewed over the years, but no new leads have emerged to break the decades of silence.

The 1970s were a difficult time for law enforcement in the Pacific Northwest, with several high-profile unsolved murders and disappearances in the region. Michael's case is one of several cold cases from that era that remain on the books for the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office, a collection of lingering tragedies for families who have waited years, and now generations, for answers. Each case represents a unique loss and a puzzle that detectives have been unable to solve.

Decades have passed without justice for Michael Golleher. No arrests have ever been made, and no persons of interest have ever been publicly named. The case remains an open and active cold case with the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office. Investigators hope that with the passage of time, someone who knows what happened that night might finally be compelled to come forward. Alliances shift, and secrets become harder to keep as years go by.

The investigation into Michael Edward Golleher's murder is ongoing as of 2024. The Clackamas County Sheriff's Office continues to seek information that could lead to a breakthrough. Anyone with information about the shooting at Southeast Oatfield and Southeast Maple on April 28, 1973, is urged to contact the agency's tip line. Even the smallest detail could be the missing piece that finally brings closure to Michael's loved ones and solves a crime that has haunted the community for half a century.