OAKVILLE, Wash. — Law enforcement released an age-progressed picture of Oakley Carlson, showing what she would look like as a 6-year-old.
Law enforcement believes the last time Oakley was seen alive was over two years ago, in February 2021. Oakley Carlson was reported missing later that year, in December.
The Grays Harbor County Sheriff's Office said due to the nature of Oakley's disappearance, a current photo of her was difficult to come by at around the time she was reported missing. Photos that were distributed during the initial search for her were from around her third birthday, which was about two years prior.
The picture was generated with the help of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
According to the NCMEC blog, forensic artists with their organization have generated more than 7,500 age progressions of long-term missing children. Case managers typically collect pictures of the child's biological parents and siblings to help with the age progression. Artists merge features in the reference photos paired with the knowledge they possess of how children's faces develop and age over time. The process can take more than eight hours for each photo.
Forensic artists digitally age a missing child's photo every two years until they turn 18, after which people's faces don't change as much. After that, artists digitally age the photos every five years.
According to detectives, Jordan Bowers and Andrew Carlson, Oakley's parents, have not cooperated with the search for their daughter.
Bowers and Andrew Carlson were previously arrested on charges unrelated to Oakley's disappearance. Bowers was charged with identity theft and both she and Andrew Carlson were charged and convicted of child endangerment when their other children were discovered to have meth in their systems.
