Deputies continue search for missing Thurston County grandmother

YELM, Wash. – Gayle Doyle has been missing for more than six weeks.

Thurston County sheriff’s deputies said officers used cadaver dogs to search several parcels in the county, but so far no new clues have surfaced.

Doyle’s family told Q13 News that deputies searched their vacation property near Yelm early Thursday morning, searching areas where Gayle and the man charged with her murder may have spent time together.

Longtime family friend Patty Harvey said the property along the Deschutes River has been in Doyle’s family for decades.

“They’re a really tight-knit family,” she said. “Closure would be nice.”

Doyle was last seen June 2 with 66-year-old James Stidd at an Olympia Tavern, according to investigators.

Police suspect Stidd had something to do with her disappearance and found traces of Gail’s hair and blood inside his home.

“The evidence that we found at his residence strongly suggests that he’s responsible for her disappearance,” said sheriff's Sgt. Carla Carter.

Harvey hopes deputies find Doyle soon so her family can find peace.

“They had to check every possibility, every lead. That would have to be here (including the family's property), you know?” said Harvey.

Stidd is being held in jail on $2 million bail after pleading not guilty to second-degree murder and firearms charges.

His trial is scheduled for mid-August.