In January 2002, 12-year-old Ashley Pond disappeared en route to her bus stop in Oregon City, near Weaver's residence.

The disappearances received international media attention, and were profiled on various television programs, including Unsolved Mysteries.

Police investigated allegations of abuse in 1981, but Multnomah County prosecutors decided not to pursue charges because Weaver had enlisted in the armed services and would be leaving Portland.

[3][6] In 1981, Weaver's father murdered 18-year-old Air Force recruit Robert Radford and his 23-year-old girlfriend Barbara Levoy, whom he also raped.

On June 15, 1986, Weaver attacked the teenaged daughters of a friend in Fairfield, California, striking one of the girls — 15-year-old Jennifer Ordonoa — with a block of concrete.

[13] In August 2001, Pond accused Weaver of attempting to rape her at his home, and reported the incident to police; law enforcement did not formally file charges against him.

[14] On the morning of January 9, 2002, Pond left her home at the Newell Creek Village apartments to walk to the nearby bus stop; she never arrived.

[16] The dance team, of which both girls were members, organized a fundraiser to help assist the search for Pond, which they scheduled for March 23, 2002.

[15] After Gaddis' disappearance, the FBI instated a task force to search for the girls; FBI spokeswoman Beth Anne Steele stated during a press interview: "There is a growing belief that the cases are related, and while there's a slight hope that they have run away, there is a growing belief that there was some kind of criminal activity involved.

KATU television news reporter Anna Song conducted an interview with Weaver prior to his arrest, during which he stood on top of the concrete slab where Ashley Pond was buried.

"[16] Portland Tribune reporter Jim Redden got two tips early on – one from Linda O'Neal, a private investigator and a relative of Pond – which prompted him to interview Weaver.

[16] Weaver was arrested for the attempted sexual assault, and law enforcement subsequently initiated a warrant to investigate his property.

[16] Pond's stepmother, who had suspected Weaver in both disappearances, erected a sign next to the concrete slab on his property which read: "Dig Me Up.

[13] That day, FBI agents discovered Gaddis' remains inside an empty microwave box in a storage shed behind Weaver's home.

[23][21] On August 25, the remains of Pond were unearthed from beneath the concrete slab in Weaver's backyard, where they had been stored in a 55-gallon barrel.

[26] Journalist Linda O'Neal [clarification needed] went on to co-write a book about the case, entitled The Missing Girls, published in 2006.