Found Deceased CA - Paul Miller, 51, Canadian missing in Joshua Tree National Park, San Bernardino Co., 13 Jul 2018

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whatsnext said:
It wouldnt baffle me so much if this had happened in a densely wooded area, with thick brush etc. But in the desert? Crazy story:confused:
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As crazy as Bill Ewasco’s disappearance in Joshua Tree a little over 8 years ago. They still haven’t found his remains even after hundreds of official and non official searches. This is an account of some of them:

Searching for Bill Ewasko
 
whatsnext said:
It wouldnt baffle me so much if this had happened in a densely wooded area, with thick brush etc. But in the desert? Crazy story:confused:
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Exactly. There are only limited reasons why he is missing. Listing the ones I can think of below.

-Missing on purpose and never went hiking

-Saw a hill with boulders and went off trail to explore them and fell and injured himself and cannot move on his own.

-Simply got lost on wrong path and is completely in wrong area which could explain why searchers have not found him.

-Got heat stroke and ventured off path to try to find shade

-Bit by rattle snake and the venom made him go dilerious and so he ventured completely off trail as the poison made him panic trying to get help.

-Other animal attack like mountain lion or a pack of hungry coyotes attacked him and drug him off trail.

With so many days gone now I actually hope he left on purpose and is fooling us because all the other options are not good news for him.

ETA - Thought of another possibility although I would think unlikely.
Some stranger was parked there at trailhead and abducted him at gunpoint to get money from him. If something like that happened then LE should see a bank withdrawel at ATM machine or something.
 
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Suglo said:
As crazy as Bill Ewasco’s disappearance in Joshua Tree a little over 8 years ago. They still haven’t found his remains even after hundreds of official and non official searches. This is an account of some of them:

Searching for Bill Ewasko
Click to expand...

You're right..sounds eerily familiar and just as crazyo_O
 
For anyone baffled by how you can get lost in JTNP, I am guessing you have never been to there. It *is* odd that there was no sign of him on the expected trail - but in the desert the trails are not nearly as obvious as they are in other parks in the US (there are no blazes on the rocks). I have spent a lot of time in the park (although never on this trail) and it is vast and open and everything looks the same once you are away from a road. It is completely believable to me that he has not been found. I think the wife was probably against the idea of him hiking and therefore quick to call in a search when he didn't return.
 
j_in_c said:
For anyone baffled by how you can get lost in JTNP, I am guessing you have never been to there. It *is* odd that there was no sign of him on the expected trail - but in the desert the trails are not nearly as obvious as they are in other parks in the US (there are no blazes on the rocks). I have spent a lot of time in the park (although never on this trail) and it is vast and open and everything looks the same once you are away from a road. It is completely believable to me that he has not been found. I think the wife was probably against the idea of him hiking and therefore quick to call in a search when he didn't return.
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I think I get your point, but how is it possible that 6 dog units didn't find something?
 
Tracking dogs work with their nose to the ground. They follow a trail of human scent -- typically heavy skin particles that fall quickly to the ground or onto bushes -- through any type of terrain. These dogs are not searching, they're following: Tracking dogs need a "last seen" starting point, an article with the person's scent on it to work from and an uncontaminated trail.

Air-scent dogs, on the other hand, work with their nose in the air. They pick up human scent anywhere in the vicinity -- they don't need a "last seen" starting point, an article to work from or a scent trail, and time is not an issue. Whereas tracking dogs follow a particular scent trail, air-scent dogs pick up a scent carried in air currents and seek out its origin -- the point of greatest concentration.

How Search-and-rescue Dogs Work
 
Air-scent dogs might be called in to find a missing hiker located "somewhere in a national park," an avalanche victim beneath 15 feet of snow or people buried under a collapsed building. Air-scenters might specialize in a particular type of search, such as:

  • Wilderness - Dogs search for human scent in a wilderness setting.
How Search-and-rescue Dogs Work
 
I used to have a good nosed dog. A Brittany Spaniel.

I learned a lot about how they use their nose to work and one thing I know for sure that on damp days or just after a light drizzle rain they smell odors the best.

The reason I am mentioning that is with the dry hot climate of the desert I do think it could be harder on dogs to find scents to track.
 
j_in_c said:
For anyone baffled by how you can get lost in JTNP, I am guessing you have never been to there. It *is* odd that there was no sign of him on the expected trail - but in the desert the trails are not nearly as obvious as they are in other parks in the US (there are no blazes on the rocks). I have spent a lot of time in the park (although never on this trail) and it is vast and open and everything looks the same once you are away from a road. It is completely believable to me that he has not been found. I think the wife was probably against the idea of him hiking and therefore quick to call in a search when he didn't return.
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Thanks for sharing personal experiences in the area. That is always most valuable when we have people that have been to the place.

From the pictures of the area I immediately think rattle snake country. I imagine there is a plentiful supply of rattle snakes out there.

Rattle snake encounter was one of the first things I have thought about out there as I live in midwest and have seen numerous copper head snakes this summer. More than past few summers.

My Question is have you ever encountered a rattle snake in Joshua Park while hiking?
 
MaryG12 said:
Does JTNP offer trail maps somewhere near the park entrance?
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There’s usually some kind of map at entrance and online. However, these don’t have detail enough for a hike like this. I like the National Geographic National Park maps. They’re easy to read and great for planning.

The hiker could also have printed out a USGS map or other from online.

You evidently don’t have to go past the ranger’s booth to get to this trailhead, so you’d have to have brought your own map.
 
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Would this location be a bad choice for an inexperienced hiker who was hiking alone?
Would it be common to start this hike without a map?
Do we know how far away this area was from where they were staying?
ETA
Of course, I don't know how experienced or inexperienced he was.
And i don't know how familiar he was with the area
 
j_in_c said:
For anyone baffled by how you can get lost in JTNP, I am guessing you have never been to there. It *is* odd that there was no sign of him on the expected trail - but in the desert the trails are not nearly as obvious as they are in other parks in the US (there are no blazes on the rocks). I have spent a lot of time in the park (although never on this trail) and it is vast and open and everything looks the same once you are away from a road. It is completely believable to me that he has not been found. I think the wife was probably against the idea of him hiking and therefore quick to call in a search when he didn't return.
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I totally agree. The photos reminded me how easy it would have been to end up off-trail. Run off creates pathways through the brush so you can’t tell the rain-trails from the real trail. So easy to make that mistake, and there had been thunderstorms in that area.

Also, the oasis would have had trails in every direction from people scrambling about.

You could so easily get turned around in there.
 
Dushi said:
Would this location be a bad choice for an inexperienced hiker who was hiking alone?
Would it be common to start this hike without a map?
Do we know how far away this area was from where they were staying?
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An appropriate choice for an inexperienced hiker would have been 7 am at the Mara Oasis Trail. Done by 8 am.
An experienced hiker would never do this trail without a map and 10 essentials. The trail looks easy, but there are so many opportunities for catastrophe.

Inexperienced hikers shouldn’t be hiking alone. IMO experienced solo hikers should be on well-traveled trails. The problem comes when the inexperienced believe they’re experienced. I hike a lot solo, and I can guarantee you I’d only hike that trail in the cooler season and if there were about 20 other cars in the parking lot, just because of how easy it might be to have an accident there.
 
RickshawFan said:
I totally agree. The photos reminded me how easy it would have been to end up off-trail. Run off creates pathways through the brush so you can’t tell the rain-trails from the real trail. So easy to make that mistake, and there had been thunderstorms in that area.

Also, the oasis would have had trails in every direction from people scrambling about.

You could so easily get turned around in there.
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Re BBM
So true and such an excellent point.

I can see how the desert hiking trails would be so much harder to follow than a mountainous forest type trail.
 
One thing though...

It seems that he was planning on hiking as he had hiking boots with him and that camelback pack.
Would that point to some experience.
I mean, they are not items i would take on vacation..
 
Dushi said:
One thing though...

It seems that he was planning on hiking as he had hiking boots with him and that camelback pack.
Would that point to some experience.
I mean, they are not items i would take on vacation..
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It may depend on what his wife means by “hiking boots.”

And depending on the Camelbak, he might only have had 1.5 liters of water. He would need at least 4x that for that trip IMO.

It seems he went on that vacation with the idea he would do that exact hike. He told a friend so, IIRC.
 
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