Found Deceased CA - Ian Powers, 32, Levi's Stadium, 49ers game, Santa Clara, 12 Nov 2018

Looking at this picture , it appears that there are street lights...is the area well lit at night?

Is this where it's also been hazy and smoky, from the fires. Can you see where you're going/walking?
Thx.

We went to Northern California for Thanksgiving. Driving up there from L.A., I could not believe the amount of damage just north of Sherman Oaks. Unbelievable. (We were also amazed by the homes and businesses spared by the heroic efforts of the firefighters!!)

We then ran into smoke and fog that I've rarely seen on that drive. And we finally came out of it around Monterrey.

So, I can easily see where someone at this game could easily lose their way in these conditions.
 
Last edited:
My thing is.. why walk so far away to pee? Its not like he was walking back to their hotel room... They were staying in Concord. This just doesn't make sense. I feel so bad for his loved ones.

Some believe walking will help sober an inebriated person. I've heard this over and over. He may have been thinking this.
 
I know I'm late to say this, but I wanted to say about the girlfriend leaving with the kids on a bus....she may have realized (with him giving nonsensical responses and comments) that he was a lot drunker than she initially thought, so she decided the best option would be for them to go on the bus. Especially with it getting so late and the kids needing to sleep, he could sober up while they settle down for the night. Just a thought.
 
It looks to me, from the map, he would’ve had to cross the freeway? Are there pedestrian bridges???
Or, are they saying he possibly “fell in” somewhere along the creek area and the current or river flow carried him out???
It appears to me he went in the wrong direction of the car and along way from the stadium??
Not trying to contradict the facts presented or re-hash, the map just raised more questions for me too.
I just hate this for his family, it seems so out of character for him, and just tragic.

The map in that KGO video ("timeline" but it had no times!) shows just one of many possible routes. KGO chose a mostly/all surface street route. Each of the 2 creeks & 1 river have walkways along them. There are footbridges across the creeks at places, and of course the surface streets cross. The surface streets generally cross under the freeway. The end point of the KGO map was the boat ramp, not 1 mile from it. Hint: Google maps & street view can show you all this.

And, yes, he did go the wrong way, and I can't believe even a drunk person (and I don't know that Ian was drunk) would confuse marshy wetlands with the streets & buildings along the route to his car. Either he was coerced in some way or he was intentionally not trying to get to the car. He was far out of his way when he encountered the Guadalupe River (wherever he first got to it).

Another newscast indicated his wallet was on him, but not his phone. There was no mention of the shoes or keys. The SJ police indicated there were a lot of unanswered questions that perhaps only Ian could know the answer. The San Jose police speculated he may have drowned trying to cross Guadalupe River, but the Santa Clara police's map's legend shows "Approx. recovery" as in the Salt Pond A8. That location is inconsistent with a statement in the press release that a group of duck hunters spotted the body about 1 mile north of the boat ramp. I suspect the Santa Clara's police map is wrong about where the recovery occurred, or I misunderstand the legend.

The location listed for the last phone contact was Great American Parkway at Old Ironsides. The car was parked further south than I thought. (G.maps indicate the GF would have to leave before 10:30 to catch the last bus & get home at 1:15.)

I was wrong in thinking that Salt Pond A8 did not share water with the Guadalupe River. As Spellbound pointed out above, they cut a Notch with gates to let water flow from the salt pond into the river, a bit south of Alvis0. It appears the gates are closed for half the year, but are currently open.

If one knew the salinity of the Guadalupe River at different locations at different times of the tide, that could put a southern limit at where he might have drowned, based on the time. On Monday night, the low tide in Alviso was was at -0.1 feet MLLW at 11:03PM, while the next high tide was 7.7 feet at 5:31AM (sunrise at 6:47). (From then until his body was found, the tidal movement was less than average.) As I said earlier, the flow rate of the fresh water was 31 cu ft/sec.

To me, it is a shame he didn't know how to swim. IMO, everyone should. It might not have saved him, but then it might.

Also, the smoke from the fires as of that Monday night was not so bad as to cause anyone to lose their way. Remember, the stadium was outdoors and you could see well. The worst I saw the smoke was about like a light fog.
 
The map in that KGO video ("timeline" but it had no times!) shows just one of many possible routes. KGO chose a mostly/all surface street route. Each of the 2 creeks & 1 river have walkways along them. There are footbridges across the creeks at places, and of course the surface streets cross. The surface streets generally cross under the freeway. The end point of the KGO map was the boat ramp, not 1 mile from it. Hint: Google maps & street view can show you all this.

And, yes, he did go the wrong way, and I can't believe even a drunk person (and I don't know that Ian was drunk) would confuse marshy wetlands with the streets & buildings along the route to his car. Either he was coerced in some way or he was intentionally not trying to get to the car. He was far out of his way when he encountered the Guadalupe River (wherever he first got to it).

Another newscast indicated his wallet was on him, but not his phone. There was no mention of the shoes or keys. The SJ police indicated there were a lot of unanswered questions that perhaps only Ian could know the answer. The San Jose police speculated he may have drowned trying to cross Guadalupe River, but the Santa Clara police's map's legend shows "Approx. recovery" as in the Salt Pond A8. That location is inconsistent with a statement in the press release that a group of duck hunters spotted the body about 1 mile north of the boat ramp. I suspect the Santa Clara's police map is wrong about where the recovery occurred, or I misunderstand the legend.

The location listed for the last phone contact was Great American Parkway at Old Ironsides. The car was parked further south than I thought. (G.maps indicate the GF would have to leave before 10:30 to catch the last bus & get home at 1:15.)

I was wrong in thinking that Salt Pond A8 did not share water with the Guadalupe River. As Spellbound pointed out above, they cut a Notch with gates to let water flow from the salt pond into the river, a bit south of Alvis0. It appears the gates are closed for half the year, but are currently open.

If one knew the salinity of the Guadalupe River at different locations at different times of the tide, that could put a southern limit at where he might have drowned, based on the time. On Monday night, the low tide in Alviso was was at -0.1 feet MLLW at 11:03PM, while the next high tide was 7.7 feet at 5:31AM (sunrise at 6:47). (From then until his body was found, the tidal movement was less than average.) As I said earlier, the flow rate of the fresh water was 31 cu ft/sec.

To me, it is a shame he didn't know how to swim. IMO, everyone should. It might not have saved him, but then it might.

Also, the smoke from the fires as of that Monday night was not so bad as to cause anyone to lose their way. Remember, the stadium was outdoors and you could see well. The worst I saw the smoke was about like a light fog.

Thank you MT for your very detailed descriptions of the area. It helps to be able visualize the area much better.

I do wish we knew things like if (and where) his cell phone and shoes were found? One comment I read from his friend (not in a news article) said his phone was tracked to and found near his car. Why would he go to his car, leave his cell phone there and then leave again? Maybe since it was dead he put it on the car charger?

In the video where Ian was seen walking across the bridge, there were also other fans walking/leaving the stadium too. Maybe he followed the flow of people to the parking garages, put his phone on the car charger, waited there for awhile and then left walking again? To me, the screengrab from the FaceTime looks like he might’ve been sitting inside a car.

Even on a very smoggy night in San Francisco, I think the stadium would’ve still glowed in the night. If he gotten turned around, lost his way, couldn’t find his car, or went to look for an obscure area to pee, I’d think he’d still have been able to see the stadium off in the distance to try to find his way back. But according to the map, it seems he walked in the opposite direction.
 
Last edited:
The map in that KGO video ("timeline" but it had no times!) shows just one of many possible routes. KGO chose a mostly/all surface street route. Each of the 2 creeks & 1 river have walkways along them. There are footbridges across the creeks at places, and of course the surface streets cross. The surface streets generally cross under the freeway. The end point of the KGO map was the boat ramp, not 1 mile from it. Hint: Google maps & street view can show you all this.

And, yes, he did go the wrong way, and I can't believe even a drunk person (and I don't know that Ian was drunk) would confuse marshy wetlands with the streets & buildings along the route to his car. Either he was coerced in some way or he was intentionally not trying to get to the car. He was far out of his way when he encountered the Guadalupe River (wherever he first got to it).

Another newscast indicated his wallet was on him, but not his phone. There was no mention of the shoes or keys. The SJ police indicated there were a lot of unanswered questions that perhaps only Ian could know the answer. The San Jose police speculated he may have drowned trying to cross Guadalupe River, but the Santa Clara police's map's legend shows "Approx. recovery" as in the Salt Pond A8. That location is inconsistent with a statement in the press release that a group of duck hunters spotted the body about 1 mile north of the boat ramp. I suspect the Santa Clara's police map is wrong about where the recovery occurred, or I misunderstand the legend.

The location listed for the last phone contact was Great American Parkway at Old Ironsides. The car was parked further south than I thought. (G.maps indicate the GF would have to leave before 10:30 to catch the last bus & get home at 1:15.)

I was wrong in thinking that Salt Pond A8 did not share water with the Guadalupe River. As Spellbound pointed out above, they cut a Notch with gates to let water flow from the salt pond into the river, a bit south of Alvis0. It appears the gates are closed for half the year, but are currently open.

If one knew the salinity of the Guadalupe River at different locations at different times of the tide, that could put a southern limit at where he might have drowned, based on the time. On Monday night, the low tide in Alviso was was at -0.1 feet MLLW at 11:03PM, while the next high tide was 7.7 feet at 5:31AM (sunrise at 6:47). (From then until his body was found, the tidal movement was less than average.) As I said earlier, the flow rate of the fresh water was 31 cu ft/sec.

To me, it is a shame he didn't know how to swim. IMO, everyone should. It might not have saved him, but then it might.

Also, the smoke from the fires as of that Monday night was not so bad as to cause anyone to lose their way. Remember, the stadium was outdoors and you could see well. The worst I saw the smoke was about like a light fog.
Thank again M T....your post answered and described the scenario even better than I expected! I’m quite certain it helped clear up quite a few questions I’m sure many of us had. Like you pointed out, there are still many factors that just don’t make sense as far as the reporting by officials and also the lack there of... I still have a nagging feeling that something went really wrong with his decision making that night and I’m not convinced it was totally fueled by alcohol or any substances. Many people hide issues from family and friends they are dealing with, I’m that way myself, just like both my parents were. Of course, his family and friends may never know what made him decide what he did that night. It’s possible issues he might’ve been dealing with, but keeping from them as his way of protecting or not bothering them, fueled this. All my speculation only and certainly not blaming him, honestly, understand how this confusion may have happened.
I’m going to pull up Google maps again, it will make much more sense to me now.
 
Thank you MT for your very detailed descriptions of the area. It helps to be able visualize the area much better.

I do wish we knew things like if (and where) his cell phone and shoes were found? One comment I read from his friend (not in a news article) said his phone was tracked to and found near his car. Why would he go to his car, leave his cell phone there and then leave again? Maybe since it was dead he put it on the car charger?

In the video where Ian was seen walking across the bridge, there were also other fans walking/leaving the stadium too. Maybe he followed the flow of people to the parking garages, put his phone on the car charger, waited there for awhile and then left walking again? To me, the screengrab from the FaceTime looks like he might’ve been sitting inside a car.

Even on a very smoggy night in San Francisco, I think the stadium would’ve still glowed in the night. If he gotten turned around, lost his way, couldn’t find his car, or went to look for an obscure area to pee, I’d think he’d still have been able to see the stadium off in the distance to try to find his way back. But according to the map, it seems he walked in the opposite direction.
^^Great questions! Last sighting appears to be fairly close to the car, but away from the stadium?? Where’s the phone, maybe he got mad and ditched it? OK, I’m going to read back over all info again, I’m must be missing something.....
 
KHG Local News posted a story 4 hours ago on Facebook. There's an interesting comment (a reply to another comment) that seems to lead to the acceptance that he went to pee, slipped, can't swim. And that he was intoxicated. Take this as rumor and/or my opinion, but I think that's all that happened.

RIP, Ian.

It just feels like such a long way to go to pee. Drunk dudes will pee anywhere. He was already next to his car-- I've tailgated enough NFL games to tell you that men will pee next to their car without a care in the world. So why make it to your car and then walk two miles?
 
Thank you MT for your very detailed descriptions of the area. It helps to be able visualize the area much better.

I do wish we knew things like if (and where) his cell phone and shoes were found? One comment I read from his friend (not in a news article) said his phone was tracked to and found near his car. Why would he go to his car, leave his cell phone there and then leave again? Maybe since it was dead he put it on the car charger?

SBM: I have also read articles that indicate they found his phone, so I wasn't sure about that. I think that is really interesting if that is the case.
 
It just feels like such a long way to go to pee. Drunk dudes will pee anywhere. He was already next to his car-- I've tailgated enough NFL games to tell you that men will pee next to their car without a care in the world. So why make it to your car and then walk two miles?

Well, there's no way to ever prove he actually was going to pee. Maybe he was just very disoriented and doing something that makes no sense. If you've ever been around someone with a severe hangover, you've probably reminded them of something dumb they did the night before and heard them say, "What?! I don't remember that and have no idea why I did that/said that."

ETA: I've seen a drunk man pee in a litter box and a kitchen sink and have no memory of it the next day. I've also heard a story (from the same drunk man) that he once locked himself out of his hotel room completely naked while drunk and had no clue why he even left his room.
 
Well, there's no way to ever prove he actually was going to pee. Maybe he was just very disoriented and doing something that makes no sense. If you've ever been around someone with a severe hangover, you've probably reminded them of something dumb they did the night before and heard them say, "What?! I don't remember that and have no idea why I did that/said that."

ETA: I've seen a drunk man pee in a litter box and a kitchen sink and have no memory of it the next day. I've also heard a story (from the same drunk man) that he once locked himself out of his hotel room completely naked while drunk and had no clue why he even left his room.

You're right-- it just seems off to me that a father out with his two kids would get so drunk that he would lose all control and sense of normal behavior.

But I don't know him, obviously, so who knows. I don't necessarily think it was anything sinister but I am SO CURIOUS as to why he made it to his car and then disappeared.
 
It just feels like such a long way to go to pee. Drunk dudes will pee anywhere. He was already next to his car-- I've tailgated enough NFL games to tell you that men will pee next to their car without a care in the world. So why make it to your car and then walk two miles?
Oh I don’t think he walked two miles to pee. I think he was wandering around, probably heard the water rushing and it made him have to pee. When my kids were training we’d set them on the toilet and turn on the faucet to give them the urge to go.
 
If he took his shoes off and laid his cell phone by his shoes, it makes me think that this was an intentional act on his part. Especially given the fact that he could not swim. I wonder if this information will be released.
 
I am not sure if the police were continuing to investigate somewhat. I believe they indicated that if there were new evidence, they'd reopen it. The discovery of the body gives new areas for looking at cameras. Both the cities of Santa Clara and San Jose have a voluntary registration of security cameras. Here are two cameras (and here) that may show a view of one of the two bridges (the other is a train bridge, which a pedestrian could use) into Alviso over the Guadalupe. This camera can be seen from the footpath along the Guadalupe but there are no lights on the footpath, so I doubt it could show anything. This camera would see someone approaching the river on Tasman. These cameras in this well-lit area would capture someone on the river side of the stadium walking north on Lafayette or on the train tracks. If he went north on Great America Parkway, this camera would capture him. I've added stars for these cameras on the SC police map. If you look at ways he could get to the river, he probably passed one of these, if he was on foot.
SCmap.jpg
 
This area is a ghost town at night and right after the games end. Especially, given it was a Monday night and most tend to not drink as much since they have to work the next morning. There is only one bar at the stadium that might stay open for a little while once the game ends. Then, there is a Hyatt as well as a Hilton next door that each have one bar inside. Other than that, the next closest bar that would probably still be open is the Marriott which is probably about 1 1/2 to 2 miles away and not exactly all that convenient to walk to from the stadium.

heck the bay isn't that close to walk to. im mystified why he walked all the way there. (my hubs works across the street on Patrick henry)
 
We went to Northern California for Thanksgiving. Driving up there from L.A., I could not believe the amount of damage just north of Sherman Oaks. Unbelievable. (We were also amazed by the homes and businesses spared by the heroic efforts of the firefighters!!)

We then ran into smoke and fog that I've rarely seen on that drive. And we finally came out of it around Monterrey.

So, I can easily see where someone at this game could easily lose their way in these conditions.

idk man. I live here in san jose and we drove to Reno 11/9 and while it was super hazy we could see fine.
 
I know I'm late to say this, but I wanted to say about the girlfriend leaving with the kids on a bus....she may have realized (with him giving nonsensical responses and comments) that he was a lot drunker than she initially thought, so she decided the best option would be for them to go on the bus. Especially with it getting so late and the kids needing to sleep, he could sober up while they settle down for the night. Just a thought.

she may have even been mad at him, thinking he took off to "go party". how could she have known tho. :( RIP
 

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
206
Guests online
2,133
Total visitors
2,339

Forum statistics

Threads
589,952
Messages
17,928,118
Members
228,014
Latest member
Back2theGardenAgain
Back
Top