Found Deceased CA - Paul Miller, 51, Canadian missing in Joshua Tree Natl Park, San Bernardino Co., 13 Jul 2018 #2

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neesaki said:
After thinking on this a bit, its very possible they really have examined his computer, phone, etc., it’s something any family would do. I can see no other reason for them to consider him possibly not being in the park as a possibility. JMO
Re FB, I might consider but don’t have an account.
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And he left his phone behind in the room when he went for the hike, as usually he did according to his wife. She had immediate access to it.
 
zecats said:
Ironic too that original searching stated no scent from dogs and now family stated dogs found scent all the way to the Oasis. Perhaps that was something to released to the public earlier, though can't figure out why it wouldn't be. JMO

Also that family is confirming witness halfway on trail (Neil/witness) and previous early statement was witness saw him at the trailhead. Maybe again, takes time to get the facts straight.
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Is this report of the scent dogs from LE ? I agree the facts seem to have changed.
 
zecats said:
And he left his phone behind in the room when he went for the hike, as usually he did according to his wife. She had immediate access to it.
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I might be remembering wrong, but I thought he had left his phone in his car, not in the hotel. Wasn't there a report that he had called his wife sometime between driving away from the hotel and hitting the trail? Like from the parking lot or along the way or something?
 
zecats said:
And he left his phone behind in the room when he went for the hike, as usually he did according to his wife. She had immediate access to it.
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In the room, I thought it was in the car? Either way they would check everything they could get their hands on, as many cases as we’ve all followed here, that’s a given.
Hey, I don’t blame them for protecting their privacy, not one bit. One reason I’m not on FB, got tired of the stalkers and weirdos trying to friend me, lol. ;)
 
neesaki said:
In the room, I thought it was in the car? Either way they would check everything they could get their hands on, as many cases as we’ve all followed here, that’s a given.
Hey, I don’t blame them for protecting their privacy, not one bit. One reason I’m not on FB, got tired of the stalkers and weirdos trying to friend me, lol. ;)
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Cell phone left at hotel

Missing Without a Trace: Family, friends of Canadian hiker Paul Miller hold tight to hope he's alive in Joshua Tree

He also left his cell phone at the hotel – not unusual, Otten said.

“He is not a glued-to-his-cell” person, she said.
 
rosesfromangels said:
I’m really confused now. Did the dogs pick up his scent or not?
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That link os fromJuly 2018, right after he went missing. Things may have changed since then. Wish the article I found about dogs scenting him all the way to the Oasis had a quote from LE. Not sure that family would say that if they weren't told though..by someone with knowledge. It is confusing, but timeline and updating is the only consideration I can come up with.
 
zecats said:
That link os fromJuly 2018, right after he went missing. Things may have changed since then. Wish the article I found about dogs scenting him all the way to the Oasis had a quote from LE. Not sure that family would say that if they weren't told though..by someone with knowledge. It is confusing, but timeline and updating is the only consideration I can come up with.
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Thank you Zecats. This is a super important point. If you come across anything else, please post. There has been a fair amount of distraction about whether he *was* in the park, and it may dissuade people from volunteering to search.

He’s in there, and I believe Neil.
Amateur opinion and speculation
 
I remember from a few past cases I've worked on that rain/precipitation can help bring scents out. I know they don't get much rain in the place he went missing but it is possible conditions changed within a few weeks and allowed the dogs to pick up a scent at some point even if they could not initially. JMO.
 
One should never forget that these amazing dogs are not infallible. Maybe the first one simply missed Paul's scent, or the handler didn't pick up on the dog's signalling. Not blaming the dog, nor the handler, these things simply happen. I wouldn't read too much into the "contradictory" reports.
 
Amazing. I don't know that I ever read how much effort was put into this search in the beginning months.

Sister returns to Joshua Tree to find missing Canadian man; invites public to join hikes

Miller, 51, of Guelph, Ontario, was last seen about 9 a.m. July 13 when he told his wife of 26 years, Stephanie Miller, he wanted to take one more hike in the park before they left Joshua Tree to return home to Canada.

He told her he would hike the 49 Palms Oasis trail and be back at the hotel by checkout time, 11 a.m. It was the final day of an anniversary trip that started in Las Vegas.

The car the Millers had rented in Vegas was found in the parking lot, but there have been no other traces of Miller — no footprints or empty water bottles or anything to indicate he may have fallen or run into some trouble along he way, officials have said.

Over the next several days, park officials and volunteers with Joshua Tree National Park Search and Rescue were assisted in their search by aircraft and on foot by various other agencies, including the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. Drones and dogs were also used in the search.

Total, between July 13 and Aug. 18, park Superintendent David Smith said, 20 K-9 units and more than 600 searchers put in more than 6,000 hours trying to find Miller.

NOTE: No mention of dogs picking up any scent in this article.
 
It’s so very sad Paul has yet to be found. I was at the park yesterday - Spirit Rock - enjoying a nice walk through nature’s relics. There’s something spectacular and alluring about the landscape there - it makes you feel like you are a part of it and in that you feel invincible, wanting to climb boulders that normally you would have the sense to steer clear from.
But we aren’t the land. The land is it’s own beast with its own strange rules based not on playfulness, but survival. This past year a Mountain Lion was shot in a chicken coop in Yucca Valley, Another one witnessed at the preserve where I live that is right next to Joshua Tree Park. There’s also been a family of bears seen recently. Another huge mountain lion hit by a motorist and killed on the highway right outside the park. You can see videos of the mountain lions, who often like to stalk mountain goats, caught on the game cams at Joshua Tree.
Imagine you are the lion in the heat of the summer. You need to stalk places that look like they might have water and life feeding from the water. You are going to stalk in the morning or evening when it is cooler (and bc that’s when mountain lions stalk). The few mountain lion attacks in California were almost a direct result of the lion being interested in someone who was moving quickly, and eventually running quickly from the lion like prey.
I’m not meaning to be cruel, but instead offer the opinion of a local who knows this land. I believe he possibly wandered off bc he thought he saw a herd of mountain goats which he had wanted to photograph. He met with a predator, specifically a mountain lion, while he was on his morning hike looking for mountain goats. Unfortunately the lion killed him and dragged him somewhere in the expansive bouldered area only for the coyotes to take the scraps. Whatever was left likely slipped between the cracks of those rocks and carried off. Add to that the arid dry heat, wind that can knock a tree over, and monsoons... you get the picture. Not much left can withstand that. Also there’s a huge canyon with multiple washes near the oasis. That isn’t so good either.

The mountain lions here are a big reason why I don’t let my dogs sleep outside at night any time of the year. They are a very real threat to livestock and people and no one expects them to be out here. The park tells you to avoid hiking alone so that mountain lions can’t attack you (among other important reasons to never hike alone). Since another hiker saw Paul I assume now that Paul did not disappear of his own will and likely was a victim of the elements/nature. Mountain lion attacks are increasing as their habitats are becoming limited to smaller areas due to roads/developments, making them hunt for prey they typically wouldn’t seek out. It’s also causing inbreeding in the mountain lion population, which also could account for them becoming more aggressive and choosing to seek out prey they typically wouldn’t.
 
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atlstnspc said:
I’m at work, so I have to be quick. I was there when the family was talking to Rangers and LE. My knowledge base has changed because of this, however I’m not going to speak for them. I will ask that a family representative make definitive statement describing the known facts of the case at this point.
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Oh my goodness, so there’s no news you can share here, I understand that it needs to come from family or LE. But I sure am hoping we hear from someone very soon! TU
 
neesaki said:
Oh my goodness, so there’s no news you can share here, I understand that it needs to come from family or LE. But I sure am hoping we hear from someone very soon! TU
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I so agree. So many of us have been following this case and caring about the outcome for Paul and his family since the very beginning. I confess I'm curious to know anything that would solve some or all of this mystery.

I'm sorry that nothing was found during that recent big push in early May.
 
DaisyChains said:
It’s so very sad Paul has yet to be found. I was at the park yesterday - Spirit Rock - enjoying a nice walk through nature’s relics. There’s something spectacular and alluring about the landscape there - it makes you feel like you are a part of it and in that you feel invincible, wanting to climb boulders that normally you would have the sense to steer clear from.
But we aren’t the land. The land is it’s own beast with its own strange rules based not on playfulness, but survival. This past year a Mountain Lion was shot in a chicken coop in Yucca Valley, Another one witnessed at the preserve where I live that is right next to Joshua Tree Park. There’s also been a family of bears seen recently. Another huge mountain lion hit by a motorist and killed on the highway right outside the park. You can see videos of the mountain lions, who often like to stalk mountain goats, caught on the game cams at Joshua Tree.
Imagine you are the lion in the heat of the summer. You need to stalk places that look like they might have water and life feeding from the water. You are going to stalk in the morning or evening when it is cooler (and bc that’s when mountain lions stalk). The few mountain lion attacks in California were almost a direct result of the lion being interested in someone who was moving quickly, and eventually running quickly from the lion like prey.
I’m not meaning to be cruel, but instead offer the opinion of a local who knows this land. I believe he possibly wandered off bc he thought he saw a herd of mountain goats which he had wanted to photograph. He met with a predator, specifically a mountain lion, while he was on his morning hike looking for mountain goats. Unfortunately the lion killed him and dragged him somewhere in the expansive bouldered area only for the coyotes to take the scraps. Whatever was left likely slipped between the cracks of those rocks and carried off. Add to that the arid dry heat, wind that can knock a tree over, and monsoons... you get the picture. Not much left can withstand that. Also there’s a huge canyon with multiple washes near the oasis. That isn’t so good either.

The mountain lions here are a big reason why I don’t let my dogs sleep outside at night any time of the year. They are a very real threat to livestock and people and no one expects them to be out here. The park tells you to avoid hiking alone so that mountain lions can’t attack you (among other important reasons to never hike alone). Since another hiker saw Paul I assume now that Paul did not disappear of his own will and likely was a victim of the elements/nature. Mountain lion attacks are increasing as their habitats are becoming limited to smaller areas due to roads/developments, making them hunt for prey they typically wouldn’t seek out. It’s also causing inbreeding in the mountain lion population, which also could account for them becoming more aggressive and choosing to seek out prey they typically wouldn’t.
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That's a very interesting suggestion, I hadn't thought of that.

We call them cougars, there's been several deaths I've read about here in the west, and I was personally acquainted with one victim. It was a such a shock in our community, no one had ever been killed by one before, so no one was afraid of them. She was discovered quickly because it happened on a popular trail and someone came along.

We don't know how many people who have disappeared in the wilderness, have been killed by mountain lions.

My one question mark is wouldn't dogs get pretty excited if there'd been one near where they were searching. Or are search dogs so well trained to focus on the scent they've been given, they ignore everything else?
 
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