NM NM - Stephen Carey, 59, Las Cruces, 8 July 2019 *car found near Organ Mountain National Monument*

[Judas]

Family believes best chance of finding missing father is on restricted land in Organ Mountains

Steve Carey, who lived in San Pedro, CA, has not been seen since July 8, 2019. On that day, he checked out of his Las Cruces, NM hotel room. His car was later found at the trailhead to the Baylor Pass trail in the Organ Mountain National Monument. His big backpack with this clothes, and his car keys, were found in the car, which police then impounded. The trail in question backs up to Department of Defense land, so no drones or overflights of the rugged area are allowed. He did not tell anyone where he was going and his cellphone goes straight to voicemail.

 

[LAhiker]

I hope the military speedily organizes their own search or allows others to do so!

Maybe they could use the search as a training exercise.

 

[Judas]

Unfortunately they seem unmotivated to do so.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Family believes best chance of finding missing father is on restricted land in Organ Mountains

 

[GraceG]

I found it odd he left his backpack, but the one news article above inferred he might have been on a mountain bike. The only downside to that is it may place him further out of range of searchers.

 

[Judas]

Baylor Canyon trail isnt really one to ride on a bike. I could see leaving a car and biking a loop into Las Cruces and back but not up the pass.

 

[TatianaBarbie]

From alltrails.com:

Baylor Canyon Pass Trail

"Baylor Canyon Pass Trail is a 4.1 mile lightly trafficked out and back trail located near Las Cruces, New Mexico that features beautiful wild flowers and is rated as moderate. The trail offers a number of activity options and is accessible year-round. Dogs are also able to use this trail.

Distance:4.1 miles Elevation Gain:830 feet Route Type:Out & Back"

It doesn't mention biking as one of the activity options. The hike goes west, then northwest from the trailhead. I don't think I can bring the alltrails map over here, so I located the approximate trailhead location on google maps. The trailhead is off of Aguirre Springs Road:



Route from central Las Cruces, NM to the trailhead:

Google Maps

 

[Judas]

Do any of you know what the procedure is to get a phone's last whereabouts pinged?

 

[LAhiker]

Does anyone know whether the Carey family was able to get the military to do a search on the restricted land where they think Steve Carey might be?

 

[G.Keelie]

Does anyone know whether the Carey family was able to get the military to do a search on the restricted land where they think Steve Carey might be?

I don’t think the land itself is restricted by the military, just that drones and/or flyovers are restricted because the area backs up to a military installation. They can search, just not use drones, etc.

 

[GraceG]

I don’t think the land itself is restricted by the military, just that drones and/or flyovers are restricted because the area backs up to a military installation. They can search, just not use drones, etc.

If he is in the park system they can't use drones to search. In August 2014, the National Park Service made it illegal to operate droves in National Parks under 36 CFR 1.5.

 

[zecats]

If he is in the park system they can't use drones to search. In August 2014, the National Park Service made it illegal to operate droves in National Parks under 36 CFR 1.5.

You can get permission apparently. Paul Miller's sister Dawne has stated that drones will be used in the fall to conduct yet another search for him in Joshua Tree NP. They had to and did get permission.

 

[Judas]

Family continues search for missing man in Organs; feds conduct flyover

 

[Judas]

Search for Stephen Carey

This facebook page is an aggregation of all of the known information about the missing person, who still has not been found.

 

[TatianaBarbie]

Search for Stephen Carey

This facebook page is an aggregation of all of the known information about the missing person, who still has not been found.

They organized a search for this weekend, August 3rd - 4th. I hope they are successful.

 

[PommyMommy]

No news in a month. Not good!

 

[iulia]

Stephen Edward Carey NamUs page The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Circumstances of Disappearance
Stephen went on a personal vacation to Las Cruces, New Mexico. He is an avid mountain biker, climber, and overall outdoor enthusiast and was familiar with the Organ Mountain range and the National Monument area. He was last seen at the Dripping Springs visitor center on July 7, 2019 where he spoke to a volunteer about the various bike trails and mountain peaks in the area. His vehicle was found several days later at the Baylor Canyon Trailhead. His mountain bike was not found near the car. Search and rescue efforts were negative.

 

[SunSun]

More than a year has passed since Stephen Carey went missing

The area where Stephen Carey was last seen is within a national monument on federal land, but it is not park service lands. His car was found at Baylor Pass trailhead, a heavily used trail, close to town. Baylor Pass Trail is within a designated Wilderness area, so bikes are not allowed on it. There are numerous mountain bike trails throughout the area.

Searches included White Sands Missile Range land. Susan Reiber, Carey’s sister, said because of jurisdiction issues with the California police where Carey was reported missing and New Mexico State Police who initiated the search in Las Cruces, no one is looking for her brother.

“The jurisdiction where the report is made retains jurisdiction over the whole entire case,” Reiber said. “Nobody’s looking in an official capacity because it’s a jurisdictional issue….We talked about going to the FBI but, you know, what jurisdiction would the FBI have over it?”

Reiber said she and her sister supplied DNA to NamUs.

 

[Limecat]

I thought I read in the first article that his car was unlocked, belongings inside and the door was found left ajar with the keys in it? Not sure of where keys were but if in ignition wouldn’t the “door ajar” chime go off? Mine sure does. And if he just went for a bike ride, why not take keys and lock the vehicle?

Also I thought I read some of the land cannot be searched by civilians because there are buried mines/ordinances that could accidentally be triggered. Which is super scary if Stephen went off trail on his bike or left his bike to walk say if his bike was broken down, etc.

I would think there would be many posted signs regarding the restricted area but I can’t help thinking in such terrible heat a person might be disoriented or incapacitated to a degree they may not pay attention to or even notice signs.

 

[MrsWatson]

His Charley Project Page.
Stephen Edward Carey – The Charley Project