Thanks for your posts -- I hope he's found soon! I'm an LA hiker who heard about this yesterday and has started contacting people in hiking groups who may have been in the area on Sunday or Monday. I had some questions about the case. I realize no one here may have the answers -- and that the police and Search and Rescue have probably investigated all these things -- but I want to get the questions out there.
1. Some reports say that Mr. Foote told family members he'd be hiking near the base of Mt. Wilson (i.e., on one of the several trails going up the foothills in that area, including most notably the Mt. Wilson Trail). Other reports say it isn't known whether he went for a hike -- the implication is he could've gone for a walk in the neighborhood. Does anyone know more about this?
Did Mr. Foote have preferred places to walk, whether in the foothills or in the neighborhood?
2. Is it known whether Mr. Foote was wearing the clothes he was apparently seen in at around 10am -- a white tee-shirt, khaki shorts, and tennis shoes? He didn't have his cell phone or wallet... I've heard that he had just been to services at the Episcopal Church of the Ascension, so I'm guessing he changed into those clothes after church.
Did Mr. Foote have any water with him? Was he in the habit of putting a bottle of water in his pocket when going for a walk or short hike? If so, he could have had some water that wasn't obvious. And some people are "camels" who tank up on water before short hikes.
Would those clothes and things he had with him place constraints on what he was likely to do and where he was likely to go? Would he hike the Mt. Wilson Trail in tennis shoes? (Could they have been trail runners or were they definitely tennis shoes?) Or is it more likely he went on a neighborhood walk?
I know that if you live right near a trail, especially a well-travelled one, you may see it as an extension of your neighborhood and may bring less gear than if the trail is further away.
3. Has any surveillance video been checked? I realize that the immediate area around Mr. Foote's home and up to the foothills is very residential, so there might not be much surveillance video in that direction. But if he went for a more urban walk, he might have passed buildings with surveillance video. I hope that's being pulled and examined before it's overwritten.
4. One slightly odd thing about this is the apparent lack of sightings after 10 or 10:30am. (Maybe there were possible sightings on the trail which aren't being reported because they were unconfirmed. Someone did say something about seeing a tall sweaty hiker -- maybe that was him.) A hiker I contacted said that earlier that morning, there were a lot of people on the trail from Bailey Canyon to Jones Peak. While that was earlier and thus cooler, that trail is nasty in the heat and one would expect there to be hikers on the shadier Mt. Wilson Trail a bit later in the morning.
Oh well, that's why I should get the word out to more hikers, right?
Any insight will be appreciated. Thanks!