Probably beating a dead horse here, but ...:
“[SBM]
On Saturday, [Jan. 5], [John Sturkie] was on the Black Mountain Truck Trail.
During the day, rain was falling all over the San Jacinto Mountains. And Saturday night, snow arrived. At lower elevations such as Idyllwild and Fern Valley, it measured 4 inches. But 9 inches were recorded at the Long Valley Ranger Station, which is a much higher elevation.
Idyllwild’s recorded temperatures that day were a high of 47 degrees and a low of 34 degrees.
[SBM]
Theresa said sometime during the day, three other hikers encountered Sturkie, whose truck was stuck in the mud on the truck trail. They helped him free it and continued up the trail.
On their return, they met him again, stuck again. This time, according to the family’s Facebook page, they could not extricate his vehicle. He refused to walk down the trail with them to return Sunday to free it.
But they did call 911 to alert first responders about the trapped man, according to Theresa.
This is the last known encounter with John Sturkie.
On March 15, his truck was found about 12 miles from the highway at 6,500 elevation, but no sign of him nearby. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department has conducted a search on Black Mountain along the truck trail that was unsuccessful.
[SBM]”
According to John’s NamUs profile (created on Apr. 11):
“[SBM]
On 01/05/19, three men found John and his truck, stuck in the snow on an off-road trail in Idyllwild, CA. John declined to leave the mountain with the men when they were unable to get his truck down the hill successfully. John's truck has since been located by authorities on the trail however John is still missing.“
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
Posted to the PI firm’s Instagram account six days ago:
“[SBM]
Update on the search for this beloved husband, father, and friend to many.
There has been no confirmation that a 911 call was made by either Law Enforcement or the PI. That information came from a family member. The men haven't come forward publically as well, also information that just comes from family.
John’s truck was found on the Black Mountain Truck Trail near Fuller Bridge and Pacific Crest Trail (Pine Cove/Idyllwild, CA).
It’s believed John left on foot when his truck ran out of fuel.
[SBM]”
Premier Group International on Instagram: “MISSING since January 5, 2019 - John Mark Sturkie. . Update on the search for this beloved husband, father, and friend to many. . John’s…”
The PI firm also posted on Instagram nine weeks ago that “someone had helped him with his truck and called it in” in response to a comment (original post is dated Feb. 28):
Premier Group International on Instagram: “John Mark Sturkie, missing since January 4, 2019, was reportedly seen in Beaumont, California, January 5th. . •If you have any information…”
(All BBM)
So the family, LE and the PI all appear to agree that John and his truck were on the Black Mountain Truck Trail on Jan. 5. This is likely based on information given to them by the three men and the selfie photo of them with John.
I hope that the information has been well-vetted: it’s possible, IMO, this is a case of “four of them went up but only three came down.”
As to what might have happened after that is anybody’s guess, IMO. Has it been confirmed that there was a 911 call from the three men on Jan. 5? If there was, wouldn’t the Riverside Sheriff’s Office have deployed search and rescue immediately, given the weather at the time and the fact that John’s truck was stuck?
Had this happened, they probably would have been able to rescue John in a timely manner, IMO.
Or even if they couldn’t find him right away, Riverside SO would have made the connection between John’s truck and the missing persons investigation as soon as he was reported missing and contacted the Oceanside PD right away, instead of the truck being found in late Feb. (according to the PI), or Mar. 15 (according to the new article; I’m not sure which one is correct).
And if the three men didn’t call 911 on Jan. 5, why not?
