CA CA - Maximillian 'Max' Schweitzer, 41, Yosemite National Park, 4 Jan 2018

[bsarlo]

Yosemite Valley would be an odd choice for going "off-grid" - especially on one of the most popular trails. There is a ton of national forest in the Sierras that is much less traffic'ed.

But it would be a good choice if you wanted to be seen by cameras before you go "hiking"

 

[GigTu]

Yosemite Valley would be an odd choice for going "off-grid" - especially on one of the most popular trails. There is a ton of national forest in the Sierras that is much less traffic'ed.

Surviving in Yosemite as "off the grid" in early January would essentially be suicide by mother nature. A person would be basically homeless out there, and fully exposed to the elements. One would need shelter, heat and food to survive, all of which would be severely lacking in that wilderness until some time in late April.

 

[GigTu]

But it would be a good choice if you wanted to be seen by cameras before you go "hiking"

Based on this gentleman's digital footprint, I feel that i he were choosing to self-disappear but not self harm he would have made many more camera appearances, and made them much more obvious.

 

[LaborDayRN]

Joining in late but my gut feeling is that Max is suffering from some type of mental illness. He may have been able to function previously but it seems as though he has since lost that ability. Reading the things he has been writing online makes me think whatever his issue is, there is an element of paranoia involved. Very sad indeed.

 

[ElementalLaura]

Surviving in Yosemite as "off the grid" in early January would essentially be suicide by mother nature. A person would be basically homeless out there, and fully exposed to the elements. One would need shelter, heat and food to survive, all of which would be severely lacking in that wilderness until some time in late April.

Agreed. I'm not convinced that he was there to self-harm intentionally. He may have been there for another reason -- to escape surveillance? -- known to and perceived by only him. I don't think he made it out.

 

[MancGuy Uk]

Could be another missing 411 case

 

[GigTu]

Where is this guy!!!

 

[ElementalLaura]

Do the trails they suspect he used close seasonally?

 

[GigTu]

If he was hiking to the upper Yosemite falls, and there wasnt any snow on the ground, the trails would be mostly accessible but probably wet and slippery with loose rocks.

However, if he was just going to one of the pool the falls drop into, he could have gotten there pretty easily if the falls were almost dry. However, those areas require boulder climbing. If he was in there, there's no telling what could have happened.

I don't know if the pool are low or high during early winter. In the late summer you can go almost all the way to the wall under where the upper falls are dropping down from.

 

[j_in_c]

I have not seen trails be officially "closed" in a park unless it is for maintenance (like a bridge has worn or washed out). Usually a ranger would tell you that it is not passable or dangerous or expect you to use ice spikes on slippery parts, etc. It is also true that it is generally hard to enforce trail closures and you will usually still find ppl hiking on them (in my experience).

I am curious how likely it is if he fell from the top of the falls that anything would be recoverable. I vaguely recall a terrible accident a few summers back where several members of a church group went over Vernal Falls trying to save the first person to be swept away. As I recall, the recovery of all the bodies took sometime (not even sure if they were recovered?) and in that case, they knew where and when they went over. Those falls are also wider and not as high as Yosemite Falls.
http://archive.sltrib.com/story.php...232630-68/church-badal-trail-victims.html.csp

There is also a Yosemite Falls webcam, but I can imagine he waited until nightfall. I don't think the webcam video is stored, just streamed. I also hope it would already have been reviewed if it was stored.
https://www.yosemiteconservancy.org/webcams/yosemite-falls

I think spring will bring answers in this case. I agree with others that his digital footprint indicates someone not fully in touch with reality, which isn't a great mental state to go for a winter hike. I always wonder in these cases, where are his family members/friends? Is it just that the media hasn't sought anyone for a statement?

 

[Gardener1850]

I posted over in the UID thread but decided to bump this thread too-- Does anyone think this Unidentified hiker could be Max? FL - FL - Male, 35-50, BlueGrey Eyes, S&P Beard, Hiking Poles, Boots, Tent, Big Cypress Preserve, Jul2018

Height is the same-- 5'8"
Weight -- the hiker had wasted away to 87 lbs when found, not sure if this is possible since Max was reported to be 185 but hiking would have helped him drop most of that weight.
Blue-grey eyes match
Nose seems the same general shape, but I wish I had more pics of Max to compare
Beard line looks about right too but I can't find any pics of Max with a beard
Age is a match
Hiker had good teeth and so did Max-- compare them in the pics

The sheriff on the UID case has said they have checked missing persons lists for matches so not to bother with telling them about anyone reported missing. However, Max is not in NAMUS or any other missing sites that I can find. He's not even on the California DOJ Missing site. And since he apparently disappeared in Yosemite in the winter he might not be on anyone's radar for showing up on the other side of the country 8 months later. But given what I read in this thread I have to wonder if he left his rental there on purpose to throw people off and hitchhiked to the other side of the country with his gear. It's a long shot, but if anyone else thinks this looks like him, please call it in. I'm not able to call myself.

Some Pics of the Unidentified hiker (there are more in the thread):

Max:

 

[AllGrace]

I posted over in the UID thread but decided to bump this thread too-- Does anyone think this Unidentified hiker could be Max? FL - FL - Male, 35-50, BlueGrey Eyes, S&P Beard, Hiking Poles, Boots, Tent, Big Cypress Preserve, Jul2018

Height is the same-- 5'8"
Weight -- the hiker had wasted away to 87 lbs when found, not sure if this is possible since Max was reported to be 185 but hiking would have helped him drop most of that weight.
Blue-grey eyes match
Nose seems the same general shape, but I wish I had more pics of Max to compare
Beard line looks about right too but I can't find any pics of Max with a beard
Age is a match
Hiker had good teeth and so did Max-- compare them in the pics

The sheriff on the UID case has said they have checked missing persons lists for matches so not to bother with telling them about anyone reported missing. However, Max is not in NAMUS or any other missing sites that I can find. He's not even on the California DOJ Missing site. And since he apparently disappeared in Yosemite in the winter he might not be on anyone's radar for showing up on the other side of the country 8 months later. But given what I read in this thread I have to wonder if he left his rental there on purpose to throw people off and hitchhiked to the other side of the country with his gear. It's a long shot, but if anyone else thinks this looks like him, please call it in. I'm not able to call myself.

Some Pics of the Unidentified hiker (there are more in the thread):

Max:

I think it *could* be. However, the UH looks a little younger. And in zooming in, the eyes and nose do look different, I especially see differences at the end of the nose.

 

[Vail]

It would be a really long hike from California to Florida

 

[Elainera]

I posted over in the UID thread but decided to bump this thread too-- Does anyone think this Unidentified hiker could be Max? FL - FL - Male, 35-50, BlueGrey Eyes, S&P Beard, Hiking Poles, Boots, Tent, Big Cypress Preserve, Jul2018

Height is the same-- 5'8"
Weight -- the hiker had wasted away to 87 lbs when found, not sure if this is possible since Max was reported to be 185 but hiking would have helped him drop most of that weight.
Blue-grey eyes match
Nose seems the same general shape, but I wish I had more pics of Max to compare
Beard line looks about right too but I can't find any pics of Max with a beard
Age is a match
Hiker had good teeth and so did Max-- compare them in the pics

The sheriff on the UID case has said they have checked missing persons lists for matches so not to bother with telling them about anyone reported missing. However, Max is not in NAMUS or any other missing sites that I can find. He's not even on the California DOJ Missing site. And since he apparently disappeared in Yosemite in the winter he might not be on anyone's radar for showing up on the other side of the country 8 months later. But given what I read in this thread I have to wonder if he left his rental there on purpose to throw people off and hitchhiked to the other side of the country with his gear. It's a long shot, but if anyone else thinks this looks like him, please call it in. I'm not able to call myself.

Some Pics of the Unidentified hiker (there are more in the thread):

Max:

Thank you Gardener!

I don't think the UID is Max. The UID's ears are much higher.

 

[Gardener1850]

It would be a really long hike from California to Florida

Yes, I agree it seems far away, but totally possible to get there by hitchhiking if someone wants to "disappear" for a while

BTW, the brand of tent the UID had is not sold in stores anywhere near Florida-- it is mostly in California and other Western US states: http://www.brooks-range.com/

Although people can buy things online or get them second hand it made me wonder if the UID was from the West Coast.

 

[Gardener1850]

I think it *could* be. However, the UH looks a little younger. And in zooming in, the eyes and nose do look different, I especially see differences at the end of the nose.

Thank you Gardener!

I don't the UID is Max. The UID's ears are much higher.

Thank you both for the feedback. You may be right. It's so hard to predict what someone would look like when they lose a lot of weight and grow a beard. I think Max has more visible wrinkles on his forehead than the unknown hiker and I was thinking a dramatic weight loss would usually add to the lines on the face but you never know...

I wonder why Max's case is not in any missing persons databases?

 

[j_in_c]

I wonder why Max's case is not in any missing persons databases?

It is too bad that he is not listed in NAMUS - it is hard to emphasize how important these databases are to finding missing persons.

As best I recall with Max, someone of his resume listings and a neighbor interview gave the impression that he was perhaps mentally ill. There were claims of working for the CIA and some other mentions that were equally far-fetched. I would think at least some of the hikers who had crossed paths with Mostly Harmless might have mentioned a tendency towards tall tales or conspiracy theories? Max also only had a small backpack, not a full fledged backpacking kit with him.

Hopefully family members or friends will realize he hasn't checked in for awhile and he will get ID'ed!

 

[ElementalLaura]

Max’s FB and LinkedIn pages have been removed. It doesn’t seem as though there was any coordinated effort by family or friends to locate him. He’s not listed in NAMUS but may not have ever been listed.

As far as I can tell, he is still missing.