Crazydude's jacket on Skyline?

[cynthia23]

Trudged up to 4300 ft on Skyline today with my son. On our way up the Shady Slope we saw something odd a few feet off trail--the shredded remains of what was either a down jacket or maybe sleeping bag. It looked like it had been sitting outside for a long time--like maybe five or six years--and since I never noticed it there before, it also appeared that it might have been blown there recently, or maybe the bush covering it died. Or something. Of course it could have come from anywhere, but I couldn't help but noticing that it was very close to where "Crazydude" had been camped.

Some on here will remember the whole "Crazydude" saga, but for those who don't: about seven years ago there was a mentally ill drug addict who camped out on Skyline on the Shady Slope--his tent and gear were on the trail for about a month. Then, he disappeared, but his tent (but not his gear) remained. At about that same time, a hiker going up Skyline heard someone screaming for help--something about 'my leg." There was a helicopter search and Palm Springs Mounted Police initiated a ground search, and Grandmaster P and I tagged along. Perry and the officer in charge of the search found a backpack that appeared to belong to CD down at the bottom of the Shady Slope canyon, but not much else. CD's tent remained on the trail for another couple of weeks, until some valiant and noble soul packed it out. Two years ago Emin found a cave down in the Shady Slope canyon where it appeared someone had once been living--it had stuff painted on the walls, etc. There was also some abandoned gear in there like a machete, etc.
There was also a large amount of mountain lion scat near the cave.

Personally I've always felt that CD's body is up there somewhere--either down in the canyon, or, perhaps, up on the hill above the Shady Slope section of the trail. Or, maybe in the area directly above Dry Falls (the hiker thought he heard the screams coming from there.)

I know there are a lot of folks on here who go 'off-trail' (ahem) in this area, taking shortcuts up the hillside. I'd like to ask that you keep an eye out, especially in crevices and caves on the north side above the Shady Slope. This will sound gruesome, but I think it's possible a larger animal (i.e. a coyote or mountain lion) might have dragged some of CD's remains up there. This guy was homeless and nameless and pretty nuts, but everyone deserves a real burial, as opposed to being scattered around a hillside, right? If anyone could find CD's remains (assuming he is in fact dead, of course) it would certainly be the adventurous people on this board. So please keep an eye out. Who knows, maybe we could finally put this mystery, and this poor man, to rest. Thanks ....