Bill Ewasko found?

[OtherHand]

Z107.7 is reporting Bill Ewasko may have been found. Hikers recovered a wallet with his ID from human remains. The article doesn't have enough info to precisely locate it, but it's in an unexpected location. The ping might have been accurate too. Nice to see this thing over with, if true.

https://z1077fm.com/body-found-in-joshua-tree-national-park-thought-to-be-man-reported-missing-12-years-ago/

[OtherHand]

I may have narrowed down the locale. There was a SB County Sheriff's helo (N306SB) that headed out to the area this morning, circled over a spot, then looks like it landed on Park Road. I was able to dig up its ADSB tracking data. Based upon where it was circling, I'd guess the area of interest to be around 34.0661, -116.2571. I'm making an assumption this is the general spot, and I note that it's about 9.8 miles from the Serin Tower. Never would have thought to look there, of course. That's how it works.

[adamghost]

GAHHHHHH. 120 meters more up the canyon on my very last search...

I think he must have pinged in Quail Wash at that area at the mouth of SWC and then kept going north up the wash and then turned up the side canyon. Same distance continuing up the wash, he would have been home free. Tragic.

[bretpct]

I can't believe it. It's over. What a relief.

RIP Bill.

[drndr]

Wow. it didn't play out in my theory but it sure seemed to fall right in line with a lot of your ideas about heading for the lights of JTree. It's been great following this thread.

D

[OtherHand]

I had a chance to dive a bit deeper into the data, and the location moved a bit once I put the actual copter circling path directly into Google Earth. I did a screen
grab showing the new location, which appears to be a high point.

Here's a link that shows the track of the Huey SB County used. It left SB International airport at 7:45 AM on 2/9/22. It arrived on site at JTNP at 8:16 AM.

Prior to landing on Park Road, it circled at about 100' AGL over an area 1.1 miles SW of Park Road, centered on:

34.062879°, -116.253668°

It then landed at a turnout in Park Road at 8:20 AM PST.

The helo left the landing area at 1:21 PM and arrived back at SB International Airport at 2:13 PM.

Looking at a cell signal splash map for Serin tower, it shows a very small bit of coverage here, with a distance of almost exactly 10 miles from the tower.

[drndr]

looks like a trail just west of there. I sure hope in the future we get a first person account of the find and more info.

[bretpct]

Here's the SBSD press release from this afternoon. No new information.

Advisory Human Remains Found in Joshua Tree National Park; Investigators Working to Identify the Deceased
DATE/TIME: February 8, 2022, 4:28 p.m.

INCIDENT: Death Investigation

LOCATION: Panorama and Blackrock, Joshua Tree National Park

DECEDENT: Pending Positive Identification and Next of Kin Notification


SUMMARY: On February 8, 2022, deputies from the Morongo Basin Sheriff’s Station responded to Joshua Tree National Park for a report of found human remains discovered by hikers. Park Rangers hiked to the location and secured the remains until deputies arrived. Deputies secured the scene overnight.

Investigators with the Sheriff’s Specialized Investigations Division and the Coroner’s Division responded at daybreak on February 9, 2022, to process the scene, with assistance from Sheriff’s Aviation. The investigation is ongoing. The identity of the decedent is pending the coroner’s investigation.

Anyone with information about this investigation is asked to contact Detective Mauricio Rivas, Specialized Investigations Division at (909) 387-3589. Callers can remain anonymous and contact We-Tip at 800-78CRIME or http://www.wetip.com.

Refer: Detective Mauricio Rivas or Sergeant Joseph Steers

Station: Specialized Investigations Division

Phone No. (909) 387-3589

Case No. DR#092200228 H#2022-018

SHANNON D. DICUS, Sheriff-Coroner
San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner Department

[OtherHand]

Wow, they are certainly being vague about the location. Or they're being deliberatively obscuring. Or choice three is they're idiots, but I'll set that aside. No matter what they say they can't hide the tracks of where their helicopter flew, and there were no stops or circling other than where I've already noted. Location-wise, I think that speaks volumes.

Out of curiosity I went back and pulled the aerial search tracks from the initial search. On June 30, three days after Bill's final ping, an aircraft did cover the canyon just south of his presumed location. But the flight path was lower, like they were logically checking the canyon itself, not the high ground to the north, and so far from his vehicle. So they probably flew by below the elevation where Bill likely ended up.

I think back to what the Verizon tech said in regards to the ping accuracy. He stated it was 10.6, "within 10%". I never knew exactly what that error margin meant, but I took it to mean +/- 0.5 miles. So my "working band" usually was 10.1 to 11.1 miles from the Serin tower. That's surprisingly close.

[Ric Capucho]

Wow, just wow. Thank you Richard for the heads up.

Funnily enough I had a dream two nights ago that Bill had been found. Not totally superstitious, but still.

His location turns out to be totally unexpected, but any one of us could point to just about any corner of the park after so many years of conjecture. And of course my latest theory has been blown to the weeds by reality. Who cares.

So, now I must say that my thoughts go Bill’s family and close friends, and hopefully they feel some closure after 11 years. Can’t imagine how I’d feel if Bill was my father or cousin or friend. Likewise, people like Tom, Richard, Perry, Adam, Brett and lord knows who else, that scoured JTNP and in some cases risked a bit too much in their efforts to find Bill.

Lastly, I will be in Socal this summer on a family holiday, and will be staying at an Airbnb near Blackrock for a few days. Anyone without an alcohol allergy should ping me.

Ric