Missing Hiker

[Hikin_Jim]

Jim, you had posted a pic of Silva's gear that showed a sleeping bag spread out on a yellow, folding ground pad. Was that his gear as it found? Media reports also showed his gear but it was packed up on his backpack. My assumption is searchers packed up his stuff and brought it out that way? Seems to me that much of this area isn't far from pockets of civilization. There are some remote ranches that frankly I'd be very uncomfortable passing near. I suspect there are some very....interesting.....folks living out there. Had a rescue out in that general vicinity once and couldn't wait to get out of there.

OtherHand, the person who found the gear says that it was photographed as found. Kind of interesting that the tarp wasn't deployed, but then a Z-Lite doesn't need much protection. Odd place to camp. Not particularly flat, not particularly smooth. Looks rocky. I wouldn't camp there, especially if well known trail angel Mike Herrera's place was nearby. This was described as being near the road to "Angel Mike's place", i.e. Mike Herrera who lives near mile 127. PCT Mile 127 Map (positions approximate).

HJ

[jfr]

I hiked that section (Hwy 79 to 74) over a period of four days last weekend, and saw the police tape still in a circle where they found the gear in the above picture. The gear was long since removed, of course. That photo was taken vertically, and the pad was, in fact, on an extreme slope on the side of the trail, like he was sitting up, looking down the road toward the valley in the west where his friend was going to meet him. It was so sloped that you would have slid down on your pad if you tried to sleep in that position. Not the sort of spot that an "experienced hiker" would have chosen for a long night's bivy.

He was hiking north to south, so he may never have gone to the house at mile 127. The signs for the house are further down the trail, where a cut-off trail has been hacked through the scrub at the narrowest point between the trail and the road where it is closest to the driveway of the house. See: http://caltopo.com/map?id=403R These marks are drawn from my GPS track and geolocated photos.

Anyway, as for the folks at the house, they seemed to be genuinely nice people. My wife and I met two men there, who were just hanging out on a Saturday afternoon listening to Jazz. One of them was working on rebuilding an old outdoor shower contraption, getting ready for the big party in early May (a week or so after the PCT kickoff) when all the hikers arrive en masse. They showed us the big outdoor grill, and how they'll be having chicken from a homemade smoker barbeque.

They said that when he bought the place ten years ago Mike didn't understand why hikers kept showing up asking for water, until he was shown the official PCT guide book, which stated that hikers could get water there. So he gave them water, naturally. Would YOU turn down thirsty people asking for water? Of course not. Still, I guess it began to develop a life of its own after that, and now it's a big event, and Mike is a certified PCT "Trail Angel" in good standing.

I wouldn't take the negative comments on that video too seriously. Mike is awfully open-hearted and generous to let perfect strangers show up on his property like he does. Reminds me of the late 1960's and early 70's in that regard. He said that the weekend prior, when it had snowed (that was the weekend they called off the search), some hiker had broken into the trailer and stayed in there when nobody else was home. I don't think he was particularly mad about it, either, as no real harm was done; the hiker was freezing!

We got a gallon or two of water and hiked northward another couple of miles before making camp. But not until after we had to refuse their offer to share a spaghetti dinner with chicken. Nice folks!

Personally, I think that if the missing hiker had gone to Mike's place he'd still be alive today.



Edit: Nice Job, Jim! You got your map perfect!

[OtherHand]

That is a bizarre place to have vanished, so close to a house (and other dwellings nearby). I know he needed to head down into Chihuahua Valley to meet his friend but it appears the dirt road is the obvious best route with no short cuts to lure him off the road. This is the sort of hinky case where one would like to have a look at the police report on it. It doesn't smell anything like a typical lost hiker. And if it's not that all that's realistically left is Mountain lion, foul play or suicide. And if it's the latter, searchers usually find the subject eventually. Weird.

[Hikin_Jim]

It doesn't smell anything like a typical lost hiker.

Yeah, that's basically my read, especially after jfr's statement that he was on a slope sitting -- like he was watching/waiting for someone.

If he was sitting there, someone could have driven by, called him over under some ruse, and forced him into a vehicle -- leaving behind his gear, ID, and wallet. A mountain lion is also plausible, although I'd expect there would be more physical evidence.

The one thing I don't get is why there is no suspicion of foul play. This practically screams "not a lost hiker".

HJ

[OtherHand]

The one thing I don't get is why there is no suspicion of foul play. This practically screams "not a lost hiker".
HJ

The "no evidence of foul play" statement was made very early in the search. Given the search results and the other circumstances that have come to light, I'd bet that's no longer the case. But often law enforcement is very tight about that sort of stuff, and rightly so.

[jfr]

Here's my photo of the spot, zoomed in from a position across the way as we hiked north. You can see from this what sort of slope he was resting on.



This is the view that he had looking west down the road.

[Hikin_Jim]

The "no evidence of foul play" statement was made very early in the search. Given the search results and the other circumstances that have come to light, I'd bet that's no longer the case. But often law enforcement is very tight about that sort of stuff, and rightly so.

Ah. Makes sense.

HJ

[Hikin_Jim]

He was hiking north to south, so he may never have gone to the house at mile 127. The signs for the house are further down the trail, where a cut-off trail has been hacked through the scrub at the narrowest point between the trail and the road where it is closest to the driveway of the house. See: http://caltopo.com/map?id=403R These marks are drawn from my GPS track and geolocated photos.

So, jfr, the red dot labeled "missing hiker" is where the police tape was? If so, then I had it wrong where I placed my marker along the road, and my theory of a drive by snatch is completely wrong.

In terms of a short cut, I thought that route through the brush made sense as a way to get to Mike's. Nice to know I guessed right on that one.

HJ

[zippetydude]

Perhaps they didn't suspect foul play because his wallet was still with his possessions. Still, in that terrain it would be almost impossible to get lost - the road would be easily visible from anywhere in the vicinity even if he couldn't see the trail. I suppose if he went bushwhacking xc to see something and got bit by a rattler he might have succumbed quickly and simply be a short distance away but hidden by the brush. However, if that were the case, I would think that police dogs would have been able to find him by scent. It occurs to me that it might be sensible to start from his last known position and look out at the surrounding area and see if there is some landmark or other point of interest that might have caught his attention, then try an xc route directly towards that point and use tracking methods, looking for broken twigs, recently disturbed rocks on the ground, etc. If anything were found, it might be an indication at least of the direction he went. Otherwise, I can't imagine why he would have wandered anywhere off the path or road, and if he never left the path then it would be a sure sign of foul play. As mentioned earlier, I would think a mountain lion could be ruled out because there would have almost certainly been ample physical evidence left behind. So we're still going nowhere. Such a strange case.

z

[Hikin_Jim]

In terms of "normal" hiker behavior, I can see someone leaving their gear to take a potty break, get water, or take a photo (or something of that order). In other words, most hikers aren't going to be far from their gear. 1 If he were near his gear, even if deceased, he'd have been found. If he's not near his gear, then something's weird.

HJ