CA Deng Vongphachan, 71, experienced mushroom forager, missing since Jan 4th, 2024.

[Oblio]

Deng set out to collect mushrooms in rural Del Norte county, California. When she wasn’t home in the evening, her son assumed she went to the local casino so he didn’t want to upset her by calling. He realized something was amiss when she wasn’t home the following morning when he woke. The weather has been foul- some parts of DN have had over 25” of rain since the first of the year. The Smith River was just a few feet short of the Christmas Flood levels from ‘64 in mid January.

Siblings hoping for answers in January disappearance of California mother Deng Vongphachan; “It just doesn’t make any sense”

The 71-year-old mushroom picker’s truck was found abandoned on January 5 in Del Norte County, California.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[Ladyotm]

Deng set out to collect mushrooms in rural Del Norte county, California. When she wasn’t home in the evening, her son assumed she went to the local casino so he didn’t want to upset her by calling. He realized something was amiss when she wasn’t home the following morning when he woke. The weather has been foul- some parts of DN have had over 25” of rain since the first of the year. The Smith River was just a few feet short of the Christmas Flood levels from ‘64 in mid January.

Siblings hoping for answers in January disappearance of California mother Deng Vongphachan; “It just doesn’t make any sense”

The 71-year-old mushroom picker’s truck was found abandoned on January 5 in Del Norte County, California.

www.nbcnews.com

Oh no! She's been missing for over a month now. I do hope she is found safe and sound.
Phone found in her truck and bucket backpack found 150 ft from the car. No indication of it was full or empty. I wonder if the area she worked in was well traveled and if other mushroom foragers were in this area.
Was she about to get into her truck and someone called out for her and she approached them? I wonder if her keys have been found?

 

[LadyL]

not that it matters much but unless she's gained a lot of weight since all of those pictures were taken, there's no way she weighs 170 lbs. - more like 120 IMO

I wonder if a bear took her

what other wild animals are in that area?

 

[Oblio]

not that it matters much but unless she's gained a lot of weight since all of those pictures were taken, there's no way she weighs 170 lbs. - more like 120 IMO

I wonder if a bear took her

what other wild animals are in that area?

There are also mountain lions. I don’t think bears would be terribly active this time of year. Cubs are usually born mid January or later, and they usually don’t leave their den until march/spring. Temp wise it is pretty mild in the area, so I suppose it’s possible they don’t hibernate there.

 

[Oblio]

Oh no! She's been missing for over a month now. I do hope she is found safe and sound.
Phone found in her truck and bucket backpack found 150 ft from the car. No indication of it was full or empty. I wonder if the area she worked in was well traveled and if other mushroom foragers were in this area.
Was she about to get into her truck and someone called out for her and she approached them? I wonder if her keys have been found?

Low Divide/Rowdy Creek Road connects 101 in Smith River(town) to 197 along Northbank Rd along the Smith River. It’s not entirely paved, it’s a mountain road that intersects lots of forest access roads and has a lot of off grid properties along it.
I don’t have a resource for it, but pretty early on I saw it mentioned that they found an area where it looks like she slept. I didn’t post at the time because I was so certain she’d be found within a few days.
Now I’m just puzzled. I feel like if it were an animal attack, there would be evidence. I fear she may have slipped down to a waterway. I checked last night and Gasquet (about 5 miles east, as the crow flies)has had over 30 inches of rain this calendar year.

 

[LadyL]

There are also mountain lions. I don’t think bears would be terribly active this time of year. Cubs are usually born mid January or later, and they usually don’t leave their den until march/spring. Temp wise it is pretty mild in the area, so I suppose it’s possible they don’t hibernate there.

I was wondering that too but neglected to mention it. I saw a video of a mountain lion vs. human being. They are soooooooooo strong.

 

[LadyL]

Low Divide/Rowdy Creek Road connects 101 in Smith River(town) to 197 along Northbank Rd along the Smith River. It’s not entirely paved, it’s a mountain road that intersects lots of forest access roads and has a lot of off grid properties along it.
I don’t have a resource for it, but pretty early on I saw it mentioned that they found an area where it looks like she slept. I didn’t post at the time because I was so certain she’d be found within a few days.
Now I’m just puzzled. I feel like if it were an animal attack, there would be evidence. I fear she may have slipped down to a waterway. I checked last night and Gasquet (about 5 miles east, as the crow flies)has had over 30 inches of rain this calendar year.

looks like she slept? that's bizarre - why when she can get in her car and go or at the very least sleep in her car

 

[GraceG]

My concernm having grown up out West would not be wildlife - there hasn't been a mountain lion attack in Del Norte County on record Verified Mountain Lion-Human Attacks and there hasn't been a fatal bear attack in CA in the wild in over 100 years. Landslides are what has me worried. The whole area of Del Norte county has been inundated with rain since December causing flash flooding and lots of landslides. The ground is highly unstable right now. https://www.sfchronicle.com/weather...-conditions-101-closed-what-part-18531300.php

 

[PNW]

My concernm having grown up out West would not be wildlife - there hasn't been a mountain lion attack in Del Norte County on record Verified Mountain Lion-Human Attacks and there hasn't been a fatal bear attack in CA in the wild in over 100 years. Landslides are what has me worried. The whole area of Del Norte county has been inundated with rain since December causing flash flooding and lots of landslides. The ground is highly unstable right now. https://www.sfchronicle.com/weather...-conditions-101-closed-what-part-18531300.php

We just had a cougar attack in WA state. Two attacked a group on cyclists in Snoqualmie. One cougar was killed and they are looking for the second one.

 

[LostOldUserName]

As dumb as it sounds, I would also have to wonder if she was robbed/killed for her mushroom haul. They go for about $50 a pound or more here in the midwest.

 

[slowpoke]

Oh no! She's been missing for over a month now. I do hope she is found safe and sound.
Phone found in her truck and bucket backpack found 150 ft from the car. No indication of it was full or empty. I wonder if the area she worked in was well traveled and if other mushroom foragers were in this area.
Was she about to get into her truck and someone called out for her and she approached them? I wonder if her keys have been found?

^bolded by me

This other article says:
“her backpack was nearby and packed full of mushrooms.”

Redwood News, kiem-tv

What a sad mystery.

 

[RickshawFan]

Deng set out to collect mushrooms in rural Del Norte county, California. When she wasn’t home in the evening, her son assumed she went to the local casino so he didn’t want to upset her by calling. He realized something was amiss when she wasn’t home the following morning when he woke. The weather has been foul- some parts of DN have had over 25” of rain since the first of the year. The Smith River was just a few feet short of the Christmas Flood levels from ‘64 in mid January.

Siblings hoping for answers in January disappearance of California mother Deng Vongphachan; “It just doesn’t make any sense”

The 71-year-old mushroom picker’s truck was found abandoned on January 5 in Del Norte County, California.

www.nbcnews.com

Almost the identical thing happened last year, near Gasquet. The landscape is almost impenetrable, very dangerous for SAR. Also, with the cold and wet.... It took maybe a couple of weeks to find her remains, even though they knew roughly where she'd be.

SAR members became hypothermic on the search and had to be helicoptered out. IIRC 5 of them? Very serious situation, since weather came in, and the helo couldn't get to them right away. IIRC

This missing is on the other side of the Smith River Road from where the other mushroom picker went missing. Also near Gasquet. The ranger station is at Gasquet.

 

[RickshawFan]

As dumb as it sounds, I would also have to wonder if she was robbed/killed for her mushroom haul. They go for about $50 a pound or more here in the midwest.

She could have wandered into someone else's patch. However, there are so many mushrooms up there, I can't think that would be a problem.
Mushroom foraging in large quantities is restricted FWIW. There'd be a permit at the Ranger station for any commercial cull.
I'm not certain the mushrooms found at this time of year would go for $50.

 

[RickshawFan]

There are also mountain lions. I don’t think bears would be terribly active this time of year. Cubs are usually born mid January or later, and they usually don’t leave their den until march/spring. Temp wise it is pretty mild in the area, so I suppose it’s possible they don’t hibernate there.

Hypothermia.

 

[RickshawFan]

Low Divide/Rowdy Creek Road connects 101 in Smith River(town) to 197 along Northbank Rd along the Smith River. It’s not entirely paved, it’s a mountain road that intersects lots of forest access roads and has a lot of off grid properties along it.
I don’t have a resource for it, but pretty early on I saw it mentioned that they found an area where it looks like she slept. I didn’t post at the time because I was so certain she’d be found within a few days.
Now I’m just puzzled. I feel like if it were an animal attack, there would be evidence. I fear she may have slipped down to a waterway. I checked last night and Gasquet (about 5 miles east, as the crow flies)has had over 30 inches of rain this calendar year.

Did your source say where the area was that she slept? It might not have been near the car.

Also, she might have 2 backpack baskets, one she dropped off and then went back and picked more. Or else she got sucked back by another sighting as she was dropping off her basket. I think maybe the latter. 150 feet from the car would be a significant distance in that terrain. Very easy to get lost or fall.

Mushroom pickers notoriously get lost, because they look at the ground about 95% of the time, and miss landmarks. They don't go on trails.

Mushroom picking is very much tied to the Laotian community in the PNW.

 

[LostOldUserName]

She could have wandered into someone else's patch. However, there are so many mushrooms up there, I can't think that would be a problem.
Mushroom foraging in large quantities is restricted FWIW. There'd be a permit at the Ranger station for any commercial cull.
I'm not certain the mushrooms found at this time of year would go for $50.

The one place that I know for sure that sell "California" mushrooms hasn't posted any yet and yes they usually start at $50 per pound. (Yes they call them CA mushrooms.)

 

[Oblio]

As dumb as it sounds, I would also have to wonder if she was robbed/killed for her mushroom haul. They go for about $50 a pound or more here in the midwest.

I doubt it. Mushrooms are so common here- my kiddo plucked several pounds of edible mushrooms from less than an acre of private wooded land in less than an hour. Aside from that, Deng’s pack was found with mushrooms in it.

 

[Oblio]

Did your source say where the area was that she slept? It might not have been near the car.

Also, she might have 2 backpack baskets, one she dropped off and then went back and picked more. Or else she got sucked back by another sighting as she was dropping off her basket. I think maybe the latter. 150 feet from the car would be a significant distance in that terrain. Very easy to get lost or fall.

Mushroom pickers notoriously get lost, because they look at the ground about 95% of the time, and miss landmarks. They don't go on trails.

Mushroom picking is very much tied to the Laotian community in the PNW.

It was mentioned on one of the FB posts by one of her relatives, it sounded like it was where her pack was found.

 

[Oblio]

Almost the identical thing happened last year, near Gasquet. The landscape is almost impenetrable, very dangerous for SAR. Also, with the cold and wet.... It took maybe a couple of weeks to find her remains, even though they knew roughly where she'd be.

SAR members became hypothermic on the search and had to be helicoptered out. IIRC 5 of them? Very serious situation, since weather came in, and the helo couldn't get to them right away. IIRC

This missing is on the other side of the Smith River Road from where the other mushroom picker went missing. Also near Gasquet. The ranger station is at Gasquet.

IIRC, that was near the Collier tunnel and it was a tourist. Deng is local and knows the terrain. I would assume she visits many of the same patches year after year…

 

[Oblio]

My concernm having grown up out West would not be wildlife - there hasn't been a mountain lion attack in Del Norte County on record Verified Mountain Lion-Human Attacks and there hasn't been a fatal bear attack in CA in the wild in over 100 years. Landslides are what has me worried. The whole area of Del Norte county has been inundated with rain since December causing flash flooding and lots of landslides. The ground is highly unstable right now. https://www.sfchronicle.com/weather...-conditions-101-closed-what-part-18531300.php

They would have noticed slide activity, however that doesn’t mean she herself couldn’t have taken a tumble down the hillside. It was very stormy and wet just a few days after she was reported missing. I think there’s a very strong possibility she could have been carried away by waterway…