CA CA - Dane Elkins, 21, UC Santa Cruz student, vehicle found Castaic area, 20 Dec 2020

[10ofRods]

I have heard of LE bringing in "missing persons" they locate who need help for an evaluation. I just hope they would do everything they could to help someone.

I could see a parent asking for tips to be forwarded to LE and also to them, if they don't trust LE to follow through. (I don't know anything about this particular case.)

I am convinced I saw Brian Laspisa near a riverbed, some 20 miles from where his car was abandoned. This was in 2019. I called the police, told them where I'd seen him and they took a report. They did not see anyone at that place (and they didn't send anyone to look right away).

So I contacted his hotline and the FB page run by his mom. We messaged back and forth. The person responding would not give their name, I gave them my real name. They said that others had reported him in the same general area but that I should call LE as there was nothing else to be done. I distributed a few posters of what he looked like (using software to show that his skin looked very sunburnt and he had a scruffy beard, he looked very weathered). I gave the posters to the fast food restaurant nearby and to a couple of businesses where I know the owners, nearby. I talked to a person I know who works for local police and they said the area where I'd seen him (with a cardboard sign begging for money) was associated with drug users who live in the nearby riverbed. I've driven in that area many, many times. They cleared out the main homeless encampment there in the first months of COVID. There are still homeless, but they've moved further into the brush in the riverbed. There's a food bank immediately near by, as well.

At any rate, it's impossible to find a person who doesn't want to be found is the main message I got from the FB page operator, the police, my friend inside the police and my own experience with this. I do know that the transient population in that area includes more than just drug users, they do move around a lot. It's about 7 miles from what used to be called Hobo Jungle and there are still homeless people living there, constantly on the look-out for LE and anyone else who might challenge them (they aren't supposed to be there, but nothing gets done unless there are signs they are using campfires, for obvious reasons).

In California, LE can't force a mental health exam unless the person seems to be an imminent danger to himself or others. They can definitely coax them into a shelter or facility if the person wants to go. I've watched them do it a few times. Otherwise, if they are disturbing the peace, they go over to the jail for a night or two, then are again lost to contact.

Sorry to clutter up Dane's thread with this. It appears he went north from Castaic, Brian Laspisa may have headed west. I think they may both still be alive.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

@10ofRods I find your post very interesting. Thanks for sharing that.
We learn and get new ideas by comparing similar cases.

 

[PeriwinkleE]

I follow Dane’s family on TikTok

I belong to the family’s Facebook group.
His mom seems like a caring, compassionate person. She’s worried sick about her son. It would be so cool if Dane just got in touch with her to say “hey! I’m ok!” but I understand completely why he hasn’t done that. That is, if he really is just taking some time to himself. I hope that is what he’s doing.

 

[PommyMommy]

DEC 5, 2022

https://www.nbcnews.com/dateline/nine-years-dateline-s-missing-america-188-still-missing-n1301708

Dane Elkins

UC Santa Cruz student Dane Elkins, then 21, was last known to be in the area of Castaic, California, around 8:20 p.m. on December 21, 2020. His car was found abandoned with a flat tire. His wallet and cell phone were located inside, but there was no sign of Dane. Dane’s mother, Deborah, told Dateline in 2021 that she spoke to her son that day. She said that in the days leading up to his disappearance, Dane had become mentally distressed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and that he had been driving back and forth between their home in Brentwood and Santa Cruz, where he is an engineering student. For the past two years, Dane’s family has used social media to reach out to the community for information on his whereabouts. A Facebook group ‘Searching for Dane Elkins’ and the TikTok account @KindnessMom were launched to help spread the word. According to Dane’s mother’s Tik Tok page, there have been reported sightings of Dane that she believes are legitimate, the most recent being in the Northern California area, particularly in Santa Cruz. These possible sightings give her hope that her son is still alive. The family asks anyone who believes they’ve spotted someone who might be Dane to take a photo of the individual and send it to searchingfordaneelkins@gmail.com, which will allow the family to better determine if it actually could be Dane before passing it along to investigators. Dane is described as being 5’11”, and weighing 170 lbs. He has brown hair and green eyes. Dane would be 23 years old today. Anyone with information on his location is urged to call the LAPD’s Missing Persons Unit at (213) 996-1800. During non-business hours or on weekends, calls should be directed to 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (877-527-3247). Anyone wishing to remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477). You can also call Dane’s mother directly at (562) 504-6005.

 

[PommyMommy]

DEC 21, 2022

Search for Dane Elkins continues 2 years after reported disappearance

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Wednesday marked two years since UC Santa Cruz student Dane Elkins was reported missing. On Dec. 21, 2020, the engineering student and racquetball champion called…

www.kget.com

Wednesday marked two years since UC Santa Cruz student Dane Elkins was reported missing.

On Dec. 21, 2020, the engineering student and racquetball champion called his family as he drove and down the state, paranoid and likely mentally distressed due to the pandemic. That was the last time they spoke with him.

[...]

 

[PommyMommy]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1631852397126467584

 

[PommyMommy]

MAR 3, 2023

A mother’s hope that social media can find her son

Dane Elkins was convinced he was being tracked by the government.

www.newsnationnow.com

[...]

The day he disappeared, Dane Elkins made a rambling video post on Snapchat.

“He did one last Snapchat and told us that the government was after him and our family. That is when we knew something was really wrong,” Deborah Elkins said.

Before his disappearance, Dane Elkins was a 21-year-old engineering student at UC Santa Cruz. He was also a black belt in karate and a racquetball champion, winning 23 junior national titles in both doubles and singles competition.

[...]

...when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, forcing people into isolation, Deborah Elkins noticed a change in her son.

“He would be laying in his bed all day. And then he would disappear into the night,” she said. ” He left our house and told us he was going to stay with friends, but he was actually living in his car.”

[...]

On Dec. 21, 2020, Dane Elkins called his mother from the highway, saying it wasn’t safe for him to come home.

“One of the last things Dane said to me was, it’s not safe Mom. Your life is in danger. Mom, there’s targets on you. And there’s more targets on dad,” Deborah Elkins said.

[...]

“I think Dane was really scared to be tracked by the government. So he left everything traceable in his car,” Deborah Elkins said.

Research, from both the U.S. and other countries, suggests that scenario may be more common since the start of the pandemic.

[...]

 

[annpats]

MAR 3, 2023

A mother’s hope that social media can find her son

Dane Elkins was convinced he was being tracked by the government.

www.newsnationnow.com

[...]

The day he disappeared, Dane Elkins made a rambling video post on Snapchat.

“He did one last Snapchat and told us that the government was after him and our family. That is when we knew something was really wrong,” Deborah Elkins said.

Before his disappearance, Dane Elkins was a 21-year-old engineering student at UC Santa Cruz. He was also a black belt in karate and a racquetball champion, winning 23 junior national titles in both doubles and singles competition.

[...]

...when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, forcing people into isolation, Deborah Elkins noticed a change in her son.

“He would be laying in his bed all day. And then he would disappear into the night,” she said. ” He left our house and told us he was going to stay with friends, but he was actually living in his car.”

[...]

On Dec. 21, 2020, Dane Elkins called his mother from the highway, saying it wasn’t safe for him to come home.

“One of the last things Dane said to me was, it’s not safe Mom. Your life is in danger. Mom, there’s targets on you. And there’s more targets on dad,” Deborah Elkins said.

[...]

“I think Dane was really scared to be tracked by the government. So he left everything traceable in his car,” Deborah Elkins said.

Research, from both the U.S. and other countries, suggests that scenario may be more common since the start of the pandemic.

[...]

I wish she'd told everyone these details from the beginning.....

 

[arielilane]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1631663795415179268

 

[arielilane]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1644734763264282626

Heartbreaking Celebrating Dane's 24th Birthday without him! Please retweet to help me find my son safe!

 

[PommyMommy]

MAY 7, 2023

Dane Elkins: Mom hopes to find son 2 years after his disappearance

Dane Elkins has been missing for two years. His mother Deborah remains hopeful for his safe return to their family.

www.foxla.com

Elkins' oldest son Dane has been missing for two years. At the beginning of the pandemic, feeling perhaps delusional and threatened by Government operatives Elkins said her son posted a video to Snapchat, saying "there were targets after us, and targets after him and wanted to come clean."

In the video Dane said, "How do we know what food we’re supposed to have? And, what food we’re not supposed to have? What to drink. etcetera etcetera."

His mom said he told the family that "he was going to drive around in his car and stay with friends. He had a psychotic break, and he was actually living in his car."

Brentwood man missing for 2 years, mom still searching​

 

[megs1477]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1682207985526005760

 

[PeriwinkleE]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1682207985526005760

I can’t view twitter. What does this say?

 

[sassyblue]

How do I get media coverage if my son's name is not #CarleeRussell and may son DANE ELKINS really is MISSING

 

[arielilane]

Brian Entin Retweeted

Please Retweet this well done updated story by @NewsNation @MarniHughesTV @producerpaige_ to help find my sweet kind son #DANEELKINS safe#dane #finddane #ucsc #kindnesssearch #northerncalifornia #vegan #blackbelt #racquetball

https://twitter.com/x/status/1683685927691108352

https://twitter.com/MarniHughesTV

 

[megs1477]

This mom is really pushing social media and it is working. I hope she is able to find answers soon.

 

[Protectwomenandgirls]

This mom is really pushing social media and it is working. I hope she is able to find answers soon.

She has been heavily using social media to advocate for him, non stop, since he went missing. It's so sad that there have been no significant developments in Dane's case

 

[PommyMommy]

NOV 3, 2023
NBC News - 10 YEARS OF MISSING IN AMERICA
[...]

UC Santa Cruz student Dane Elkins, 22, was last known to be in the area of Castaic, California, around 8:20 p.m. on December 21, 2020. His car was found abandoned with a flat tire. His wallet and cell phone were located inside, but there was no sign of Dane.

Dane’s mother, Deborah, told Dateline in 2021 that she spoke to her son that day.
She added that in the days leading up to his disappearance, Dane had become mentally distressed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and that he had been driving back and forth between their home in Brentwood and Santa Cruz, where he was an engineering student. For nearly three years, Dane’s family has used social media to reach out to the community for information on his whereabouts. A Facebook group ‘Searching for Dane Elkins’ and the TikTok account @KindnessMom were launched to help with the search.

According to a message posted on the Facebook page in 2023, the family believes the most recent sighting of Dane was in Santa Cruz, California in April of 2022. The family asks anyone who thinks they’ve spotted someone who might be Dane to take a photo of the individual and send it to searchingfordaneelkins@gmail.com, which will allow the family to better determine if it actually could be Dane before passing it along to investigators. They urge people not to call the police right away for the sake of Dane’s mental health and for fear that it may make matters worse. Dane is described as being 5’11”, and weighing 170 lbs. He has brown hair and green eyes. His family said he had facial hair in the days before his disappearance. Anyone with information on his location is urged to call the LAPD’s Missing Persons Unit at (213) 996-1800. During non-business hours or on weekends, calls should be directed to 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (877-527-3247). Anyone wishing to remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477).