I taught JW in Surprise for many years. I don’t feel that he is the kind of person who would go AWOL and abandon his responsibilities. I hope that I am wrong. I hope that he smoked pot, knew he’d fail a drug test, and panicked. I hope he is driving around the Dallas area, unsure of how to get out of this situation that he has found himself. I hope these things are true...
However, I fear that they are not.
Some assumptions:
If we assume that JW did not go AWOL, and was indeed on his way back to Camp Pendleton, then we can explain the missing 5 hours from his truck’s timeline by including travel south through Yuma, AZ. If he truly left Surprise around 8:30-9pm, and his truck was seen around 9am east of Fort Hancock (per the information on the missing person flyer) then a trip to Yuma, followed by driving directly east, lines up about perfectly.
Surprise to Yuma = 2h 38m according to google maps.
Yuma to Fort Hancock = 8h 33m according to google maps.
9pm + 2h 38m + 8h 33m = 8:11am.
It is 608 miles from Yuma to Fort Hancock. Assuming a full tank of gas in Yuma (maybe JW stopped and got gas there) the 2004 Explorer Sport Trac can make it roughly 470 miles, highway, on a full tank of gas. Therefore, the truck would have to have stopped somewhere along the way, which could account for the slight discrepancy in time. The distance from Yuma to somewhere like Lordsburg, AZ fits the distance that the truck could make it from Yuma on a full tank of gas.
Hopefully, someone is checking the gas stations and cameras in the Yuma area - or an analogous location along the I-10 corridor that fits the travel/time requirements.
It would help if the camera image was made available, as well as the location that his phone was last on the network. I realize that these things are being kept unavailable for a reason, but every bit of data helps.
JW - come home safe. If you are feeling trapped with no escape, reach out to anyone to let us know that you are alive and finding your way back.
