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

[10ofRods]

Okay, found a bit more (thanks to the KGET page). Templeton Highway is the 46. It lands on the I-5 just *northwest* of Bakersfield.

So his "last known location" should be "outskirts of NW Bakersfield." At a truck stop area. Good place to hitchhike for sure.

 

[indicolite22]

Official public fb group (his mother is one of the admins): Searching for Dane Elkins

 

[PommyMommy]

JAN 5, 2021
LA family searching for missing man who may be in Kern County

 

[PommyMommy]

JAN 20, 2021
Family asks for community’s help on one-month anniversary of son’s disappearance (signalscv.com)
[...]

Elkins, a Brentwood resident, was last heard from near Interstate 5 and Templin Highway around 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 21. At that last known location in Castaic, investigators found his abandoned car with flat tires, as well as his wallet, cellphone and laptop.

[...]

The family said Wednesday that the events leading up Elkins’ disappearance were precipitated by a series of decisions he made that they associated with metastasizing mental health issues.

[...]

“He did say before he disappeared, ‘I have to find myself, I want to drive,’” said Deborah. “And he went through the whole paranoid episode, and he thought there were people after him.”

“We never heard him talk like that before, either,” she added.

[...]

“He said, ‘I’m just going to stay with different friends,’” said Deborah. “But, according to all his friends, he was living in his car most of the time. He didn’t really stay with anyone and he suffered a mental breakdown.”

On Dec. 21, which investigators have said was the last time his family heard from him, Elkins’ car broke down due to the flat tires, his mother said. He then called 9-1-1 a few times, she said, saying he wasn’t feeling well.

[...]

 

[PommyMommy]

JAN 21, 2021
Family Continues Search For Missing Person Dane Elkins Month After Disappearance In Castaic - The Valley Post (valleypostnews.com)
[...]

DE, his mother, said Dane called 9-1-1 several times near where the car was found, but when first responders arrived, there was no sign of him.

Police then used search dogs that lost the trail of Dane’s scent near a road in the rural area of Castaic, leading his mother to believe the missing person may have hitchhiked.

“He can be anywhere, but he has friends in the (San Fernando) Valley and the surrounding areas,” DE said.

[...]

“Sometimes he would just drive around to clear his head,” DE said. “But he would just do it more and more. In six days he went to Oregon, San Fransisco and Santa Cruz.”

Then Dane started to say “people were out to get me,” his mother said, with the paranoia increasing.

“He would even say people were out to get his family too,” DE said. “I think he might believe he is hiding to keep us safe.”

[...]

 

[kelsie]

this poor, poor boy. my heart hurts for him

 

[10ofRods]

The geography in this case is very strange.

The car is found near Bakersfield, but the family believes the last known place he was, was Castaic (which is basically a truck stop, although it is right next to the giant amusement park, Magic Mountain...the only "rural roads" nearby are either further north or west...)

In short, his car went north...at least 50 miles...from Castaic. Family hints that he may have gone south to SF Valley. IOW, they haven't really got a clue as to his last location, except that his car was found in Kern County (Castaic is in Los Angeles County).

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Rooting for him to be found safe soon.

 

[Sunrisenow]

Police search for UC Santa Cruz student missing since December - KION546

UC Santa Cruz police are asking community members to be on the lookout for a student who has been missing since December.

Police say Dane Elkins has been missing since Dec. 21, and his last known location was on the Grapevine at Templin Highway and Interstate 5.

Elkins is described as a 21-year-old with green eyes and brown hair. He is about 5'11" and 170 pounds.


Anyone who sees him is asked to call 911.

 

[10ofRods]

Grapevine area makes sense (south end of Templin Highway).

The road closed a couple of times due to snow, recently. Certainly "rural" as in mostly steep hills, near the San Andreas fault, with Grapevine being at an altitude of around 4000 feet. No large amount of trees, scattered oak trees. Not too far from giant reservoir (Pyramid Lake).

Hitchhiking seems a strong possibility.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
I have no idea how plausible this is, but an unidentified man was found in Oxnard a few weeks back with very similar vital stats to Dane.

 

[bykerladi]

If he's having a mental episode, and he's alive, he may avoid being found. So hopefully LE will find him and take him to the hospital for treatment.

 

[PommyMommy]

FEB 4, 2021
UC Santa Cruz Student Still Missing | Santa Cruz, CA Patch
[...]

"Dane is suffering from mental illness and is in need of urgent care," a missing persons poster reads. "Follow him discreetly and take some photos to identify him."

His missing persons case is #20008-17726 with the Los Angeles Police Department. Anyone who sees him is asked to call 911.

Photos of Elkins can be emailed to searchingfordaneelkins@gmail.com.

 

[mlhenn]

Search Continues For Missing Brentwood Man, Mother Continues To Seek Community Help

Feb 10

21-year-old Dane Bryan Elkins was last seen on Sunday, Dec. 20 at around 8:20 p.m. near the I-5 Freeway and Templin Highway. Officials later discovered his abandoned vehicle with his wallet and cellphone inside.

“There’s been nothing, there’s a lot of sightings, and I want it to be him, but nothing,” his mother Deborah Elkins told KHTS on Monday.

Although nobody knows where he is, Deborah suspects that her son might be hiding near Castaic or closer to Magic Mountain, as Dane was familiar with camping in the area and was “comfortable” there.

 

[Koukla17]

So I googled I-5 and Templin to see a map of the area, and this news post came up. It's random in that I don't see a connection to Dane other than it happened in the same area, less than 12 hours later.
UPDATE: All lanes back open on southbound I-5 near Templin Highway, Caltrans confirms | KGET 17

 

[Fuuro]

This is absolutely horrible. Another incredibly talented and very young person with endless potential has had their life compromised due to mental health problems.

In my opinion, there is a good chance that he ended up on the street or somewhere in the wilderness. As much as it sounds awful to say this, given his conditions and his age, I don't think that his outlook in such a scenario would be very good, especially in winter. Roadways are also incredibly dangerous places for people on foot who might not be in their right state of mind. There are numerous UIDs on NamUS who were hit by vehicles while trying to cross highways (which are obviously terrible places for any kind of pedestrian traffic), and I suspect that a lot of them may have been experiencing something similar to what is going on here. Of course, there's also the chance that he may end up in the path of people with bad intentions who may seek to capitalize on his vulnerable state for whatever reason.

Is it possible that Dane has already been located as a living John Doe somewhere far enough from his last known location to the point where nobody is making the connection? If his condition has substantially worsened since he was last seen, he could be unable or unwilling to communicate at this point, although I am certainly not a medical professional by any means. In any case, I really hope that a caring individual finds him and makes sure that he gets the assistance that he needs.

 

[kelsie]

Praying for Dane.

 

[kelsie]

Search Continues For Missing Brentwood Man, Mother Continues To Seek Community Help
Deborah shared several stories of members of the community reaching out to offer assistance in helping bring her son home safely, including volunteers organizing hikes and search parties in Castaic, or even bringing food to homeless people in the San Fernando Valley in hopes of seeing him.

nother way to help in the search is to raise awareness of social media by posting a copy of the flyer along with the hashtag #FindDaneElkins.

“I just miss him and love him and want to get him home,” Deborah said, “(My children) want their brother back, I just want my son back.”

 

[PommyMommy]

Video interview with Dane's mom. She says there are sightings every day and so far none of them have been credible but not all of them have been followed up on. She mentions some locations of the potential sightings and says they are meeting at the Coffee Bean today because a lot of them have been there or in that area.

FEB 13, 2021
Brentwood family continues search 2 months after student went missing | KTLA

 

[bancam]

Where might Dane go on Valentines Day? I wonder if there is any place he could have in mind to visit on Sunday.

“The black dog of depression: the gradual overtaking of the things you once loved, the person you once recognized in the mirror, and the life you once lived...”​

Profoundly sad for this lad, yet extremely hopeful that some kind soul spots him soon, and his community helps him through the rough patch to get his life back on track.