CA CA - Matthew Weaver, 21, Santa Monica Mountains, 10 Aug 2018

DNA Solves
DNA Solves
DNA Solves

New Posts

Status
Not open for further replies.
Falling or jumping off the overlook: (1) the sniffer dogs would have found something, (2) the chaparral/brush would have caught him.

If you're not familiar with this type of California brush/chaparral, it's thick and irregular and not easy to bushwhack. Bears could do it, back when bears were plentiful in these areas, but it's not very human-friendly.

L7335 has done a great job explaining what this ecosystem is like in earlier posts.

I used to hunt with hounds in similar terrain (not as mountainous) in the high desert and occasionally in the Santa Susana/Chatsworth area. Scent burns off quickly once the sun is up and even fast hounds have to pick their way through this kind of vegetation.

As others have mentioned, the overlook is a well-trafficked spot and the MW events took place on a Friday, which would be a more popular day of the week for going to the overlook. It's a city-slicker's 'hike', close to the metropolis and a walk up a dirt road. The Backbone Trail - popular for thru-hiking or just doing sections of it - is very close by. It seems unlikely to me that MW could be up there starting at 7.30a and be up there for hours/all day without anyone seeing him.

From the recent aborted Local post, there was some story about the cries for help sounding like a man and a woman fighting over a gun (quoted earlier upthread but the post has been taken down). This would lead me to believe that the cries for something were not related to MW but were related to something happening elsewhere across the canyons where sound really can travel. Yes, it was LE response to these cries that led to the discovery of MW's car, but so far, there's nothing to link these things. When the cries were heard, MW would have been at the overlook area for almost 17 hours. But then when the dogs showed up a few hours later, there was no trail of scent from his vehicle or around the overlook.

And then it's also odd that no one called in about a car apparently abandoned on that trail, especially if people went there to watch the sunset and were walking down as it was getting dark. The abandoned car would look a little odd and probably alarming.

If I were in LA this week, I'd join in the search.
 
passepartout said:
Falling or jumping off the overlook: (1) the sniffer dogs would have found something, (2) the chaparral/brush would have caught him.

If you're not familiar with this type of California brush/chaparral, it's thick and irregular and not easy to bushwhack. Bears could do it, back when bears were plentiful in these areas, but it's not very human-friendly.

L7335 has done a great job explaining what this ecosystem is like in earlier posts.

I used to hunt with hounds in similar terrain (not as mountainous) in the high desert and occasionally in the Santa Susana/Chatsworth area. Scent burns off quickly once the sun is up and even fast hounds have to pick their way through this kind of vegetation.

As others have mentioned, the overlook is a well-trafficked spot and the MW events took place on a Friday, which would be a more popular day of the week for going to the overlook. It's a city-slicker's 'hike', close to the metropolis and a walk up a dirt road. The Backbone Trail - popular for thru-hiking or just doing sections of it - is very close by. It seems unlikely to me that MW could be up there starting at 7.30a and be up there for hours/all day without anyone seeing him.

From the recent aborted Local post, there was some story about the cries for help sounding like a man and a woman fighting over a gun (quoted earlier upthread but the post has been taken down). This would lead me to believe that the cries for something were not related to MW but were related to something happening elsewhere across the canyons where sound really can travel. Yes, it was LE response to these cries that led to the discovery of MW's car, but so far, there's nothing to link these things. When the cries were heard, MW would have been at the overlook area for almost 17 hours. But then when the dogs showed up a few hours later, there was no trail of scent from his vehicle or around the overlook.

And then it's also odd that no one called in about a car apparently abandoned on that trail, especially if people went there to watch the sunset and were walking down as it was getting dark. The abandoned car would look a little odd and probably alarming.

If I were in LA this week, I'd join in the search.
Click to expand...

I would also think if he was there there would be a strong smell correct? How far does smell carry and how long does it last? I wish that they can get another dog to walk the trail.
 
Last edited:
Steph9676 said:
I hope today’s search went well. If anyone was able to go please post pictures. I wish I could go but I’ll be working all week. If they have more next week I will go.
Click to expand...

I wasnt able to make it to the search today and wont be able to go Weds either as my job did/will not permit me to leave before 6:30pm... im shooting for Friday now. Sorry, no pictures to share yet.
After seeing the post made earlier by inmyhumbleopinion, with the video, my goodness, thats really high up, thats where they found his car???? Thats crazy!
Just watching the video left me feeling like i was having a bout of vertigo. Im fearful of heights, especially of that magnitude.
Thats not where his car was located right?
 
Roxxi3535 said:
I wasnt able to make it to the search today and wont be able to go Weds either as my job did/will not permit me to leave before 6:30pm... im shooting for Friday now. Sorry, no pictures to share yet.
After seeing the post made earlier by inmyhumbleopinion, with the video, my goodness, thats really high up, thats where they found his car???? Thats crazy!
Just watching the video left me feeling like i was having a bout of vertigo. Im fearful of heights, especially of that magnitude.
Thats not where his car was located right?
Click to expand...

I heard 2 different places for his car. 1 that it was near the platform and the other that it was where the road ends and dirt starts. Not sure which is correct.
 
Roxxi3535 said:
...But wouldnt that mean his scent would have been picked up over the edge of the outlook? And because the brush is so thick, if he had gone over, he wouldnt have fallen far. He would likely have been hung up in the brush/trees somewhere on the way down. Wouldnt the dogs indicate in some fashion that his scent went down instead of gone altogether? Im really not familiar with how these canine searches work but I would think that his scent wouldnt just disappear if he had indeed gone over the edge.
Click to expand...

Exactly !
 
Razz said:
Geez. If one of his back wheels was over the edge, that may have been the trouble he was talking about. Perhaps he tried pushing the car off the ledge and maybe he fell.
Click to expand...
Mauig’ma said:
That to me that sounds like the most likely scenario
Click to expand...
Terrible scenario, but yes, this makes most sense to me.

ETA: And this would also explain why the dogs picked up his scent only around the car, IMO.

From The Local Malibu:
“According to Matthew Sr., canines did pick up a scent but lost it before they reached the road. Scent dogs and cadaver dogs have been used in the search (the latter on the Monday following Weaver’s disappearance). (BBM)
Suspicious Circumstances Surround Disappearance of Matthew Weaver in Malibu Canyon Area Plagued By Shootings - The Local Malibu

If Matthew did fall and he were (I am so sorry) stuck in a tree somewhere down the cliff, would cadaver dogs pick up the scent from the body?
 
Last edited:
So now I'm totally stuck. Him driving (intentionally or accidentally) up this trail late at night makes a decent amount of sense.

Someone dumping his car (a strange spot, granted) late at night makes sense.

Neither of these two scenarios make sense for a 7/8am timeline. Wouldn't there be people walking this trail at this time, or is it less busy than what I'm picturing? Why would he drive up there if he is in his right mind? If this is really a place he frequented why wouldn't he just walk?

It seems to me that if he went straight here after dumping his girlfriend off that he was upset about something. Otherwise, the natural progression would be partying all night > dropping girl off > bed, right? So what happened that made him decide to go there?

As you can see I have a thousand questions and no real theories. I am so lost.
 
I'm trying to picture him trying to push the car's rear wheel back on to the pavement. (I think he had been in the process of trying to turn around).

He had to get behind the car and was probably on the dirt ledge/edge while pushing. He could have easily lost his balance or footing and catapulted backward down the side.
 
Razz said:
He had to get behind the car and was probably on the dirt ledge/edge while pushing. He could have easily lost his balance or footing and catapulted backward down the side.
Click to expand...

But then he couldn't have fallen very far. It's a hillside, not a cliff face, and the vegetation is so thick, you'd get caught up in it before you went too far.

Like Christineisfab said, this doesn't really fit his early-morning time frame at all. People would have been up and down through the day and into the evening.

The family has said that his cell phone was turned off since Friday night. If he'd fallen during the day and had his phone on him, he could have called out (possibly, depending on service) if he needed help or if he fell, regained consciousness, and then tried to call.

If he'd fallen and died in the brush, the cadaver dogs should have been able to detect something.
 
passepartout said:
But then he couldn't have fallen very far. It's a hillside, not a cliff face, and the vegetation is so thick, you'd get caught up in it before you went too far.

Like Christineisfab said, this doesn't really fit his early-morning time frame at all. People would have been up and down through the day and into the evening.

The family has said that his cell phone was turned off since Friday night. If he'd fallen during the day and had his phone on him, he could have called out (possibly, depending on service) if he needed help or if he fell, regained consciousness, and then tried to call.

If he'd fallen and died in the brush, the cadaver dogs should have been able to detect something.
Click to expand...
But do we know what side the tire was overhanging? There could be 3 possibilities.

Also, I thought he had snapchatted a pic of where he was plus he talked to someone around 11:30 am (according to MalibuBarbie) and said he was in some kind of trouble.

Say he fell around noon and was unable to call for whatever reason.
If his car was located at 4pm, then
only 4 hours would have passed between a fall and discovery of the car.
 
Steph9676 said:
I heard 2 different places for his car. 1 that it was near the platform and the other that it was where the road ends and dirt starts. Not sure which is correct.
Click to expand...

The first picture is where his car was found. If you get almost to the top of Rosa's Overlook it forks off to the right snd his car was found on that trail. The second photo is exactly where his car was found. That indent in the trail is where his tire went off.

Source missing
View attachment 148555 View attachment 148556
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Razz said:
Geez. If one of his back wheels was over the edge, that may have been the trouble he was talking about. Perhaps he tried pushing the car off the ledge and maybe he fell.
Click to expand...

This was one of my earliest theories but the fact that the car was locked up, and that his wallet, phone and key were missing, made me rethink things. Unless of course that was incorrect reporting.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

DNASolves

Who is Escambia County John Doe (1989)?

Members online

... and 247 more.
Total: 2,559 (members: 248, guests: 2,311)

Online statistics

Members online
248
Guests online
2,311
Total visitors
2,559
Totals may include hidden visitors.

Forum statistics

Threads
599,629
Messages
18,097,580
Members
230,892
Latest member
Asset Locator
Back
Top