Apart from my hinky meter going full on hinky when I hear Canadian friends and family talk about the case,
1.We don't know that Paul drove to the trailhead. We only know his car did.
2. We have only a vague witness report that he was encountered on the trail.
3. We have no corroboration that Paul intended to hike the trail that day. If he was as experienced in the outdoors as his family are claiming, he would not have been on the trail.
4. The equipment and clothing they say he took would not be the right set up for an "experienced" outdoorsperson. There is no corroboration for it.
5. Evidently, no one thought to check video at the hotel, e.g. in the parking lot.
6. SARS was out there quite soon and didn't find anything.
7. Where was the second set of car keys? They only had one?
Yet multiple agencies had reason to believe he did make it to that location.
LE is not required to report on what it has found, only the resources used.
The fact remains, people do get lost, SAR does its' absolute best to find the missing person not from a lack of trying.
Snip
"teams doing technical, ground, helicopter, K-9, and tracking searches. To date, the search has included 20 K-9 units and over 600 searchers putting in more than 6,000 hours"
SEARCH CONTINUES FOR MISSING HIKER AT 49 PALMS OASIS
Snip
"Multiple agencies are involved, including San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department (deputies, detectives, search and rescue, and emergency services), California Rescue Dog Association (CARDA), Nevada SAR, and the National Park Service with personnel from the Investigative Services Branch, Mojave National Preserve, Death Valley National Park, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, and Joshua Tree National Park"
SEARCHERS SPENT THE WEEKEND LOOKING FOR MAN MISSING IN 49 PALMS CANYON
From August 18th, 2018
Snip
"To date, the search has included 20 K-9 units and over 600 searchers putting in more than 6,000 hours"
SEARCH CONTINUES FOR MISSING HIKER AT 49 PALMS OASIS
From July 18th, 2018
Snip
"His car was found in the parking lot at the trailhead."
SEARCH OPERATIONS SCALED BACK FOR HIKER MISSING IN JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK