Found Deceased CA - Paul Miller, 51, Canadian missing in Joshua Tree National Park, San Bernardino Co., 13 Jul 2018

[PaulR]

During times like this, I'd rather be with friends and family.

 

[Hippononymous]

During times like this, I'd rather be with friends and family.

My kids are younger, but...putting myself in her shoes, I think I’d have to be there for my kids, knowing that there are things I can do from afar for him (since I probably would not be doing the searching in such harsh conditions). And putting myself in his shoes, assuming either accident or foul play, I’d want my spouse with our kids. MOO

 

[carbuff]

During times like this, I'd rather be with friends and family.

I would too. There's nothing I could do by staying and if something comes up, I'd be there on the next flight.

 

[Hatfield]

During times like this, I'd rather be with friends and family.

JMO
With only 4 or 5 full days of searching and a partial day the first day, I would still very much have hope that he could still be found alive so there is no way I would have left that quickly.

I would want to be there the moment they found him and I would be expecting that news to come any day now.

Sure once a week or two has gone by then I would start to think of other plans. But for me personally it would not have even been a consideration to leave after only 4-5 days.

And yes I would be constantly on the phone with other family members and friends. In fact one of the friends had already traveled to be with her so she already had a friend there.

I would arrange video chats with my family members through the church to comfort and console each other.

But everyone is different. Its just what I would do and not everyone does things the same way.

ETA Imagine what would have happened if he was one of the miracle surviving stories and they found him and he asked from the hospital bed "where is my wife"? And you had to explain to him you left and went home.
No way would I leave so quickly.

 

[RickshawFan]

At the end of the clip, the reporter states: "And Miller's friends have also set up an online campaign to help his family deal with the sudden loss of his income. With no answers about his whereabouts or condition, there is a concern this could impact his life insurance policies."

They're worried about life insurance policies? What the heck? They're concerned the life insurance company won't pay? Huh?

You think maybe they could be more concerned about him than his life insurance policies.

In any of this, any comment about him or his life that comes from family and friends just seems so perfunctory. There's no "he's so dear to me, and I just miss him. He was like....." yadda yadda yadda, "I'll never forget when we......, gosh I wish he was here with me right here, right now." "I'm so upset thinking he might just be in terrible pain and wondering whether we'll rescue him."

Instead, almost everything has been total vagueness and hang ups about the car and getting back home to adult kids.... Where's he in all this? The man? The person?

 

[bluesneakers]

My kids are younger, but...putting myself in her shoes, I think I’d have to be there for my kids, knowing that there are things I can do from afar for him (since I probably would not be doing the searching in such harsh conditions). And putting myself in his shoes, assuming either accident or foul play, I’d want my spouse with our kids. MOO

I hadn't thought about it from that perspective. Good point. I would want my partner to be with people who could take care of him. The professionals are doing all they can for me, right? Go.

 

[RickshawFan]

Yeah, I'm just a 20 year federal agent with a Doctorate in Forensic Anthropology

Wow, I always wanted to be one of those... (for real).

Now you can register with this site as a "verified carrion specialist".

So, now you can answer our decomposition questions? Except this case might not result in decomposition even if it's a fatality? Flesh kind of evaporates since it's mostly water? Crucially, are there vultures in the desert anyway, so looking out for circling birds overhead to locate a victim in Joshua Tree might be a total waste of time? Is there carrion in extreme conditions like this?

 

[GraceG]

Wow, I always wanted to be one of those... (for real).

Now you can register with this site as a "verified carrion specialist".

So, now you can answer our decomposition questions? Except this case might not result in decomposition even if it's a fatality? Flesh kind of evaporates since it's mostly water? Crucially, are there vultures in the desert anyway, so looking out for circling birds overhead to locate a victim in Joshua Tree might be a total waste of time? Is there carrion in extreme conditions like this?

Thanks - it was a late in life thing. I was an airline pilot bored out of my mind going from Point A to B every day so I went back to school in my 40's and then got hired by a three letter agency after 9/11.

I've not done the verified insider thing as I testified against too many cartel people and literally do not put my legal name anywhere out on the web because of death threats (I write my books under a pseudonym). And I'm always happy to provide my info to the moderators as I still do "legal expert" work. I just don't want it "out there" for the public. (and by the way, unlike "Bones" on TV, my partner was not a hot FBI agent but a short, bald Cajun).

Carrion (which includes insects), like any animal, don't like the extreme heat, but they need the water from blood and body tissue to survive as well so there are still out there, but more likely late day where there are a lot of updrafts to soar on and less people out and about. Decomp in this case can go two ways depending on the location and the soil where the body comes to rest. Mummification is NOT uncommon, though it usually takes a full three months. Some desert conditions greatly favor natural mummification. The soil is very rich in nitrates which, when combined with other factors such as the aridity of the Desert, ensure organic preservation. Salts halt bacterial growth; the hot, dry conditions facilitate rapid desiccation, evaporating all bodily fluids of the corpses. Soft tissues, as a result, dry before they decay and a naturally preserved mummy is left.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Someone earlier in the thread mentioned "2 paychecks away from financial disaster" and this family may be an example of this.

It was I who cited that. It's very often mentioned in relation to ordinary people in both the US and the UK, though that doesn't necessarily mean it applies to everyone.

 

[carbuff]

Even if they're not living from paycheck to paycheck, the loss of the income stream might easily plunge them into a financial crisis. Often the purpose of a life-insurance policy is to have some ready cash for expenses while waiting for probate or answers or whatever, too, so not knowing what happened could leave them in a very difficult position--potentially losing their home, for instance.

And sometimes when you've got that kind of thing going on, you focus on it, because it takes your mind off the terrible things you can't bear to think about.

 

[neesaki]

6. Six. SIX.
I fail to believe that 6 canine search teams never detected Paul's scent if he had been there.

6 humans, yes I could believe that, but not specially-trained dogs.

That, plus our resident S&R VP's opinion to me says Paul wasn't there.

Will happily eat my words if he is found.

I just started reading here, but this is what I was just thinking, was he ever really there? Is there any proof that he went to that park ?

 

[Dushi]

I just started reading here, but this is what I was just thinking, was he ever really there? Is there any proof that he went to that park ?

Apparently he had planned to hike this trail. A poster above (somewhere) said PM had told a friend of his plans to do this hike while on vacation.
His wife knew where he was going.
When he didn't return, his wife alerted authorities who found his car in the lot.

I don't know of anyone who actually saw him enter or on the trail.
Several dogs were sent in and no scent was found.
Nothing that belonged to PM was found (AFAIK)

 

[jash]

The latest article from the Miller's local paper:
Friends set up page for missing Guelph man's family - GuelphToday.com

“He was the main breadwinner in the family, supporting his wife while she went back to school to become a teacher, and we just wanted to help her out and raise enough money for a year or so,” Otten said.
...
Otten said his salary will likely end soon and insurance money could be a long way down the road.

 

[jash]

Nobody has given up hope of Paul being found alive.

“There’s always going to be hope until there is an answer at this point,” Otten said. “Paul is a fighter.”
...
“We’re hoping for cooler temperatures so the search can resume.”

Friends set up page for missing Guelph man's family - GuelphToday.com

 

[PaulR]

I found an article discussing how a missing person is declared deceased in Ontario: Missing Persons and Declarations of Death - Hull & Hull LLP

Summary:

• They are missing for seven years, oe
• They "disappeared in circumstances of peril"

Peril is defined as "a situation of serious and immediate danger." Specifically they had to be in that type of danger prior to their disappearance. It seems to be focused on plane crashes or natural disasters - the act that defines there circumstances came into effect after Canadians went missing during the 9/11 attacks and their remains weren't found. I'm not sure if these circumstances - which are suspicious - would let him be declared dead without waiting seven years. And life insurance is going to want that death certificate.

 

[dulcinea]

I always have the forecast for JTNP on my phone because we frequently hike there. However, Twentynine Palms is usually a bit toastier, so I looked it up.
These are the projected high temperatures for Twentynine Palms:
Wed 113, Thurs 113, Fri 111, Sat 106, Sun 105, Mon 105, Tue 107, Wed 106, Thurs 107

 

[dulcinea]

I always have the forecast for JTNP on my phone because we frequently hike there. However, Twentynine Palms is usually a bit toastier, so I looked it up.
These are the projected high temperatures for Twentynine Palms:
Wed 113, Thurs 113, Fri 111, Sat 106, Sun 105, Mon 105, Tue 107, Wed 106, Thurs 107

 

[crhedBngr]

Bumping for Paul . . .

 

[jash]

On the page, under the "updates" tab, there are photos of three of the K-9 search & rescue dogs at JTNP (one is wearing little booties, I assume to protect paws from the heat).

There is also a note that the heatwave is expected to break tomorrow which may permit the search to continue.

*fingers crossed*

(I'm still not sure if is allowed here so I'm not linking or bringing over any photos.)

 

[Eleven_11]

There is also a note that the heatwave is expected to break tomorrow which may permit the search to continue.

I don’t know what they are talking about...I’m about an hour away and there is no break in our heatwave in the foreseeable future. My weather app shows the high out there today to be 109, tomorrow 108, Saturday 106 and then 103 the next three days, then back up after that.

It’s not much cooler than that here and it’s downright miserable, I can’t imagine being out there searching.