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

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FlossyMay said:
I'm not going to rule out a suicide. Personally, it seems odd to go about it in this way, but I've never been suicidal (depressed at times, but not to that degree), so I admit I don't understand the thought process that would go along with that. I have known several people who killed themselves in my lifetime and not one of them tried to conceal their body. I've read about such cases here on WS, so I know it happens, but it still seems very odd to do something like that while on vacation in another country. Surely he would know that would be costly for his family. I don't feel like it's the most likely scenario.
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The point for people who decide to end their lives by walking into the wilderness (it does happen) isn't usually to hide their body, it's more often to make it seem like an accident so their spouse/parents/etc. can collect on the life insurance, which normally doesn't pay if it's known to be suicide.
 
carbuff said:
The point for people who decide to end their lives by walking into the wilderness (it does happen) isn't usually to hide their body, it's more often to make it seem like an accident so their spouse/parents/etc. can collect on the life insurance, which normally doesn't pay if it's known to be suicide.
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I can see that if it was close to home, but to do it in another country poses other problems. For instance, flying back and forth during searches and etc...also once the body is found and identified, it will have to be sent back to Canada for burial. Just seems like something you wouldn't want to put them through.

Still possible, of course. Maybe he wasn't in the frame of mind to think things through.
 
FlossyMay said:
I can see that if it was close to home, but to do it in another country poses other problems. For instance, flying back and forth during searches and etc...also once the body is found and identified, it will have to be sent back to Canada for burial. Just seems like something you wouldn't want to put them through.

Still possible, of course. Maybe he wasn't in the frame of mind to think things through.
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I'm not saying I think that's what he did. I'm in the lost-accident-heatstroke camp, personally. But it seems possible.
 
carbuff said:
The point for people who decide to end their lives by walking into the wilderness (it does happen) isn't usually to hide their body, it's more often to make it seem like an accident so their spouse/parents/etc. can collect on the life insurance, which normally doesn't pay if it's known to be suicide.
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I have thought about this possibility, or a staged insurance ruse concocted by the married couple. If it is discovered they had serious money troubles this should be considered a possibility.

However, I still believe the most likely is he has perished off trail. But all those dogs who didn't pick up a scent. Arrrghhh! Still on the fence!
 
rosesfromangels said:
I have thought about this possibility, or a staged insurance ruse concocted by the married couple. If it is discovered they had serious money troubles this should be considered a possibility.

However, I still believe the most likely is he has perished off trail. But all those dogs who didn't pick up a scent. Arrrghhh! Still on the fence!
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Scent dogs are a wonderful resource but sometimes conditions are too much for even the best dog. It doesn't surprise me that they weren't able to locate a scent trail in that blistering heat. And we've seen so many cases where remains are found in places that have been searched before, or very near where search teams went that the lack of results doesn't really surprise me either.

But there's certainly room for doubt and other possibilities.
 
carbuff said:
Scent dogs are a wonderful resource but sometimes conditions are too much for even the best dog. It doesn't surprise me that they weren't able to locate a scent trail in that blistering heat. And we've seen so many cases where remains are found in places that have been searched before, or very near where search teams went that the lack of results doesn't really surprise me either.

But there's certainly room for doubt and other possibilities.
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Great post, agree completely. Where are you Paul?
 
?mysterian? said:
Hmmm. Recent rain, but no foot/boot prints; no scent detection with numerous canine teams; no sign or evidence that he's been there, except for his car. IMO, I don't like the way things are starting to add up. I hope LE has been very diligently investigating and following wherever the leads take them.
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What is LE mean
 
SpanishMossAntiques said:
The trail he was hiking is rough even on a cool winter day. It has quite an incline, and no where to get out of the sun. That day he went hiking it was 100 degrees out... If he didn't have enough water he'd be in trouble very quickly (especially since he is not acclimatized for that weather).
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…..but if he hiked the trail he said he was they would have found something if not Paul.
 
FlossyMay said:
I can see that if it was close to home, but to do it in another country poses other problems. For instance, flying back and forth during searches and etc...also once the body is found and identified, it will have to be sent back to Canada for burial. Just seems like something you wouldn't want to put them through.

Still possible, of course. Maybe he wasn't in the frame of mind to think things through.
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But wasn't his wife originally going to hike with him and then changed her mind after breakfast that morning? Is so, suicide would have been a spontaneous decision. jmo
 
zecats said:
But wasn't his wife originally going to hike with him and then changed her mind after breakfast that morning? Is so, suicide would have been a spontaneous decision. jmo
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Right. That's why I added the last two sentences in my post.
 
I was with a friend all day, and we interacted with a lot of people during our day together and then he went home and committed suicide later that night. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and when I asked others they too agreed that nothing seemed wrong. He had a great job, nice kids, no financial worry, no reason, no note. So, you never know why they do it, I miss him very much.
 
ispy4u said:
I was with a friend all day, and we interacted with a lot of people during our day together and then he went home and committed suicide later that night. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and when I asked others they too agreed that nothing seemed wrong. He had a great job, nice kids, no financial worry, no reason, no note. So, you never know why they do it, I miss him very much.
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Very sad. Sorry for your loss. It seems most times no one understand or expects it. I have experienced it a couple times with high students I’ve taught.
 
ispy4u said:
It is sad, but thinking about Paul, and speculating- did he do that too. Just kept walking enjoying the hike and said why not, I found my home.
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But this wasn't a relaxed normal hike, as I understand it. It was a frantic, not enough time, started too late and rushing uphill in the baking heat, hike.

I'm not sure which direction the scales tip. 1: that there was something strange going on, that had nothing to do with alleged hiking plans. 2: that the time pressure he was under helped an accident take place.
 
wary said:
But this wasn't a relaxed normal hike, as I understand it. It was a frantic, not enough time, started too late and rushing uphill in the baking heat, hike.

I'm not sure which direction the scales tip. 1: that there was something strange going on, that had nothing to do with alleged hiking plans. 2: that the time pressure he was under helped an accident take place.
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Strange case overall.
 
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