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

[ispy4u]

Maybe it wasn’t frantic, maybe he thought he had enough time? The group has been saying he was rushing, there were no witnesses. Maybe he had his own pace. Maybe he was enjoying his time for a last hike before going home. Maybe he didn’t even start the hike, maybe someone hit him over the head and took him. Maybe...

 

[rosesfromangels]

Maybe it wasn’t frantic, maybe he thought he had enough time? The group has been saying he was rushing, there were no witnesses. Maybe he had his own pace. Maybe he was enjoying his time for a last hike before going home. Maybe he didn’t even start the hike, maybe someone hit him over the head and took him. Maybe...

Wife of missing hiker from Canada describes 'hell' each day brings since Paul Miller disappeared at Joshua Tree

"....Since July 13, “park staff have coordinated an extensive search including 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” to find Miller...."

We certainly can't fault anyone for lack of effort or resources!
What's everyone's latest thinking on this?
Has Paul perished in Joshua Tree yet to be found, or is he sipping a margarita in Mexico?

 

[MaryG12]

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.

So sorry for your loss.

No further updates on Paul?

 

[zecats]

Wife of missing hiker from Canada describes 'hell' each day brings since Paul Miller disappeared at Joshua Tree

"....Since July 13, “park staff have coordinated an extensive search including 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” to find Miller...."

We certainly can't fault anyone for lack of effort or resources!
What's everyone's latest thinking on this?
Has Paul perished in Joshua Tree yet to be found, or is he sipping a margarita in Mexico?

I’m almost down with alien abduction, if this were a bit closer to Roswell. Seriously it is that mysterious.

 

[carbuff]

I've seen too many missing hikers over the years who weren't found for weeks or months despite extensive searches to have to resort to alien abduction There are some oddities but all in all it's by far the most likely that he met with an accident and just hasn't been found yet. I think he probably got absorbed with his camera, wandered off the trail, and either fell because he wasn't paying attention or just couldn't find his way back.

 

[zecats]

I've seen too many missing hikers over the years who weren't found for weeks or months despite extensive searches to have to resort to alien abduction There are some oddities but all in all it's by far the most likely that he met with an accident and just hasn't been found yet. I think he probably got absorbed with his camera, wandered off the trail, and either fell because he wasn't paying attention or just couldn't find his way back.

I realize that IS the more logical outcome.

 

[eucalyptuz]

I guess I am confused how he has not been found. The track is well-travelled in a sparsely-vegetated, open landscape with clear vantages. The only way I can see him not being found is with % probability (IMO) is:
A) He did not want to be found 85%
B) He had some kind of sudden medical emergency/seizure that caused him to lose all reason 10%
C) Somebody did something to him 5%

If is is A) I am thinking self-harm and he will be found in the opposite direction of where searches have been concentrated. I do not really think he has run away and staged a disappearance.

I would like to think the chances of C) are less than 5% but more and more it seems we have to figure horrible people and evil acts into our Occam's reasonings

Edited to add a video of landscape...possibly someone has posted similar earlier but it's handy to imagine the place:

 

[ispy4u]

Thanks for the video, that trail looks very well worn, and I can see if you went off trail you could easily get lost.

 

[jash]

While not the likeliest of scenarios, Paul could have suffered some sort of memory loss but is otherwise alive and well somewhere.

Last February, a Canadian firefighter disappeared from a ski resort in New York and ended up in California. It is believed he hit his head. He recently spoke about his experience. This Toronto firefighter likely hit his head during a ski trip. Stricken with amnesia, he turned up 4,000 km away

 

[SpanishMossAntiques]

The reasons for speculation on Paul's disappearance are getting wilder and wilder! Remember Occam's Razor - the simplest explanation tends to be the right one.

 

[Bethan]

Thanks for the video, that trail looks very well worn, and I can see if you went off trail you could easily get lost.

The reasons for speculation on Paul's disappearance are getting wilder and wilder! Remember Occam's Razor - the simplest explanation tends to be the right one.

Heatstroke/Dehydration/medical condition resulting in confusion/disorientation & wandering quite a distance off the trail, seems by far the most likely scenario.

I know I’ve mentioned this before & it was in a different part of JTNP, but I cant help remembering it took 3 months of dedicated searching, for Joseph Orbeso & Rachel Nguyen to be recovered last summer. This tragic young couple were eventually found in a gully, in a remote part of the park, many miles from the Maze Loop Trailhead where their car was located.

The official search had long since ceased, but family members & volunteers continued to search every weekend, until they were found.

In this case, there were two lost people, a trail of discarded food wrappers/empty water bottles to follow, plus dedicated family & volunteers who wouldn’t give up & it still took 3 months before they were eventually found.

Lost, injured & dying, it is thought their lives ended in a “sympathetic murder/suicide”.

Apologies, I don’t know how to link the WS thread, but here is a news link.

Lost man shot girlfriend in 'sympathetic murder suicide'

 

[Ontario Mom]

I still think he was never on that trail to begin with. I realize hikers go missing, searches are done and they are not found, and then searches are done again and they're found in an area that had been searched before. The difference in Paul's case is that searches were done almost immediately - within what - 4 hours or so from the time he left the motel until his wife reported him missing? IIRC, searches began immediately, that afternoon and not a shred of evidence he was ever there. No discarded water bottle, camera, clothing, footprints... not even a scent the dogs could pick up.

I don't have a theory on where he actually is, but I just don't think it's somewhere off that trail.

moo

 

[ispy4u]

If you do find yourself lost, follow the STOP recommendation by the US Forest Service.

1. Stop. As soon as you realize you are lost, quit moving around. ...
2. Think. Retrace your steps in your mind. ...
3. Observe. If you are on a trail, stay on the trail, since you clearly used that path to get where you are. ...
4. Plan.

 

[ttcRider]

ok.. I'm just gonna come out and ask... If there is a trail, a well marked trail why would you bother going off? He wasnt in the deep woods fgs. I'm with Ontario Mom on this one. IMO JMO and all that.

 

[pillywiggin]

In August 2015, a couple died at White Sands National Monument in New Mexico after walking about 1.5 miles. The woman aggravated an old injury and turned back to the car, but only made it about 300 feet. The man and the couple's young son continued on, not knowing the woman had collapsed, and within 2000 feet the man had become completely disoriented, collapsed, and died. The boy stated the man believed they were walking toward their vehicle, when in fact they were walking in the wrong direction. The boy survived because the parents gave him two sips of water for each one they took. The desert is deadly very quickly. It is a bit different situation because the trail in White Sands is over dunes and marked by signs, but once the disorientation starts, it doesn't matter how clearly the trail is marked.

 

[wary]

ok.. I'm just gonna come out and ask... If there is a trail, a well marked trail why would you bother going off? He wasnt in the deep woods fgs. I'm with Ontario Mom on this one. IMO JMO and all that.

Possibly to get a better camera angle?

Or because you're so disoriented with dehydration and heat exhaustion that you don't know what you're doing?

 

[tarabull]

As per the Mrs, we know Paul and his wife visited the park at some point in the day(s) prior to Paul going there alone...But do we know what lot they parked in & which trail they travelled on that earlier visit?

 

[MaryG12]

I've seen too many missing hikers over the years who weren't found for weeks or months despite extensive searches to have to resort to alien abduction There are some oddities but all in all it's by far the most likely that he met with an accident and just hasn't been found yet. I think he probably got absorbed with his camera, wandered off the trail, and either fell because he wasn't paying attention or just couldn't find his way back.

I know alien abduction sounds a little bit out there, but what I am thinking is this:

If Paul was wearing clothing colors which could blend in with the landscape, did he wind up somewhere in a small canyon of rocks or under brush where his clothes would blend in that well?

 

[tarabull]

Paul's wife did a radio interview yesterday (9+ mins). Guelph Man Missing In California

Some key points:

- They started their trip in Las Vegas. They went to Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park and Grand Canyon National Park. Joshua Tree was their last stop before heading back to Vegas and going home.

- They arrived in Joshua Tree on Wednesday (July 11). Due to heavy rains that day, they weren't able to do all the hikes they planned to do. They hiked all day Thursday and planned to do the Forty-nine Palms Oasis hike on Friday morning.

- By the time they had breakfast on Friday, she just didn't feel like going so Paul decided to go on his own to grab some pictures to show her later. So Paul left for the hike and when he wasn't back she got worried and called in the Park to do a search.

- She stayed an extra 5 days after he went missing. They were going to scale back the search and her kids were "freaking out" back home so she went back to be with them.

- She has no idea what happened. Paul is a "very strong hiker". Unless he hit his head or somehow got hurt he would have made it back. She's not disregarding the idea that he made it out of the park (considering the search has been concentrated there with no findings). She said "he knows what he's doing in the wilderness".

- Historically, three people have gone missing in Joshua Tree who have never been found.

- Searchers determined how far Paul could have gotten and have already searched about 80% of that area, including "under every rock and crevice".

- If Paul's still in the desert, the likelihood of him coming home to her in one piece is not very high. The family still has hope that somehow he'll end up somewhere else. Until she's given proof that something else has happened to him she has to believe that he's somewhere out there.

- Paul left his cellphone behind (he never carried it with him) as well as all his ID.

- Paul took what he needed for the hike. He took water, food and he had a knife on him.

- When asked if she's planning on going back to California, she said when she was there over the 5 days of searching, she was advised to stay in the hotel room and wait for news so as to not hinder the search/get in the way. She will go back but not until there's a little bit of a clue. Even being close by, you feel helpless so she might as well wait at home with her family and friends. When they find Paul, she will be going back to California to bring him home.

- She encourages her kids to live with no regrets. Paul would not want them to just sit by and not live life. Yes the family is upset that he's not with them and yes they're heartbroken that they don't know where he is but they do have to continue to live life.

- If the family finds out that Paul hasn't made it, they will deal with that at that time but right now they're living under the hope that he's been on an extended vacation.

Bumping....I suppose this is all we know regarding the previous day of hiking JT...ETA: :WAIT: does that (bbm below) mean Paul was actually at the park 3 times, wed. thurs. & friday....????

Snipped...
- They started their trip in Las Vegas. They went to Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park and Grand Canyon National Park. Joshua Tree was their last stop before heading back to Vegas and going home.

- They arrived in Joshua Tree on Wednesday (July 11). Due to heavy rains that day, they weren't able to do all the hikes they planned to do. They hiked all day Thursday and planned to do the Forty-nine Palms Oasis hike on Friday morning.

- By the time they had breakfast on Friday, she just didn't feel like going so Paul decided to go on his own to grab some pictures to show her later. So Paul left for the hike and when he wasn't back she got worried and called in the Park to do a search.

 

[carbuff]

Yes, that seems to say they were in the park for two days and then Paul went alone on the third day.