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

[neesaki]

KISS. That’s most likely how he came to the conclusion that he’s dead. He took everything at face value. The man went for a hike in high heat. He didn’t come back. He saw him walking with a purpose. He assumes that since the man is missing that he obviously died out there. I don’t think that is an outrageous assumption. Keep it simple stoopid

Well FWIW, there’s not many things I take at face value in cases like this. I really, really wish I could KISS as you suggest. And maybe you’re right. I really have no idea. Still, if it were all that simple maybe we wouldn’t see as many unfound missing persons and unsolved cases as we do.
I do have to say I don’t ever recall a poster on any thread straight out state “he died out there” as if it’s an absolute and undisputed fact. Jmo

 

[Tim Callahan]

If indeed Neil saw him out there (and I for one am not too skeptical of that), then yes, he's most likely perished. But if he had some medical event or fall, my guess is they would have found him by now, because A) they knew where he was going; B) not too many places to go off trail, and if so, how far would he have gone; and C) they mounted a search for him in a flash. So my guess is, he didn't want to be found.

 

[zecats]

If indeed Neil saw him out there (and I for one am not too skeptical of that), then yes, he's most likely perished. But if he had some medical event or fall, my guess is they would have found him by now, because A) they knew where he was going; B) not too many places to go off trail, and if so, how far would he have gone; and C) they mounted a search for him in a flash. So my guess is, he didn't want to be found.

I know all cards are on the table, still, but this seems a pretty strange place and way to self disappear. I know he has left no trail. Indeed. But he seems ill prepared to just walk off into the heat of the morning to eventually run away to Mexico, or where ever. As for suicide, which is another reason he would have for not wanting to be found, it would have had to be a spontaneous decision as his wife was supposed to hike with him. (Another reason why his taking off to run away somewhere didn’t have much time for preplanning). Jmo

 

[ElementalLaura]

The purported sighting by Neil (if true) would indicate Paul reached the halfway point to the Oasis. That would suggest to me that whatever happened with Paul, happened after he reached the Oasis. Maybe he took one of the non-official trails out of the Oasis area. Even if I were a man on a mission, I would allow myself a few minutes in the shade once I reached the trail destination. Are there any wells or cisterns at the oasis?

The sighting (if true) would also be confirmation that Paul was on the trail. There was an account of someone seeing Paul at the trailhead as well. I had wondered whether Paul realized the hike was probably too long, given their schedule, and thought he'd take what he thought would be a shorter hike in the general area. Neil's sighting seems to rule that out. It would be nice to have confirmation on that.

 

[Toddp76]

Did the family hire a PI. The cops only work on these cases for a short time.

 

[rosesfromangels]

I want to again point out it is extremely difficult to see remains outdoors. A good example is the case of Mike Grefner in Whistler, where Gris searchers literally were within inches of him. Mother Nature embraces and conceals well.

 

[Eevee Pie]

The guy who posted as Neil said

I was the last person to see Paul alive.

How does Neil know that unless he WAS the last person to see him alive?!?!?

Neil also said

He died out there

How does Neil know that unless he saw Paul dead out there?

Neil also said

There’s no shade on the trail other than the boulder I mentioned

There was a hiker video posted a few pages back and while the trail was indeed sunny there were multiple shade spots seen, more than the single one that Neil claims is out there.

I’m still stuck on Neil insisting he’s the last one to see him alive. Only the actual person who was last to see him alive could make that a true statement.

 

[musicaljoke]

The guy who posted as Neil said

How does Neil know that unless he WAS the last person to see him alive?!?!?

Neil also said

How does Neil know that unless he saw Paul dead out there?

Neil also said

There was a hiker video posted a few pages back and while the trail was indeed sunny there were multiple shade spots seen, more than the single one that Neil claims is out there.

I’m still stuck on Neil insisting he’s the last one to see him alive. Only the actual person who was last to see him alive could make that a true statement.

I get what Neil is trying to say, and recognise that he was pretty confident about what transpired, even though there are no guarantees.

When a missing person is not found, it is common for some people to assume that the person has taken off by choice. It's an understandable assumption when their car is found at the train station, but in this case, with the challenges that searchers face, it's more likely that they simply haven't found him yet.

ETA, a friend of ours got disoriented in a forest and lost the trail. He was 30 miles away when police located him.

 

[zecats]

The guy who posted as Neil said



How does Neil know that unless he WAS the last person to see him alive?!?!?

Neil also said



How does Neil know that unless he saw Paul dead out there?

Neil also said



There was a hiker video posted a few pages back and while the trail was indeed sunny there were multiple shade spots seen, more than the single one that Neil claims is out there.

I’m still stuck on Neil insisting he’s the last one to see him alive. Only the actual person who was last to see him alive could make that a true statement.

Hiker video was from April as I recall. And I don’t know time of day. Sun angle is likely to be different in July. Jmo

 

[Hatfield]

One thing that has been really bugging me lately about this case.

The park authority mentioned there was no sign that he had been on the trail. And the dogs did not pick up his scent. I think dogs had been brought out if I am not mistaken.

So here is the thing. The trail looked very sandy to me. With the witness saying he saw him that is no less than 2 people that should have laid down tracks in the sandy trail. So why is there this discrepancy?

I can see searchers not finding him but I struggle that they said they found no sign at all that he was on the trail that day. Him or the witness that claimed to have saw him.

It looked like a sandy trail to me. Surely there would have been footprints in the sand from not one but both people if we are to believe the witness.

This bugs me to no end. Look what the public information officer for the park said at the time of searching.

""Still no sign, not even so much as a footprint so it's somewhat of a mystery," Land said."

Search for missing hiker at Joshua Tree National Park trail reaches fifth day

 

[neesaki]

One thing that has been really bugging me lately about this case.

The park authority mentioned there was no sign that he had been on the trail. And the dogs did not pick up his scent. I think dogs had been brought out if I am not mistaken.

So here is the thing. The trail looked very sandy to me. With the witness saying he saw him that is no less than 2 people that should have laid down tracks in the sandy trail. So why is there this discrepancy?

I can see searchers not finding him but I struggle that they said they found no sign at all that he was on the trail that day. Him or the witness that claimed to have saw him.

It looked like a sandy trail to me. Surely there would have been footprints in the sand from not one but both people if we are to believe the witness.

This bugs me to no end. Look what the public information officer for the park said at the time of searching.

""Still no sign, not even so much as a footprint so it's somewhat of a mystery," Land said."

Search for missing hiker at Joshua Tree National Park trail reaches fifth day

And he indicates in that statement that they expected to be able to find footprints, and find it strange that there aren’t any. Add that to the dogs not picking up his scent, and it leads one to believe that maybe he was never on that trail.

How could the poster that claims he saw him be so sure that he was the last person to see him alive. How could he know this? It bugs me too.

ETA: add link re: six canine search teams
Still missing: Search for missing Canadian last seen hiking in Joshua Tree to resume this weekend

 

[azure]

I’m sure this has been mentioned before, but it seemed worthwhile to reiterate. It took almost 3 months to find Joseph Orbeso and Rachel Nguyen, a couple missing in Joshua Tree last year. I believe Paul is out there, deceased, and has yet to be found.

 

[rosesfromangels]

I’m sure this has been mentioned before, but it seemed worthwhile to reiterate. It took almost 3 months to find Joseph Orbeso and Rachel Nguyen, a couple missing in Joshua Tree last year. I believe Paul is out there, deceased, and has yet to be found.

It took me quite awhile to get off the fence, but I believe so as well.

 

[wary]

And he indicates in that statement that they expected to be able to find footprints, and find it strange that there aren’t any. Add that to the dogs not picking up his scent, and it leads one to believe that maybe he was never on that trail.

How could the poster that claims he saw him be so sure that he was the last person to see him alive. How could he know this? It bugs me too.

ETA: add link re: six canine search teams
Still missing: Search for missing Canadian last seen hiking in Joshua Tree to resume this weekend

I'm a little puzzled by the implications of the lack of footprints. Did they know exactly what kind of shoes/boots he was wearing? Would footprints made in dry sand have been clear enough to be recognizable? They don't really mean that no one hiked up that trail in the last few days, do they? (If it hasn't rained, or been extremely windy, I assume that prints made the day before would be visible.)

 

[rosesfromangels]

And he indicates in that statement that they expected to be able to find footprints, and find it strange that there aren’t any. Add that to the dogs not picking up his scent, and it leads one to believe that maybe he was never on that trail.

How could the poster that claims he saw him be so sure that he was the last person to see him alive. How could he know this? It bugs me too.

ETA: add link re: six canine search teams
Still missing: Search for missing Canadian last seen hiking in Joshua Tree to resume this weekend

Yes, this bugged me at first too. However, people tend to speak in general and assumptive terms. He wasn't in a deposition. ; ) I think Neil is being sincere and honest, and sharing what he nows to the best of his recollection. Amateur opinion.

 

[musicaljoke]

I used to hike alone without my phone as well, that has changed over the past year or two due to the cases I read about here. Still, I find it odd he wouldn’t have taken it with him given it seems he and his wife may have needed to communicated at some point.

From the National Park website. "Visitors should remember that cell phones do not work in the majority of the park and to leave descriptions of their proposed routes with friends and family."

Search Continues for Hiker Missing in Joshua Tree National Park - Joshua Tree National Park (U.S. National Park Service)

 

[RickshawFan]

So here is the thing. The trail looked very sandy to me. With the witness saying he saw him that is no less than 2 people that should have laid down tracks in the sandy trail. So why is there this discrepancy?

The trail has a lot of grit (aka scree) on it, evidently. It doesn't look to be sand, exactly. It would be very difficult to leave a footprint on a rubble-y trail.

Even if a footprint could be embedded on that trail, there would be many different shoe prints. How would it be possible to pick out the missing hiker's specific print? How would searchers know whether a given shoe print belongs to the hiker? You could very easily have had more than one person out there with the same shoe/boot.

 

[Tim Callahan]

I know all cards are on the table, still, but this seems a pretty strange place and way to self disappear. I know he has left no trail. Indeed. But he seems ill prepared to just walk off into the heat of the morning to eventually run away to Mexico, or where ever. As for suicide, which is another reason he would have for not wanting to be found, it would have had to be a spontaneous decision as his wife was supposed to hike with him. (Another reason why his taking off to run away somewhere didn’t have much time for preplanning). Jmo

I don't think he disappeared with the intention with starting a new life somewhere (much easier ways to do that I'm sure), but with the intention of ending his life. As for his wife not going with him, that does somewhat diminish that possibility, but could be explained, IMO. I won't speculate on that. All of the possible scenarios discussed have their merits and weak points, but my opinion is that suicide is the most likely one. Sad no matter what happened.

 

[rosesfromangels]

I don't think he disappeared with the intention with starting a new life somewhere (much easier ways to do that I'm sure), but with the intention of ending his life. As for his wife not going with him, that does somewhat diminish that possibility, but could be explained, IMO. I won't speculate on that. All of the possible scenarios discussed have their merits and weak points, but my opinion is that suicide is the most likely one. Sad no matter what happened.

That's an interesting speculation, but I have to go back to Neil's description of a "man on a mission". The hurried description of Paul is consistent with someone who had to make a flight.

 

[Detectivediva]

That's an interesting speculation, but I have to go back to Neil's description of a "man on a mission". The hurried description of Paul is consistent with someone who had to make a flight.

My first thought when I heard this was that 'a man in a mission' meant that he needed to get where he wanted to get to end his life... possibly prior to changing his own mind or prior to his wife tracking him down.