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

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I have zero understanding about how expansive this area is but I have spent many summers within miles and it’s such depressive heat. This makes zero sense. No trace of him? Idk, I’m sitting on my paws. I feel a certain way and have from the start. I’m not sure why. Plus, it’s so odd they chose that photo of him for the flyer if his stats are correct. He looks like a big fella in the pic. Sweet Paul :( Please be a miracle ending.
 
jash said:
Search for Guelph man scales back in California desert

Jeff Groenewald, senior leader of Lakeside Church where Miller is a member, said in a phone interview on Wednesday that the community remains hopeful and is ready to help.

“We expect Stephanie, Paul’s wife, is going to be arriving home soon and we just stand ready to help and we’re trying to figure out how best to do that,” he said.
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Groenewald added that he has heard from others that Miller was an experienced hiker.
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I am not sure why he expects her to come home already? What?

If my wife was missing and its only been 6 days Im sorry but I would be extending my stay for up to a month or more until some news about finding them. Seems too early to leave already to me.

"We expect Stephanie, Paul’s wife, is going to be arriving home soon and we just stand ready to help and we’re trying to figure out how best to do that,” he said."

Search for Guelph man scales back in California desert
 
ilovematt said:
I have zero understanding about how expansive this area is but I have spent many summers within miles and it’s such depressive heat. This makes zero sense. No trace of him? Idk, I’m sitting on my paws. I feel a certain way and have from the start. I’m not sure why. Plus, it’s so odd they chose that photo of him for the flyer if his stats are correct. He looks like a big fella in the pic. Sweet Paul :( Please be a miracle ending.
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RBBM

I had to chuckle at your verbiage "big fella" - did you watch the movie "Fargo"? :D

Paul is described as being 5'5", weighing 160 lbs. (See linked article.) Search for missing hiker at Joshua Tree National Park trail reaches fifth day

I calculated Paul's BMI on several sites, using his age, height and weight. Supposedly, a "healthy" weight for Paul at his age and height would be between 118 and 149 pounds. So, he might be slightly overweight at 160 pounds, but not morbidly obese. Calculators

I believe we're talking stamina and endurance in the heat. His weight may or may not be a factor. Maybe those few extra pounds increase his chances for survival. Not sure if he was a smoker, or had heart/lung issues. If so, he chances for survival might be decreased :(

Praying for a positive outcome.
 
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Hatfield said:
I am not sure why he expects her to come home already? What?

If my wife was missing and its only been 6 days Im sorry but I would be extending my stay for up to a month or more until some news about finding them. Seems too early to leave already to me.

"We expect Stephanie, Paul’s wife, is going to be arriving home soon and we just stand ready to help and we’re trying to figure out how best to do that,” he said."

Search for Guelph man scales back in California desert
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Do they have school-age children? She might need to be home for them. I don't know, just guessing.

jmo
 
ilovematt said:
I have zero understanding about how expansive this area is but I have spent many summers within miles and it’s such depressive heat. This makes zero sense. No trace of him? Idk, I’m sitting on my paws. I feel a certain way and have from the start. I’m not sure why. Plus, it’s so odd they chose that photo of him for the flyer if his stats are correct. He looks like a big fella in the pic. Sweet Paul :( Please be a miracle ending.
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I had the same reaction with the photo. When I read the stats, I expected to see a smaller man than what is in the photo. For someone missing while hiking, it might be useful to see a photo of his whole body too -as that is what other hikers might have seen from a distance rather than just his face.

You know what else I noticed odd about this case? We went into sleuthing mode about hiking - and shared some great info - but not about the missing person. We know from the people quoted in news articles that he has friends in his hometown, including the mayor and church leader. Is there anything about him that could help decipher this case?

jmo
 
PaulR said:
I get that, and she apparently did call as soon as he wasn't back. Searchers set out 30 minutes later. According to a news report on KESQ they haven't found any evidence of Paul being on the trail - shoeprints, clothing, litter, whatever. That seems unusual. I'm not a SAR guy but these are experienced trackers, and they should have seen something considering the trail probably isn't getting that much use this time of year due to the heat.
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You are absolutely correct SAR personnel are highly trained at sign cutting especially when being deployed almost immediately after he was due back.
 
carbuff said:
Presumably the company providing the rentals would be the one with the subscription.

There are any number of satellite phone and location apps potentially available. Our canoe leader uses one for our trips in wilderness Maine and Ontario.

The problem with both the satellite and the phone-based GPS is that there are a LOT of places where connectivity is spotty or nonexistent. Even something like cloud cover can affect the connection. Since you need line of sight, we often had to wait until the satellite was pretty much directly overhead to call in.

It's good technology but still limited. I'm curious now whether this Spot thing has actually solved any of the problems or if it's just got a slicker interface.
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The Spot is a PLB 'Personal Locater Beacon' They generally require an open view of the sky to transmit successfully. When a PLB is activated it will send the information for a 24 hour period and will alert the Air Force, NOAA and USCG. Over the years PLBs have saved over 35,000 lives.
 
Hatfield said:
I used to have a good nosed dog. A Brittany Spaniel.

I learned a lot about how they use their nose to work and one thing I know for sure that on damp days or just after a light drizzle rain they smell odors the best.

The reason I am mentioning that is with the dry hot climate of the desert I do think it could be harder on dogs to find scents to track.
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You are particularly correct. With air scent dogs it is much harder to get a scent with such hot temps. Hot dry air causes air to rise much faster this actually being able to pick up a scent can be almost impossible at times. However if trailing dogs were brought in they would have been able to pick up his track if they were deployed approx 30 mins after he was called in and reported missing. Temps dont matter for trailing dogs to pick up a sent.
 
Inthedetails said:
I had the same reaction with the photo. When I read the stats, I expected to see a smaller man than what is in the photo. For someone missing while hiking, it might be useful to see a photo of his whole body too -as that is what other hikers might have seen from a distance rather than just his face.

You know what else I noticed odd about this case? We went into sleuthing mode about hiking - and shared some great info - but not about the missing person. We know from the people quoted in news articles that he has friends in his hometown, including the mayor and church leader. Is there anything about him that could help decipher this case?

jmo
Click to expand...

Re BBM
I tried the other day to find any info about him in the local town and the only thing I could find was what appeared to be another Paul Miller from a town very close to his town and that person did have some very recent issues. The other person is a little older and is involved in politics and had very recent issues with something he said. It has made a lot of news there.

The age of that person is different but I did wonder if any possible relation because the mayor seems to know our missing person so politics was the common thing.

I could not find anything else about our missing person and may have just been a coincidence since name is common. It was rather strange to me though. What are the odds two with same name in towns very close together and both having some sort of tie to politics. Sure made me wonder especially since the other person had very recent trouble.
 
Inthedetails said:
I had the same reaction with the photo. When I read the stats, I expected to see a smaller man than what is in the photo. For someone missing while hiking, it might be useful to see a photo of his whole body too -as that is what other hikers might have seen from a distance rather than just his face.

You know what else I noticed odd about this case? We went into sleuthing mode about hiking - and shared some great info - but not about the missing person. We know from the people quoted in news articles that he has friends in his hometown, including the mayor and church leader. Is there anything about him that could help decipher this case?

jmo
Click to expand...

This is a really good question. It could start with things like, is he a bird watcher, a rock collector all the way to did he have financial troubles?
 
Or regarding my Post 230 could he have been receiving death threats because of a mistaken identity with the other PM ?

Whether he is related to the other PM or not, maybe he began to receive death threats from people mistaking him for the other PM?

Maybe he wanted to disappear temporarily for safety reasons.

A little far fetched but if death threats were coming then he may have been very afraid.

Or if he was related then maybe he got affected by what was happening.

This link has some information about the other PM. The town the other person lives in is very close to our missings home town.

Paul Miller (Canadian politician) - Wikipedia
 
?mysterian? said:
The news video here Missing Guelph man's wife returns home from U.S. states PM's wife returned to Guelph to their 2 children, but didn't give ages. Video also has a short audio interview with a family friend.
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It is said they had already packed to go home and he quickly wanted to take a few pictures because they hadn‘t seen the oasis. Also, Paul is said to be a good hiker, no amateur.
 
?mysterian? said:
The news video here Missing Guelph man's wife returns home from U.S. states PM's wife returned to Guelph to their 2 children, but didn't give ages. Video also has a short audio interview with a family friend.
Click to expand...

JMO
ok...so there are children. Wonder what ages? Young or adults? That could explain wanting to go back home so quickly but still. Sorry, but if this were me I would make arrangements to fly my kids where I was at instead. And I would hire some guides to do searching of my own. 6 or 7 days is not very long trying to find him IMO. Thats just me though. The searchers are still going to keep searching on a limited basis. Its not like they totally stopped. Just limited now.

Im also wondering why we keep hearing from others and not from her. Is she too distraught to make a statement or something.

I cant shake the feeling that something is off about this case. Maybe im off base but some things seem a little strange to me.

"take a few pictures"? No. If it was just that then he would have been found. There was some nice pictures he could have taken from the parking lot. Hiking to get some better pictures? Ok maybe I can go with that.
 
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Hatfield said:
JMO
ok...so there are children. Wonder what ages? Young or adults? That could explain wanting to go back home so quickly but still. Sorry, but if this were me I would make arrangements to fly my kids where I was at instead. And I would hire some guides to do searching of my own. 6 or 7 days is not very long trying to find him IMO. Thats just me though. The searchers are still going to keep searching on a limited basis. Its not like they totally stopped. Just limited now.

Im also wondering why we keep hearing from others and not from her. Is she too distraught to make a statement or something.

I cant shake the feeling that something is off about this case. Maybe im off base but some things seem a little strange to me.

"take a few pictures"? No. If it was that then he would have been found.
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I would never conduct a search on my own. I once went to an orientation for people interested in SAR and it's intimidating - I have nothing but respect for the people who do it. The last thing anyone wants is someone else getting hurt - or worse - looking for their loved one. If I was a hired guide to help with a private SAR, I'd kindly request that you stay in the air conditioned motel with your family.

"Take a few pictures" seems odd because he left his cell phone in the car and there is no mention that he had a camera with him. I know they still make inexpensive point-and-shoot digital cameras, but the impression I get is that people either use their cell phone (good ones can take excellent photos, even cheap phones will be fine during the daytime), or they have an expensive DSLR setup with lenses and the works. I don't remember the last time I've seen someone taking photos with a point-and-shoot.

Agreed about something being off, which is why I think we are faced with these possibilities:
  1. Everything is as it has been reported. Paul went for a hike and something happened on the trail (heat stroke, heart attack, fell off rocks, etc.)
  2. Suicide.
  3. Foul play by a stranger at the trailhead or perhaps on the trail. I find this unlikely with what we know - there have been no reports that SAR and the police have seen signs of a struggle, Paul didn't seem to be carrying anything valuable, murders at national parks are very rare, etc.
  4. Paul staged his disappearance for some reason (to run away with a lover? join the circus?)
  5. Wife staged this, perhaps with assistance. Paul was never on the trail. Done for insurance money and to not have to deal with a messy divorce/child custody/etc.
  6. Pure life insurance scam. Paul is alive and well and family intends to re-unite once the check clears.
 
Hatfield said:
My Question is have you ever encountered a rattle snake in Joshua Park while hiking?
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Yes - but only once in many visits and many trips up "rattlesnake canyon". A bite would maybe incapacitate you, but you could keep hiking. There were more stories (from when I was going frequently) of younger people getting lost after consuming jimson weed and hallucinating. I was mostly in the park for rock climbing so even with a lot of scrambling in the rocks, snake encounters weren't common.

With the amount of time that has passed and if he only had water for a short hike, this is not looking promising for a happy ending.
 
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