Found Deceased CA - Paul Miller, 51, Canadian missing in Joshua Tree Natl Park, San Bernardino Co., 13 Jul 2018 #2

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It's less than 6 miles from the City of 29 Palms to the parking lot at the trailhead of 49 Palms Google Maps

Not sure which hotel they were at in 29 Palms, of course, there are several --- but (as an example) the Best Western is less than 3 miles from the trailhead parking lot by car Google Maps

Just a 1 hour hike Google Maps

FWIW
 
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tarabull said:
NOPE nothing there...Although O'Shea is "A critical thinker with a passion for helping the little guy find just outcomes."

There's just the 19 second clip on his twitter - with the wife of Paul's best friend asking if the search would be conducted the same if it was an American missing.

​
Click to expand...

I’m not having any luck getting Twitter to open wonder, butI what she’s referring to specifically, the FBI not being asked to search?
It does seem our national parks are routinely criticized for their search efforts, some of which could certainly be justified. Well, just ask David Paulides.
I don’t see any reason not to invite the FBI in as it seems there’s no indication of what happened to Paul, he is after all a missing person, and I don’t recall hearing that the possibility of criminal activity has been ruled out.
I would very much like to see them get involved. JMO
 
The FBI might also be able to smooth over any jurisdictional issues that we often hear about when people go missing in national parks. I’m not saying that is happening here.

I have wondered whether some of the discrepancies in terms of where Paul was last seen (hotel, trailhead or hiking) might be due to who is speaking (sheriff, JTNP ranger, etc). I haven’t had time to recheck the various accounts.
 
Bethan said:
I was wanting to comment on Neesaki’s post at the end of Thread 1 but don’t see a way to quote it.

Forgive me if this is not appropriate, but just want to share my own experience, as the post struck a chord. It was regarding choosing to commit suicide while holidaying in a different country.

I’m from UK & we were holidaying in California, 15 years ago. Our marriage was crumbling & the holiday disastrous.....but the trip had been booked for a long time & I wanted to go through with it for the children’s sake.....I didn’t want the trip cancelled & couldnt see how my husband could possibly manage our 4 children & a teenage ‘guest’ alone.

A mistake, as the atmosphere was awful...so dreadful.

We were both depressed & drinking ( in the evenings)
I was so depressed when we were staying at Furnace Creek in Death Valley, I was considering suicide......I’d reached that most dangerous state of mind where I thought it would be in the children’s/family’s best interests.

Looking back it’s frightening just how suicidal I was at that time & how close I came. Never before or since have I felt that way.

However, I was still rational enough to realise it would be so much worse for my children/husband/ family, if I took my own life, while we were on holiday, & so far from home.

I made the decision to wait until we got back home.......by which time, though still profoundly depressed, I was not suicidal......that dangerous mind state had passed.

Had I not had my children with me on the trip, I don’t know if the outcome would have been different.

Fortunately the divorce is long since over & though it’s taken time, my ex-husband & I are happily leading our separate lives, but come together, where our children are concerned.

I’m no longer depressed & happier now than I’ve ever been.

Sorry for the long-winded post....( all about ME!)

I don’t know how/if it’s relevant to this case.....but you can understand why Neesaki’s post ( re committing suicide, while holidaying in a different country), struck such a chord, & just wanted to share my my own personal experience of a very difficult time in my life.
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Catching up and wanted to also thank you for sharing your real life story and so glad to hear things are better now.

Your story does help to see how its a possibility in this case because we dont know much about them. They were on a "celebration" of their anniversary and it was the last day of the trip so we really dont know if emotions may have come into play.

We cant outrule something like that until he is eventually found.

Thanks again Bethan and so happy things are better and ok for you now. All the best. :)
 
Hatfield said:
They were on a "celebration" of their anniversary and it was the last day of the trip
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Respectfully snipped for focus.
I'm still in the camp that he fell between rocks yet to be found.
However, the fact it was "the last day of the trip" does give self harm some ominous credence. At the end of a great trip and celebration, an ending?
Not my first theory, but who knows.
 
JMO
I have to keep many possible options open as to what may have happened.

Some of the top ones on my list are below in no particular order except for the 1st and 2nd ones which I think are my top theories right now.

1*He had climbed up on some taller rocks to try to look for the sheep and slipped and fell inbetween some boulders and is hard to spot where he is. If I could search I would focus on any boulders that are higher than surrounding areas.

And include searching the parking lot boulders which are right there in parking lot. I still wonder how well the hilly boulders were searched right near the parking lot.

2*He got heat stroke and started to panic without enough water and so he made a mistake trying to get back and made it quite a ways in the wrong direction until he died of heat exhaustion and has not been found yet because of how far in the wrong direction he went.

3*Something like this. I read about another case in the same general desert area where they said there are places where you can see the town in the distance and you think it is much closer than it really is. He may have spotted a town in the distance and went directly at it making a beeline for it without realizing it was many miles away. Because it would have looked a lot closer and maybe looked doable to him if he was getting hot and ran out of water.

4*He got abducted and robbed after his hike in the parking lot and someone took him away and dumped his body somewhere else.

5*A theory of some sort of life insurance scam and agreed separation if things were not going well on the home front. Some sort of preplanning where he would "disappear" for good and start a new life elsewhere and eventually would be expecting some funds to be sent.
The leaving of the driving license in the car may point to a possibility such as this. New identity elsewhere.

6*Similar theory to the above one except this one is where he may have just wanted to start a new life himself elsewhere. No strings attached and the other party may not have even been aware.

7*Cant outrule the theory of both going on the hike that morning and only one coming back. We have had a couple cases where someone was purposely pushed over a cliff. Just saw on a crime show just the other day about a guy that pushed his female partner off a very steep and scary looking cliff. Cant remember the names in that case.
The transportation back for the one person would take some planning but I think its doable so have to include this possibility.

8* Have to leave open the possibility that he was depressed and decided to end it all peacefully and alone by himself. The anniversary trip and last day of the trip may point to possible emotions that may have been going on.
 
rosesfromangels said:
Respectfully snipped for focus.
I'm still in the camp that he fell between rocks yet to be found.
However, the fact it was "the last day of the trip" does give self harm some ominous credence. At the end of a great trip and celebration, an ending?
Not my first theory, but who knows.
Click to expand...

Re BBM
I agree with you. I decided to jot down a lot of the possible theories I have been thinking about and that one I listed as my top theory too right now. I listed them in the previous post i just made.

I so wish searchers can find him. This case is so sad in a lot of ways.
 
Hatfield said:
JMO
I have to keep many possible options open as to what may have happened.

Some of the top ones on my list are below in no particular order except for the 1st and 2nd ones which I think are my top theories right now.

1*He had climbed up on some taller rocks to try to look for the sheep and slipped and fell inbetween some boulders and is hard to spot where he is. If I could search I would focus on any boulders that are higher than surrounding areas.

And include searching the parking lot boulders which are right there in parking lot. I still wonder how well the hilly boulders were searched right near the parking lot.

2*He got heat stroke and started to panic without enough water and so he made a mistake trying to get back and made it quite a ways in the wrong direction until he died of heat exhaustion and has not been found yet because of how far in the wrong direction he went.

3*Something like this. I read about another case in the same general desert area where they said there are places where you can see the town in the distance and you think it is much closer than it really is. He may have spotted a town in the distance and went directly at it making a beeline for it without realizing it was many miles away. Because it would have looked a lot closer and maybe looked doable to him if he was getting hot and ran out of water.

4*He got abducted and robbed after his hike in the parking lot and someone took him away and dumped his body somewhere else.

5*A theory of some sort of life insurance scam and agreed separation if things were not going well on the home front. Some sort of preplanning where he would "disappear" for good and start a new life elsewhere and eventually would be expecting some funds to be sent.
The leaving of the driving license in the car may point to a possibility such as this. New identity elsewhere.

6*Similar theory to the above one except this one is where he may have just wanted to start a new life himself elsewhere. No strings attached and the other party may not have even been aware.

7*Cant outrule the theory of both going on the hike that morning and only one coming back. We have had a couple cases where someone was purposely pushed over a cliff. Just saw on a crime show just the other day about a guy that pushed his female partner off a very steep and scary looking cliff. Cant remember the names in that case.
The transportation back for the one person would take some planning but I think its doable so have to include this possibility.

8* Have to leave open the possibility that he was depressed and decided to end it all peacefully and alone by himself. The anniversary trip and last day of the trip may point to possible emotions that may have been going on.
Click to expand...

Thanks Hatfield, you’ve listed every theory I can think of and that has ran through my mind. Other than to add, the possibility of him being pushed off a cliff or boulders by someone he met on the trail.
 
O.K., I'm going to throw out a fringe theory, and I think I mentioned it upthread as well. There is a ton of mystique around the death of Gram Parsons and Cap Rock. I have no idea how far Cap Rock is from the trailhead where Paul started, but maybe worth a look. As I said, totally a fringe theory, but at this point maybe not a bad idea.
 
Hatfield said:
JMO
Some of the top ones on my list are below in no particular order except for the 1st and 2nd ones which I think are my top theories right now.

8* Have to leave open the possibility that he was depressed and decided to end it all peacefully and alone by himself. The anniversary trip and last day of the trip may point to possible emotions that may have been going on.

2*He got heat stroke and started to panic without enough water and so he made a mistake trying to get back and made it quite a ways in the wrong direction until he died of heat exhaustion and has not been found yet because of how far in the wrong direction he went.

1*He had climbed up on some taller rocks to try to look for the sheep and slipped and fell inbetween some boulders and is hard to spot where he is. If I could search I would focus on any boulders that are higher than surrounding areas.
Click to expand...

RSBM & re-ordered into where my mind currently is
 
Hatfield said:
JMO
I have to keep many possible options open as to what may have happened.

Some of the top ones on my list are below in no particular order except for the 1st and 2nd ones which I think are my top theories right now.

1*He had climbed up on some taller rocks to try to look for the sheep and slipped and fell inbetween some boulders and is hard to spot where he is. If I could search I would focus on any boulders that are higher than surrounding areas.

And include searching the parking lot boulders which are right there in parking lot. I still wonder how well the hilly boulders were searched right near the parking lot.

2*He got heat stroke and started to panic without enough water and so he made a mistake trying to get back and made it quite a ways in the wrong direction until he died of heat exhaustion and has not been found yet because of how far in the wrong direction he went.

3*Something like this. I read about another case in the same general desert area where they said there are places where you can see the town in the distance and you think it is much closer than it really is. He may have spotted a town in the distance and went directly at it making a beeline for it without realizing it was many miles away. Because it would have looked a lot closer and maybe looked doable to him if he was getting hot and ran out of water.

4*He got abducted and robbed after his hike in the parking lot and someone took him away and dumped his body somewhere else.

5*A theory of some sort of life insurance scam and agreed separation if things were not going well on the home front. Some sort of preplanning where he would "disappear" for good and start a new life elsewhere and eventually would be expecting some funds to be sent.
The leaving of the driving license in the car may point to a possibility such as this. New identity elsewhere.

6*Similar theory to the above one except this one is where he may have just wanted to start a new life himself elsewhere. No strings attached and the other party may not have even been aware.

7*Cant outrule the theory of both going on the hike that morning and only one coming back. We have had a couple cases where someone was purposely pushed over a cliff. Just saw on a crime show just the other day about a guy that pushed his female partner off a very steep and scary looking cliff. Cant remember the names in that case.
The transportation back for the one person would take some planning but I think its doable so have to include this possibility.

8* Have to leave open the possibility that he was depressed and decided to end it all peacefully and alone by himself. The anniversary trip and last day of the trip may point to possible emotions that may have been going on.
Click to expand...
I agree with a lot of your theories. I question your first 2 only because why he wasn’t found even by dogs, with such a quick start looking for him. If he slipped in between some rocks, wouldn’t it be easy to spot or “smell” him? The trail is not that long of an area to search. Wandering off does make that more difficult. I don’t know how long the search continued the first day or so due to heat.
Your theory about a town looking closer than it is is spot on, especially if he did become lost and disoriented. What town is possible? Places where the atmosphere is thinner do cause objects (mountains for example) to appear much closer than they really are. I also wonder about the so-called sightings of a mirage by those lost in the desert, places that aren’t really there at all.
It’s a confusing, mind boggling, mysterious tale for sure. Also sad if he truly did become lost and die out there. Jmo
 
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zecats said:
I agree with a lot of your theories. I question your first 2 only because why he wasn’t found even by dogs, with such a quick start looking for him. If he slipped in between some rocks, wouldn’t it be easy to spot or “smell” him? The trail is not that long of an area to search. Wandering off does make that more difficult. I don’t know how long the search continued the first day or so due to heat.
Your theory about a town looking closer than it is is spot on, especially if he did become lost and disoriented. What town is possible? Places where the atmosphere is thinner do cause objects (mountains for example) to appear much closer than they really are. I also wonder about the so-called sightings of a mirage by those lost in the desert, places that aren’t really there at all.
It’s a confusing, mind boggling, mysterious tale for sure. Also sad if he truly did become lost and die out there. Jmo
Click to expand...

Do I remember rightly that the dogs didn't really find anything? That they picked up his smell at the car, but couldn't follow it anywhere?

I'm a bit of a dog skeptic. When they're good, they're very very good--but I'd be very hesitant to rule out a theory because the dogs didn't find evidence of it.

Do I remember right that hot dry weather is the worst for following scent trails?
 
Hatfield said:
JMO
I have to keep many possible options open as to what may have happened.

Some of the top ones on my list are below in no particular order except for the 1st and 2nd ones which I think are my top theories right now.

1*He had climbed up on some taller rocks to try to look for the sheep and slipped and fell inbetween some boulders and is hard to spot where he is. If I could search I would focus on any boulders that are higher than surrounding areas.

And include searching the parking lot boulders which are right there in parking lot. I still wonder how well the hilly boulders were searched right near the parking lot.

2*He got heat stroke and started to panic without enough water and so he made a mistake trying to get back and made it quite a ways in the wrong direction until he died of heat exhaustion and has not been found yet because of how far in the wrong direction he went.

3*Something like this. I read about another case in the same general desert area where they said there are places where you can see the town in the distance and you think it is much closer than it really is. He may have spotted a town in the distance and went directly at it making a beeline for it without realizing it was many miles away. Because it would have looked a lot closer and maybe looked doable to him if he was getting hot and ran out of water.

4*He got abducted and robbed after his hike in the parking lot and someone took him away and dumped his body somewhere else.

5*A theory of some sort of life insurance scam and agreed separation if things were not going well on the home front. Some sort of preplanning where he would "disappear" for good and start a new life elsewhere and eventually would be expecting some funds to be sent.
The leaving of the driving license in the car may point to a possibility such as this. New identity elsewhere.

6*Similar theory to the above one except this one is where he may have just wanted to start a new life himself elsewhere. No strings attached and the other party may not have even been aware.

7*Cant outrule the theory of both going on the hike that morning and only one coming back. We have had a couple cases where someone was purposely pushed over a cliff. Just saw on a crime show just the other day about a guy that pushed his female partner off a very steep and scary looking cliff. Cant remember the names in that case.
The transportation back for the one person would take some planning but I think its doable so have to include this possibility.

8* Have to leave open the possibility that he was depressed and decided to end it all peacefully and alone by himself. The anniversary trip and last day of the trip may point to possible emotions that may have been going on.
Click to expand...

1, 2,3 and variations of 'death by misadventure, wandering off the trail' are my top theories.

But--what about the dogs that didn't find him. My understanding is that they didn't find a trail from the car. As I just said in another post, much as I respect the abilities of dogs, I'm hesitant to draw conclusions from what they don't find.

But--if we DO rely on the dogs, that wipes out every theory above except 5 & 6. (Technically theory 8, if he managed to get the car to the parking lot, while committing suicide somewhere else in a place where he hasn't been found. I rank that only slightly more probable than 'abducted by space aliens.')

Okay--what if he were abducted and robbed in the parking lot BEFORE his hike? That's compatible with the dogs. Call that theory 4b.

So, if we rely on the dogs, we're left with 4b, 5, and 6....

Now, how about Neil's story that we saw Paul hiking up the trail? It's completely incompatible with the dogs--so if we go for 4b, 5, or 6, we have to believe that Neil is either mistaken or lying. (On a side note, if 7 is true, we'd also have to believe that Neil is mistaken or lying. However, I don't think there's any chance of 7 being true.)


All this my opinion only.
 
At this point, I think there is more to this story than him getting lost or injured and not being found yet. I hope not, but from what has been reported and shared, I lean toward him NOT being out there somewhere in the desert.
 
wary said:
Do I remember rightly that the dogs didn't really find anything? That they picked up his smell at the car, but couldn't follow it anywhere?

I'm a bit of a dog skeptic. When they're good, they're very very good--but I'd be very hesitant to rule out a theory because the dogs didn't find evidence of it.

Do I remember right that hot dry weather is the worst for following scent trails?
Click to expand...
Info here how quickly they stated searching and did use dogs. Not sure about dogs’ effectiveness in hot weather though as you asked. Even if what you think about the dogs is correct, LE still looked for him almost immediately. And fwiw, I do believe the accounting by Neil. Jmo.
Guelph man missing in California - GuelphToday.com
 
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AzPistonsGirl said:
At this point, I think there is more to this story than him getting lost or injured and not being found yet. I hope not, but from what has been reported and shared, I lean toward him NOT being out there somewhere in the desert.
Click to expand...
Why are you leaning towards him *not* being in the desert?
 
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