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

[rosesfromangels]

He is in there. We just haven’t found him yet.
Sticking with that.
I recommend another grid search, focused on drops between rocks, and drop offs in general.

 

[MaryG12]

Good idea.
However, before resources are diverted, I would vote for another grid search in the Park.

Agreed.

 

[MFH]

I hope I can put my ramblings into something that makes sense - I was just thinking about this case and how long it has been consistently discussed here with so little info other than what was first learned at the beginning of the time he went missing. Most cases without any info updates/new info releases kind of fade away without much attention.

IMOO -
The most logical thing is that he went for a hike and somehow passed away in the desert.

Here are my thoughts as to why this case is so perplexing to many of us:

All of the oddities around the case can be explained away as normal or typical, or even possible, yet the fact that there are so many makes us question them. Examples of what I’m talking about:

Footprints: maybe they had gotten disturbed from the other hiker or even search teams initially. Or somehow got distorted naturally from wind or animals.

Time wife sounded the alarm to him missing: seems like a very short window, but with them heading home that day it may have been more pressing, and also maybe they were just very timely people that kept up with each other. For whatever reason, it could have been unusual for him to not contact or return based on his/their personality.

Time of day he went hiking: could have just been impulsive and hoping to see the sheep/oasis

Lack of witnesses: this goes back to the time of day he hiked, which would not have been a busy time for the trail due to weather/heat at the time of year and time of day.

Wife heading back home so quickly: some have said they would have done the same thing, while others have said they wouldn’t have been able to leave.

Search dogs not picking up his scent: we have heard that this is possible

There are many more things I think we have discussed over the thread so far, but these are just some of the things that I think are bugging people and making this a little hinky.

When you combine all of the things in one missing person incident, it definitely makes you wonder.

If he is a punctual person (hence the wife missing him so quickly), why would he try hiking the day they were set to leave? With the unusually short time window, how did the dogs not hit on his scent at all? .....

So many thoughts and just rambling away here wondering why many of us can’t leave it at the most likely scenario (including myself).

 

[zecats]

He is in there. We just haven’t found him yet.
Sticking with that.
I recommend another grid search, focused on drops between rocks, and drop offs in general.

Along the trail do you think? Or with the supposition that he wandered off trail? I’m not sure but don’t think there are many places between the parking lot and the oasis that would hide him so well as to never be found, not even a trace. I do agree with you that he’s in the park somewhere. I kind of lean toward his getting disoriented due to heat fatigue and heading in the wrong direction. Someplace he could have headed off to that’s more remote? And not a grocery store?

 

[tarabull]

 

[neesaki]

I read somewhere that Paul worked at a place called VIQUA in Guelph. So I checked out his linkedin account which shows his education is in Environmental Studies and Physical Geography. I guess what I'm wondering is, for someone who has an education in Physical Geography, would they be better at recognizing physical landmarks thus also have a better grasp on their physical surroundings than the average person ?

That trail runs pretty much north-northwest doesn't it? So the sun would have been more or less behind him to his right ? Please correct me if I'm wrong as I'm not that great at directions, lol. To return then it would have, or should have been, before noon so the sun would have still been more or less to the east but higher over head , does that sound right ? So he would have walked back that way going southeast with the sun more or less to his left ? Again please correct me if I'm wrong as I can get easily confused when it comes to N, S, E and W.
I guess I'm just trying to figure out how feasible it would have be for him to lose his sense of direction. Unless he did have some sort of medical emergency, but in that case it doesn't seem he would have ended up that far off the trail.

Somehow, if he's out there, I'm thinking there's more to it than him just getting lost.

 

[zecats]

I read somewhere that Paul worked at a place called VIQUA in Guelph. So I checked out his linkedin account which shows his education is in Environmental Studies and Physical Geography. I guess what I'm wondering is, for someone who has an education in Physical Geography, would they be better at recognizing physical landmarks thus also have a better grasp on their physical surroundings than the average person ?

That trail runs pretty much north-northwest doesn't it? So the sun would have been more or less behind him to his right ? Please correct me if I'm wrong as I'm not that great at directions, lol. To return then it would have, or should have been, before noon so the sun would have still been more or less to the east but higher over head , does that sound right ? So he would have walked back that way going southeast with the sun more or less to his left ? Again please correct me if I'm wrong as I can get easily confused when it comes to N, S, E and W.
I guess I'm just trying to figure out how feasible it would have be for him to lose his sense of direction. Unless he did have some sort of medical emergency, but in that case it doesn't seem he would have ended up that far off the trail.

Somehow, if he's out there, I'm thinking there's more to it than him just getting lost.

Your directional sense seems fine to me. (FWIW, WE spells the way to remember West and East/ left and right when facing North). In any case, I recall reading from hikers there at other times that there is not much shade in any case, and already pretty hot when he hiked in. Hotter still to hike back out. jmo

 

[rosesfromangels]

Along the trail do you think? Or with the supposition that he wandered off trail? I’m not sure but don’t think there are many places between the parking lot and the oasis that would hide him so well as to never be found, not even a trace. I do agree with you that he’s in the park somewhere. I kind of lean toward his getting disoriented due to heat fatigue and heading in the wrong direction. Someplace he could have headed off to that’s more remote? And not a grocery store?

I think he's stuck in between boulders.

 

[ElementalLaura]

I'd be in favor of additional searching. I'd center it on the oasis area. From Neil's description, Paul would have been 2/3 of the way to the Oasis when he was seen in apparent good health, walking like 'a man with a mission.' All we know is that he hasn't been seen since.

I initially thought he may have had a health issue (heart attack, heat stroke, etc) while off trail. Now that I have a better understanding of the trail, I think that whatever happened, happened too quickly for him to return to the trail or leave any sign as to where he is. He would know if he started feeing ill that his best chance for rescue would be to stay on the trail. I also don't think he strayed too far off trail because he knew he had a narrow time window.

The simplest explanation is that he fell, whether off an outcropping or between boulders (I'm not sure there are any crevasses in that terrain), and he passed away due to his injuries. I'm inclined toward this being an accident because we have no indication that he intended otherwise, but there's a lot we don't know. I suspect he's very close to the oasis area but hidden from view. I hope they find him soon.

 

[AzPistonsGirl]

As Neesaki brought to our attention above per Paul's LinkedIn: he has degrees in Environmental Studies and Physical Geography.

Just putting that there again to remind everyone. Could be simply coincidental, of course. I have no idea what happened but the facts as reported don't seem to support any specific theory. He could be anywhere. IMO.

 

[Suglo]

I’m sure that once the weather cools down in October, there will be more searching even if it’s not an official Sheriff led one. The JOSAR (Joshua Tree Search & Rescue) team along with Joseph Orbeso’s father found Rachel Nguyen and Joseph last year on or about October 16, 2017. They had been missing since July also.

 

[tarabull]

Just reviewing for a refresher....bringing this post over from the 1st thread fwiw

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

 

[tarabull]

Search continues for missing Brock grad in California

Paul has his BSc....Fwiw

 

[wary]

I cant get past this footprint thing as well. So they know what shoes he had on exactly? And were there various footprints from different shoes/people? Is this trail heavily traveled every day? If so, why didn't more that "Neil" see him?

It seems there should be a cam or a sign in roster for times and destinations especially if the heat is dangerous and people go missing in JT. Then searchers and dogs have to search which can be dangerous too. Not blaming PM,just saying a sign in may not be a bad idea. Just maybe use initials so folks wouldn't know if a female is alone hiking. Frankly, lone males could be in danger too. OK I am not a hiker.

So no vultures. NO prints. No scent. Very unlucky situation. And of course, I mean unlucky as in finding him (the vultures) Well, you know what I mean.

I seriously wonder if "no footprints" is a sloppy, (on the part of the speaker or the reporter), way of saying: "we didn't find a sign of him."

 

[rosesfromangels]

I seriously wonder if "no footprints" is a sloppy, (on the part of the speaker or the reporter), way of saying: "we didn't find a sign of him."

I like your version better. "No footprints" makes it sound definitive that he wasn't in the park. We just don't know that to be true, and the little that we do know....points to him having been there. I'm going with eyewitness Neil who said he saw him, and Paul was hiking like a "man on a mission". Again, as I pointed out upthread, this would be consistent with a man who had a flight to catch.

 

[carbuff]

That path doesn't look to me like it would make clear footprints. Outlines and smudges, yes, but not enough to identify as Paul's or anybody else's.

 

[neesaki]

That path doesn't look to me like it would make clear footprints. Outlines and smudges, yes, but not enough to identify as Paul's or anybody else's.

Hi carbuff, Could you tell me what you’re looking at? Just curious, as the photos I looked at earlier had fairly visible footprints all over the place. That’s why I couldn’t figure out how LE / search team stated there were no foot prints. Hope this makes sense, and hope to get a more clear picture of what’s going on. TIA

 

[carbuff]

Hi carbuff, Could you tell me what you’re looking at? Just curious, as the photos I looked at earlier had fairly visible footprints all over the place. That’s why I couldn’t figure out how LE / search team stated there were no foot prints. Hope this makes since, and hope to get a more clear picture of what’s going on. TIA

Yeah, it makes sense. I was probably looking at the same pictures--it seemed like I could see the edges of prints but nothing with tread, or a precise length, that would let it be identified as being made by a particular shoe.

But I don't have the best eyesight in the world, so I could be mistaken.

 

[neesaki]

As Neesaki brought to our attention above per Paul's LinkedIn: he has degrees in Environmental Studies and Physical Geography.

Just putting that there again to remind everyone. Could be simply coincidental, of course. I have no idea what happened but the facts as reported don't seem to support any specific theory. He could be anywhere. IMO.

One with nature?

 

[jash]

Here's a good article about JTNP and searches (it's from May 2018, so no mention of Paul). http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...20180526-story.html+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca

...this deceptively inviting landscape, where even experienced hikers can wander off trails or underestimate how quickly the weather goes from cool to intolerably hot.

...when someone goes missing or gets in trouble, officials often call on the volunteers of Joshua Tree National Park Search and Rescue, or JOSAR. They are trained to track shoe prints, climb rocks and counsel the families of the missing — a handful have trained their dogs as trackers. Most of these volunteers are retirees; the oldest are in their 80s.
...
[SB] has volunteered with the rescue group for 20 years, but still finds the nearly 800,000-acre park unwieldy. "If I got off trail a quarter of a mile, I'd be sunk," she said. "Everything looks the same."
...
When [TR] saw a vulture circling over a valley, he followed it, calling out [DS]'s name until he heard a faint call for help. He found [DS] curled against a rock, his mouth and eyes covered in dirt... Back home later that week, [DS] reflected on how, despite decades of experience hiking in the park, he came so close to death. "I just got lost … my physical strength fell away and I just got lost. It's kind of simple in a way. This is what happens out in the desert," he said.