Wow.. it’s hard to believe that in 3.5 months it could quite possibly reach the 5 year mark )=
I don’t think anyone would’ve imagined 5 years without a single confirmed sighting or solid lead. I will say myself and a sometimes a few locals / family members are still out searching every week or two, and I don’t plan on giving up. I don’t know where Macin is, but I do know doing nothing doesn’t make me feel good.
I will say there have been so many kind souls along the way. There’s an amazing drone team, Western States Aerial Search, who are so kind and humble that they’d even hate being mentioned by name. I hope it’s cool to link them here :
Utah drone searchers may have solved missing hiker’s disappearance at California national park
they have a FB page as well, and have helped with many missing persons cases. They come out a few times a year to St. George, and we tackle some of the spots that are dangerous or would take a whole SAR team to cross off. Red Rock Search and Rescue has been amazing, we have gone off their original search areas and tried to grid off any areas of interest and mark them off one by one. The sad truth is that most (I would never say ALL) of the local area has been covered.
It’s tough to accurately understand the terrain of St. George. There are some areas you truly could be within 10 feet of remains and not realize. Just recently, there was a possible set of remains in rural Utah that matched characteristic and clothing wise, that we worked with NamUs to rule out as being Macin. One thing I’ve witnessed over the years is how much the bluff behind the home (they had at the time of Macin’s disappearance) has changed. It used to be “in middle of the desert,” desolate, territory, and now is full of houses, paved paths, and much foot traffic. It’s almost unrecognizable to what it would have been in 2015. Even from the last large search (I believe it was 2018) so much has changed.
I think it’s so amazing to read some of these posts, stories, and personal connections. Not only in Macins, but many missing person cases and forums. Ejay, you have some good insights and ways of thinking outside the box. I appreciate when people can be proactive and offer possibilities and probabilities rather than judgement and accusations. It’s helpful, and hopeful. Anything is possible, I think there’s a lot of circumstantial things that can take you one way or the other here. I want to believe
Anyways, didn’t mean to jump on a soapbox! Got rambling a bit. Just wanted to give somewhat of an update of sorts. There are a few things in the works always. Thanks for everyone keeping the missing in the headlines and unforgotten, you’re great! It’s astounding to me how many current missing there are at any given time, and so many agencies don’t have the funding or manpower to pursue them long term. It’s truly on us to help each other out.
Never Give Up, Never Surrender
