CA CA - David O'Sullivan, 25, Pacific Crest Trail, Idyllwild, 7 April 2017 Irish citizen

[JerseyGirl]

David O'Sullivan (25) has been missing since April 7 while hiking the Pacific Crest Trail.. On that date he sent an email to his parents and posted a package from a post office in Idyllwild.

He has not made contact since and never showed up to a pre-arranged meeting with a friend in Santa Barbara in early May.

http://www.independent.ie/irish-new...-missing-while-hiking-in-the-us-35989466.html

 

[GigTu]

Oh dear. Missing in the woods since April....

i wonder what the package was and what the email said.

 

[JerseyGirl]

An Irish man missing from a hiking route in California "may have gone off the trail to avoid heavy snow", according to a detective.

David is not a professional hiker, his family considers him a novice, so he had told them prior to leaving he was intent on avoiding deep snow and ice at all costs.

David left Ireland on March 20th to hike the Pacific Crest trail from southern California to Canada. David started the hike on the American/Mexican border on March 22nd and reached Idyllwild in California on April 5th.

He had hiking gear, a non-smart phone, and tablet. He had no international plan, so he was relying on local Wi-Fi spots to contact his family.

On April 7th, David’s parents received an email from him detailing the hike thus far. That’s the last contact they received from David.

David was due to meet up with a friend in Santa Barbara in early May but did not show up.

It was not expected that David would go more than three weeks without making contact.

There’s been no recent banking activity.

Police did contact Interpol Dublin and Interpol Washington and coordinated a joint effort. We were able to ping the phone. "We did learn however that the phone had been shut off and no further activity from March 22nd," police said.

http://www.independent.ie/irish-new...e-off-trail-to-avoid-heavy-snow-35992527.html

 

[TatianaBarbie]

When I was researching the Pacific Crest Trail, I saw this news article about David:

https://www.mymotherlode.com/news/l...rtedly-missing-along-pacific-crest-trail.html

He has black hair, blue eyes and a thick Irish accent. He was last seen hiking alone with a neon blue backpack.

I also read some thru-hiker blogs to see if anyone remarked about meeting a hiker from Ireland. No luck.

 

[TatianaBarbie]

Further information:

His missing poster: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1458221407598277&id=1453588341394917
His Missing Person - David O'Sullivan - PCT Hiker Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Missing-Person-David-OSullivan-PCT-Hiker-1453588341394917/
ABC News Story: http://abcnews.go.com/International...ssing-pacific-crest-trail-california-49136022

The most informative source other than Irish websites: http://idyllwildtowncrier.com/2017/08/09/pct-hiker-last-seen-idyllwild-still-missing/

In the Idyllwild Town Crier, it mentions:

[FONT=&quot]At present, Detective Sean Lawlor, Murrieta Police, is working with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department and authorities in San Bernardino County. He also is following a lead from a trail angel who might have given O’Sullivan a ride to Whitewater, thus avoiding the snow in the San Jacinto Range.[/FONT]

I hope that they are able to locate this young man.

 

[LadyL]

I think we need a forum specifically for lost, missing, rescued hikers. There's just SO many! Hope David is found soon.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

What on earth leads an inexperienced hiker to imagine he can complete a rugged 2,600 mile mountain and forest hike alone?

ETA that if he started at the Mexican border on 22 March and reached Idyllwild on 5 April, then as far as I can work out he had covered less than 200km in 2 weeks (judging by Google maps) . He may have been in difficulty almost from the start.

 

[Sjm_qc]

The (only) good thing about this is that it's getting a lot of traction in the hiking/PCT community, off and online.

Reading around the FB page & a couple of hiking pages, it seems there's a positive sighting by/interaction with a trail angel after Idyllwild

ETA: I've checked a couple of PCT hiking blogs, & ~14 days from start to Idyllwild isn't unusual.

 

[Vail]

Was he depressed or had some event prior that made him want to do this? Im an experienced hiker and wouldn't even undertake this, especially not without gear and a gps. Idyllwild is remote and the mountains around it rugged and full of wildlife..idont think he survived.

 

[Sjm_qc]

Was he depressed or had some event prior that made him want to do this? Im an experienced hiker and wouldn't even undertake this, especially not without gear and a gps. Idyllwild is remote and the mountains around it rugged and full of wildlife..idont think he survived.

Not that's been mentioned, no. It sounds more like an adventure of a lifetime sort of thing.

Also, while parts of the trail are wild & remote, there are a lot of people on it every day (which is a problem, actually).

The lack of gps is concerning, I agree. I do think he may have got into trouble (accident), and/or gone off-trail without realizing it.

 

[JerseyGirl]

An update:

O'Sullivan was sighted between April 10 and April 15 at a house of a "trail angel" near Cabazon, just north of San Diego. Trail angels are people known to aid hikers on their journeys.

The trail angel dropped off O'Sullivan and other hikers at Interstate 10 south of the White Water Preserve, where he and a number of other trekkers continued their hike. Another article says they were dropped off at a ranger station where they continued their hike and that the the trail headed into the San Bernardino Mountains.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Department was only informed about the missing hiker a week ago. His family reported to Irish police in late June that he was a missing person.

https://www.thesun.ie/news/1379560/...-after-leaving-ireland-to-hike-us-wilderness/
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/hiker-ireland-missing-five-month-trek-article-1.3403111

 

[Sjm_qc]

An update:

O'Sullivan was sighted between April 10 and April 15 at a house of a "trail angel" near Cabazon, just north of San Diego. Trail angels are people known to aid hikers on their journeys.

The trail angel dropped off O'Sullivan and other hikers at Interstate 10 south of the White Water Preserve, where he and a number of other trekkers continued their hike. Another article says they were dropped off at a ranger station where they continued their hike and that the the trail headed into the San Bernardino Mountains.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Department was only informed about the missing hiker a week ago. His family reported to Irish police in late June that he was a missing person.

https://www.thesun.ie/news/1379560/...-after-leaving-ireland-to-hike-us-wilderness/
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/hiker-ireland-missing-five-month-trek-article-1.3403111

Also:
http://www.pe.com/2017/08/09/search...il-hiker-last-seen-near-cabazon-4-months-ago/

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, which was only notified about his disappearance a week ago, is now leading the efforts to locate 25-year-old David O’Sullivan, Sgt. Chris Willison said Wednesday, Aug. 9. Teams will be searching on foot, with bloodhounds, from off-road utility vehicles and by air. Law enforcement agencies to the north and south also have been briefed, Willison said.

 

[Sjm_qc]

More from the FB page:

The friend David was to visit in Santa Barbara heard from him April 6th, saying to expect him in about 4 weeks. The plan was that David would leave the trail around the 650 mile mark, and would re-confirm once he got off the trail there & found out bus schedules.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

O'Sullivan was sighted between April 10 and April 15 at a house of a "trail angel" near Cabazon, just north of San Diego. Trail angels are people known to aid hikers on their journeys.

The trail angel dropped off O'Sullivan and other hikers at Interstate 10 south of the White Water Preserve, where he and a number of other trekkers continued their hike. Another article says they were dropped off at a ranger station where they continued their hike and that the the trail headed into the San Bernardino Mountains.

Well, this is somewhat unexepcted. No doubt LE will be wanting to talk to the other hikers he set off from I-10 with.

 

[gitana1]

Oh dear. Missing in the woods since April....

i wonder what the package was and what the email said.

People who hike the trail regularly sendthings back home along the way.

What on earth leads an inexperienced hiker to imagine he can complete a rugged 2,600 mile mountain and forest hike alone?

ETA that if he started at the Mexican border on 22 March and reached Idyllwild on 5 April, then as far as I can work out he had covered less than 200km in 2 weeks (judging by Google maps) . He may have been in difficulty almost from the start.

He's 25. Feels capable of anything. But hundreds of people do it each year. His timing seemed to be normal. And there are a lot of other hikers on those trails. I think he went off the path. Hopefully other hikers will be able to be I tervoeqwd and allow the authorities to pinpoint where he was last seen.

There are mountain lions in the area. And other wildlife- rattlesnakes, coyotes (which have been particularly aggressive in the last year or so in So Cal- but in/near urban areas) and I'm not sure about bears. Depending on where he was. We have them in the mountains here.

There are also crazy humans. And just getting lost is also a possibility. I seem to remember a woman who went off the trail, might have been the AT, to relieve herself in the brush. She got turned around. Succumbed to the elements. It's that's easy. Yup. The AT: https://www.google.com/amp/people.c...lachian-trail-kept-journal-of-the-ordeal/amp/

Also:
http://www.pe.com/2017/08/09/search...il-hiker-last-seen-near-cabazon-4-months-ago/

Why are LE just now being informed and getting involved? It's August!

 

[chinacat67]

What on earth leads an inexperienced hiker to imagine he can complete a rugged 2,600 mile mountain and forest hike alone?

ETA that if he started at the Mexican border on 22 March and reached Idyllwild on 5 April, then as far as I can work out he had covered less than 200km in 2 weeks (judging by Google maps) . He may have been in difficulty almost from the start.

Wild, by Cheryl Strayed. It's the millennial "Into the Wild" but with better ending. She hiked Pacific Crest Trail as complete novice.... movie version w Reese Witherspoon really good too...

https://g.co/kgs/iDGHks

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[Vail]

I'd say that story is a miraculous exception to reality.

 

[Elainera]

People who hike the trail regularly sendthings back home along the way.



He's 25. Feels capable of anything. But hundreds of people do it each year. His timing seemed to be normal. And there are a lot of other hikers on those trails. I think he went off the path. Hopefully other hikers will be able to be I tervoeqwd and allow the authorities to pinpoint where he was last seen.

There are mountain lions in the area. And other wildlife- rattlesnakes, coyotes (which have been particularly aggressive in the last year or so in So Cal- but in/near urban areas) and I'm not sure about bears. Depending on where he was. We have them in the mountains here.

There are also crazy humans. And just getting lost is also a possibility. I seem to remember a woman who went off the trail, might have been the AT, to relieve herself in the brush. She got turned around. Succumbed to the elements. It's that's easy. Yup. The AT: https://www.google.com/amp/people.c...lachian-trail-kept-journal-of-the-ordeal/amp/



Why are LE just now being informed and getting involved? It's August!

bbm - I was wondering that too! And the family reported him missing end of June (in Ireland) - they also waited very long before informing police. He was due to meet up with the friend in early May .... possibly the friend just assumed David changed his mind? And the family assumed all is well?

The delays in reporting him missing are a bit odd and, of course, not good in a case like this.

 

[Sjm_qc]

bbm - I was wondering that too! And the family reported him missing end of June (in Ireland) - they also waited very long before informing police. He was due to meet up with the friend in early May .... possibly the friend just assumed David changed his mind? And the family assumed all is well?

The delays in reporting him missing are a bit odd and, of course, not good in a case like this.

From reading the articles, & the family's posts on the FB page (I think it's his brother running it) it seems that upto 3 weeks without contact was expected, or to be considered "normal". They (family & the Santa Barbara friend) weren't too bothered at first. Then when they did get worried, & first approached local police (in Ireland), his bank account was checked* and there was a misunderstanding/miscommunication about there being activity/withdrawals.

So they didn't worry too much until
it turned out that the bank account activity was an automatic debit .

This is mostly what led to the "delay" in the official Missing report being filed. Add in the international aspect with his family being in Ireland & initially going through Irish police, the delay isn't that odd.

*I'm not sure whether it was family or LE who initially checked the bank account.

ETA: the delay in reporting him missing & the details I quoted about are explained here:
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1455295824557502&id=1453588341394917

 

[Elainera]

Thank you for explaining that sjm! Very unfortunate that the automatic debit was misinterpreted at first.