CA CA - Hans Lippuner, 59, McKinleyville, 16 October 2018 *Van found*

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  • #1
A McKinleyville man hasn’t been seen since mid-October, and his family is asking for the community to be on the lookout.

59-year-old Hans Lippuner was reported missing to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, after he was last seen on October 16 by his housemates.

They say he seemed depressed, and that he has medical needs. Lippuner is missing some front teeth, and is known to sometimes limp.

Lippuner may be driving a white van, with license plate number 4ANN813.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office right away at (707) 445-7251.

Family pleads for help in finding missing McKinleyville man - KIEM-TV | Redwood News

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  • #2
Hans Lippuner was last seen by his house mates on October 16, 2018, in the Dow’s Prairie area of McKinleyville. Hans is a white male, 59 years of age, about 5‘8” tall and weighs about 140 lbs. He has short brown/gray hair and blue eyes. He is a tree climber, mechanic, and machinist. He is an avid outdoorsman and was known to spend time out camping, fishing, and rock climbing.

Hans was last known to be driving a white 1998 4x4 Ford Econoline van, California License 4ANN813. Below is a picture of Hans and his unique van.
MISSING: Sheriff's Office Seeking Dow's Prairie Man Last Seen by Roommates in 2018

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  • #3
A very good article that was written in December 2018:

McKinleyville Man Missing in White Van – Redheaded Blackbelt

. . .“He went missing Tuesday, the 16 of October,” explained Susi Lippuner, Hans’ sister. “He had stopped eating, stopped being interested in his work projects and he had lost weight.”

Susi said, “He was living with his best friend and his best friend’s wife in McKinleyville. He had a little apartment and a shop…He traveled back and forth to Santa Cruz…He didn’t take any of his work gear or his climbing or his backpacking equipment.”. . .

There is more background information in this article, which is worth reading.
 
  • #4
  • #5
The van belonging to missing McKinleyville man, Hans Lippuner, was found just outside Del Loma.

Lippuner's van was discovered near the end of Old French Creek Road off Highway 299 by a hunter.

Although a ground search was conducted in the rugged, steep terrain around the van, Lippuner still has not been found.

Van found belonging to Mckinleyville man now missing 1 year

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  • #6
Let's roundup some facts here from the above clips.
Hans was ill and depressed before he disappeared. His van was finally found tucked away on a back road about 70 miles, and an hour and a half's drive, from his home.
No mention whether someone has been tracking his financials or his cell phone records.
Location of found van was misreported as Old French Creek Road. Map shows Big French Creek Road. Under either name, it is a road that is very unlikely to be traversed by "outsiders", or tourists.
 
  • #7
  • #8
And, as tends to happen in missing person's cases, error seem to be creeping into an already ambiguous situation. Though originally reported as living with friends, now accounts are saying he is missing from "a facility".
 
  • #9
Family of missing McKinleyville man seeks answers
Oct 17, 2019 BBM

A McKinleyville man who went missing a year ago may have been in Trinity County before his disappearance.

SNIP

In the spring, Lippuner’s family hired private investigator Chris Cook to lead the search for him. The family recently learned that Lippuner’s van had been found by a hunter parked near the end of Old French Creek Road off of Highway 299, just outside Del Loma. Although a thorough ground search in this very rugged and steep area was conducted by tracker Diana Totten and her search and rescue team, he was not found.

The coordinates where the van was found are: 40°50'47.4"N 123°17'54.6"W Google Maps .

Missing man likely was in Trinity, but trail grows cold
Oct 23, 2019 Updated Oct 23, 2019

Snipped

Regarding the investigation, Lippuner’s sister S. L. said her brother’s cell phone had two pings on the second day he was missing, Oct. 17, 2018, first in McKinleyville and an hour later in Blue Lake. There were no further pings, calls or texts after that time.

SNIP

She described a communications breakdown between agencies that resulted in the information regarding the van not reaching the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office investigator working on the case or the family for months.

She was told that both the California Highway Patrol and Trinity County Sheriff’s Office contacted Humboldt dispatch on the day of the report, Dec. 22, 2018, to see if Lippuner was still missing. However, neither got back to Humboldt with additional information, and a written report was not received from Trinity. The dispatcher in Humboldt County called Trinity County back at the end of her shift, but there was not more information available. The dispatcher didn’t report these calls to anyone internally at the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office.

“There was something that fell through on each side,” S. L. said.

More at link...
 
  • #10
Hans Martin Lippuner – The Charley Project

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  • Missing Since 10/16/2018
  • Missing From McKinleyville, California
  • Classification Endangered Missing
  • Sex Male
  • Race White
  • Date of Birth 07/17/1959 (61)
  • Age 59 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'8 - 5'10, 130 - 150 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A soft cord necklace with a two- to three-inch glass dragonfly pendant, and rugged, patched outdoor clothing, possibly a flannel shirt and jeans.

Medical Conditions Lippuner was showing signs of depression when he disappeared, and had lost weight. He has chronic pain in his right hip and limps as a result.

Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Gray hair, blue eyes. Lippuner had a full gray and brown beard at the time of his disappearance, and he wears eyeglasses. He speaks both English and Swiss German. He smokes cigarettes and is missing some of his teeth in the front part of his upper jaw. He walks with a limp due to pain in his right hip.

Details of Disappearance

Lippuner was last seen by his housemates in the Dows Prairie area of McKinleyville, California on October 16, 2018. He lived with his best friend and his best friend's wife in McKinleyville; he had a small apartment and a shop, and traveled back and forth between McKinleyville and Santa Cruz, California.

Although Lippuner left behind his work gear and his climbing and backpacking equipment, he disappeared with his white 1998 Ford Econoline E100 4x4 cargo van; photos of it is posted with this case summary. The van has a popup top, no side windows and the California license plate number 4ANN813. It's big enough to seat fifteen people, but has no seats other than the driver's seat.

His cellular phone pinged twice on October 17, the day after he was last seen: once in McKinleyville, and an hour later in Blue Lake, California. After that, all activity and signals for the phone stopped. He has never been heard from again. His family reported him missing on November 1, after becoming aware that no one had seen or heard from him in weeks.

Lippuner's van was found by a hunter in December 2018, two months after his disappearance; it was locked and abandoned in a remote, rugged area near the end of Old French Creek Road off Highway 299 outside Del Loma, California. A search of the area turned up no sign of Lippuner.

He enjoyed tree and rock climbing and had been climbing for his entire adult life, as well as fishing, camping, and backpacking. He did work as a mechanic and machinist to earn money. In the weeks prior to his disappearance, Lippuner had shown signs of depression: he was eating less and losing weight as a result, and he seemed less interested in his work projects.

He had told people that when he was ready to die he wanted to "disappear and melt into the earth". However, his family doesn't necessarily believe he took his own life and they fear foul play could have been involved in his case. His disappearance remains unsolved.
 
  • #11
What an excellent write-up! Great work, yaya!
 
  • #12
  • #13
Name: Hans Martin Lippuner
Case Number: 201805672
Race: White
Sex: Male
DOB: 7/17/1959
City of Residency: McKinleyville, CA
Synopsis: On November 1, 2018, Hans Lippuner was reported missing to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office. He was last seen by his housemates on October 16, 2018 in the Dows Prairie area. A white Ford Econoline van associated with Lippuner was located abandoned in Trinity County near Del Loma and was recovered by law enforcement in August of 2019. Lippuner has not been seen since his disappearance and is missing under suspicious circumstances.
riccobono
 
  • #14
5-year anniversary bump for Hans, though nothing really new:

https://kymkemp.com/2023/10/17/on-t...arance-family-hopes-that-the-public-can-help/

As yet another anniversary of Hans Lippuner’s disappearance passes, his family and friends are left with a painful void, yearning for any information that might help solve this mystery. They are once again reaching out to the public, asking for assistance from anyone who may have seen Hans or his distinctive van around the dates of his disappearance, specifically on October 16 and 17, 2018.

The van's Google maps coordinates
 

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