CA CA - Matthew Weaver, 21, Santa Monica Mountains, 10 Aug 2018

[passepartout]

L7335, thank you for going out and taking a look at the site. That kind of info is so enlightening.

(3). I’m completely unclear about whether it’s confirmed that Mr. Weaver sent a Snap Chat from the area of the overlook at the intersection of Stunt, Saddle Peak and Scheurn. If he did not then I think it’s a big mistake to assume that Weaver even came to the Calabasas/Malibu area and/or was involved in leaving his car at the Topanga [Rosas] Overlook.

If there was no Snap Chat and there’s no evidence Weaver was in the area then I think it’s most likely that he was the victim of foul play elsewhere and his car was driven to the lookout and dumped. I suspect someone drove Weaver’s car as far as possible, got out and locked it, and threw the keys as far into the brush as possible. [And if that’s the case those keys will never be found.]

This is such an important point. I wish someone could clarify the Snap issue or state if there is evidence that he was in the area.

Otherwise, this starts to look like the Elaine Park situation. Her car was found parked on PCH just south of Corral Canyon with phone/keys/wallet in car. However, there's no evidence that ever places her there with the car and it's in the opposite direction of her home from where she was last seen.

Perhaps he did visit that In n Out in Simi Valley after all. And if so, there was reportedly an unknown female riding in the passenger seat, which means he wasnt alone around the time he went missing. I want to know where all this information is coming from and why its being mentioned in the media if it hasnt proven credible? Who is telling the media this stuff? Most importantly, if this is factual, who is the female that was with him that night?

The In n Out info came from a tip to police. Usually drive-throughs have CCTV so I'd think there should be video evidence but we haven't heard anything about that.

This was in one of the early reports of the disappearance:

Matthew Weaver was last seen at the Rosas Overlook where he apparently had driven his vehicle.

Hikers said they saw a man who was stuck in the area in his vehicle and they alerted authorities. Weaver, however, was not found in the area after a search.

Another search was conducted on Monday, to no avail, officials at the Los Hills Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department station told KTLA.​

Obviously, there's a lot of incorrect info there but it hasn't been corrected. What's also worth noting is that KTLA was talking to LASD-Lost Hills, who is not the LE agency who has jurisdiction in the Topanga area or in Granada Hills, where MW lived. LAPD has jurisdiction over Topanga and if this is a missing persons case, it goes to LAPD which covers Granada Hills.

This report from 31 August would seem to be correct:

Matthew Jonathan Weaver Jr. was last seen about 9:30 p.m. on Aug. 10 in the 2600 block of Stearns Street in Simi Valley. His vehicle was located the following day on the Topanga Tower Motorway, near Rosas Overlook above the Backbone Trail and Hondo Canyon areas, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.​

So this makes the last confirmed sighting in the 2600 block of Stearns, which is near the In n Out. There is no evidence of his personal presence at Rosas, which would probably also explain the canines' losing his scent outside the car.

 

[flute4peace]

This is going to sound crazy but are there mountain goats in that area? We have farm goats around here and there are times that the kids’ bleats can sound very similar to a human screaming. A friend of mine actually had LE called by a neighbor once when she was weaning because they thought she was hurt & yelling for help.

 

[SuziQ]

This is going to sound crazy but are there mountain goats in that area? We have farm goats around here and there are times that the kids’ bleats can sound very similar to a human screaming. A friend of mine actually had LE called by a neighbor once when she was weaning because they thought she was hurt & yelling for help.

Peacocks do that too.

 

[siliconrod]

I am curious if there are any local private SAR groups in the area something similar to Texas Equusearch or Red Rock SAR from Nevada that the family could contact. Also in an earlier post it stated that Matthew was a lineman which I assume is for a local utility co. and this could be a valuable resource as they might be familiar with the terrain of area where Matthew went missing.

 

[passepartout]

Shrieking animals are not uncommon in SoCal. There are feral parrots and peacocks, squealing horses, etc. (Parrots and peacocks are not nocturnal.)

But SAR and LE would know the difference. The cries were heard by a CHP and FD.

Here's a good question: Was there an In n Out bag or tray or cups in the car?

That would be proof that the In n Out sighting was probably correct.

 

[cybervampira]

Searching for clues | Simi Valley Acorn

Matthew Weaver Jr., a 21-year-old Simi native who recently moved to Granada Hills, was declared missing Aug. 11 after his car was found abandoned near the Rosas Overlook, above the Backbone Trail and Hondo Canyon in the Topanga Canyon area. He was still missing at press time.

“We feel for the Weaver family and what they’re going through. So as we’re out looking for Javier, we’re also looking for Matthew,” Santiago said.

Thread for Javier:
CA - CA - Javier Jimenez Hernandez, 29, Simi Valley, 26 Jul 2018

 

[L7335]

Hi L7335. I’ve never been there but is it possible he went up there maybe for the first time and put it in his GPS and the gate was open so he continued up the road not knowing it wasn’t a road? I’ve only seen it from google maps but I’d imagine it’s not big enough to make a u-turn?

Was there a place to make a U turn? If he continued up and realized it wasn’t safe could you back out of the trail easy? How wide is the road?

>> I think it would be possible to make a 3-point (or 89-point) turn on the asphalt portion of the road and go back to the gate. Just take it slow and make a jillion back and forth movements. Once you pass the asphalt portion of the road and get on to the dirt fire road there are two larger areas where it's much easier to make a 3-point turn. (If you haven't already torn holes in the undercarriage of your car.)
>> I don't challenge MalibuBarbie79's information that the gate is sometimes open. My experience is that it never is. Here's a view of the gate from Google Maps. One might think that the road beyond the gate leads somewhere if the gate was open. But - frankly - once the asphalt ends and you're on the dirt fire road you know you're not going anywhere.

 

[L7335]

Shrieking animals are not uncommon in SoCal. There are feral parrots and peacocks, squealing horses, etc. (Parrots and peacocks are not nocturnal.)

But SAR and LE would know the difference. The cries were heard by a CHP and FD.

Here's a good question: Was there an In n Out bag or tray or cups in the car?

That would be proof that the In n Out sighting was probably correct.

An even better question is whether the car was treated as a potential crime scene and processed for fingerprints.

 

[L7335]

I am curious if there are any local private SAR groups in the area something similar to Texas Equusearch or Red Rock SAR from Nevada that the family could contact. Also in an earlier post it stated that Matthew was a lineman which I assume is for a local utility co. and this could be a valuable resource as they might be familiar with the terrain of area where Matthew went missing.

I'm familiar with some of the operations of the LA Sheriff's Dept. and I believe the answer is no.

 

[Steph9676]

>> I think it would be possible to make a 3-point (or 89-point) turn on the asphalt portion of the road and go back to the gate. Just take it slow and make a jillion back and forth movements. Once you pass the asphalt portion of the road and get on to the dirt fire road there are two larger areas where it's much easier to make a 3-point turn. (If you haven't already torn holes in the undercarriage of your car.)
>> I don't challenge MalibuBarbie79's information that the gate is sometimes open. My experience is that it never is. Here's a view of the gate from Google Maps. One might think that the road beyond the gate leads somewhere if the gate was open. But - frankly - once the asphalt ends and you're on the dirt fire road you know you're not going anywhere.
View attachment 147212

I also said it was open that day because this is the photo Malibu search and rescue took. I wonder why it was open that day? So weird.

 

[Steph9676]

I also said it was open that day because this is the photo Malibu search and rescue took. I wonder why it was open that day? So weird.

It had to have been open because it doesn’t seem like you can drive a car around anywhere else.

 

[passepartout]

My experience of living in a canyon in LA for many years is that those gates are sometimes open and sometimes closed. I'm not sure what specifically is up in that part of Topanga but in other canyons, there are gas lines and drainage features and brush clearance to maintain so sometimes the gates will be open.

 

[L7335]

More thoughts and information about the location where Weaver's car was found.

• There is only one trail that connects directly with the end of the Topanga Lookout Fire road (or trail) and it follows a ridge line north-northwest to a point where it connects with the Calabasas Peak Motorway. Some sections are very narrow, (i.e., less than 12" wide) and there are very steep drop-offs in some sections. I can't guess how much use it gets but when I was up at the Topanga/Rosas lookout on Tuesday I followed a short section of it and saw a flier left there about Weaver so someone has been at the top-most section.
  
• There are two other trails - both sections of the backbone trail - that have a trail head near the intersection of Stunt/Saddle Peak/Scheurn. Neither trail head is obvious or even easily seen from the overlook point at the intersection. The Hondo Canyon Trail runs from Old Topanga Road up to Saddle Peak Road around 1-2 hundred feet east of the overlook. The other section of the backbone runs from Piuma up through Dark Canyon and pops out on Stunt Road a hundred feet or so west of the overlook.
  
• The Hondo Canyon trail gets regular use: at least the lower half does. The trail running through Dark Canyon is a little more difficult so it probably doesn't get traveled by a many people but would have also been traveled by someone during the last month.
  
• I wondered if Weaver (or anyone) could have fallen off the side of the Topanga lookout fire road -- say if they had stepped aside to attend to a call of nature. People you have to understand 100% of these slopes are covered with shrubs and ceanothus trees. You can't accidentally trip and fall and roll down hundreds of feet of slope: the vegetation would break your fall within 5' - 10'.
  
• Theoretically a person who is determined to bushwhack through scrub and brush and explore a canyon or a slope off a trail could do it up in this area. I don't know if Mr. Weaver would have done that. If he didn't and if he fell on or alongside any of the established trails leading up to Stunt/Saddle/Scheurn I think we would know by now.

 

[L7335]

It had to have been open because it doesn’t seem like you can drive a car around anywhere else.

True -- you must go through that gate. There is no other way to access that road unless you have a material transporter out of Star Trek.

 

[Steph9676]

True -- you must go through that gate. There is no other way to access that road unless you have a material transporter out of Star Trek.

My fear is he did accidentally take that road and got stuck and somehow didn’t make it out but being optimistic what if he did? Who was he with? Why did the search dogs lose his scent? Where is he? Last night I had a small thought of maybe he went there and messed up his car and was afraid to tell his family and ran away but that thought left quickly as I realized almost 5 weeks and he couldn’t be that scared. If it has to do with the other missing individuals in Malibu why isn’t it being investigated more. It’s so puzzling. His poor family.

 

[L7335]

My fear is he did accidentally take that road and got stuck and somehow didn’t make it out but being optimistic what if he did? Who was he with? Why did the search dogs lose his scent? Where is he? Last night I had a small thought of maybe he went there and messed up his car and was afraid to tell his family and ran away but that thought left quickly as I realized almost 5 weeks and he couldn’t be that scared. If it has to do with the other missing individuals in Malibu why isn’t it being investigated more. It’s so puzzling. His poor family.

• I also sympathize with Mr. Weaver's family -- this is a wrenching experience to have to go through.
• Why did the search dogs lose his scent? I assume they were taken to the place where the car was found -- who knows where else the dogs were taken. They lost his scent because he wasn't there and was never with the car. I maintain the car was dumped by persons unknown.
  
• Why do you assert that Mr. Weaver's disappearance isn't being investigated more [or enough]? Why assume Weaver was even in Calabasas/Malibu? It's 14 miles as the crow flies between the 2600 block of Stearns Rd. in Simi and the overlook at Stunt/Saddle Peak/Scheurn. Draw a circle with those two points as "top" and "bottom" and you have 150 square miles. That includes parts of Oak Park, Agoura Hills, Bell Canyon, Canoga Park and Woodland Hills. That's a huge territory to search and includes a great deal of undeveloped land.

 

[slowpoke]

Doesn’t that TX Equusearch group assist missing cases all over, not just in TX? Matthew’s family should try contacting them. I believe I’ve seen many on WS give high praise for the organization for their expertise and professionalism.

Also, I recall reading on the early on that the family hired a private investigator. But subsequent updates seemed to say they had nothing new to report, and never mentioned PI again so I guess the PI wasn’t able to find out anything of value?

 

[MalibuBarbie79]

>> I think it would be possible to make a 3-point (or 89-point) turn on the asphalt portion of the road and go back to the gate. Just take it slow and make a jillion back and forth movements. Once you pass the asphalt portion of the road and get on to the dirt fire road there are two larger areas where it's much easier to make a 3-point turn. (If you haven't already torn holes in the undercarriage of your car.)
>> I don't challenge MalibuBarbie79's information that the gate is sometimes open. My experience is that it never is. Here's a view of the gate from Google Maps. One might think that the road beyond the gate leads somewhere if the gate was open. But - frankly - once the asphalt ends and you're on the dirt fire road you know you're not going anywhere.
View attachment 147212

I was there during the daylight hours and the gate was closed but not locked.

 

[MalibuBarbie79]

A car-jacking or abduction makes sense to me --- but I hasten to add I don't have any information sources other than this forum, the GoFundMe page, and news articles. I come down on theory that Weaver's car was intentionally dumped where it was found as a means of diverting attention from a different location where a crime occurred. I'm sorry to have to be so blunt.

This was an area that he frequented often but it does not rule out that someone could have dumped his car up there.

 

[MalibuBarbie79]

More thoughts and information about the location where Weaver's car was found.

• There is only one trail that connects directly with the end of the Topanga Lookout Fire road (or trail) and it follows a ridge line north-northwest to a point where it connects with the Calabasas Peak Motorway. Some sections are very narrow, (i.e., less than 12" wide) and there are very steep drop-offs in some sections. I can't guess how much use it gets but when I was up at the Topanga/Rosas lookout on Tuesday I followed a short section of it and saw a flier left there about Weaver so someone has been at the top-most section.
  
• There are two other trails - both sections of the backbone trail - that have a trail head near the intersection of Stunt/Saddle Peak/Scheurn. Neither trail head is obvious or even easily seen from the overlook point at the intersection. The Hondo Canyon Trail runs from Old Topanga Road up to Saddle Peak Road around 1-2 hundred feet east of the overlook. The other section of the backbone runs from Piuma up through Dark Canyon and pops out on Stunt Road a hundred feet or so west of the overlook.
  
• The Hondo Canyon trail gets regular use: at least the lower half does. The trail running through Dark Canyon is a little more difficult so it probably doesn't get traveled by a many people but would have also been traveled by someone during the last month.
  
• I wondered if Weaver (or anyone) could have fallen off the side of the Topanga lookout fire road -- say if they had stepped aside to attend to a call of nature. People you have to understand 100% of these slopes are covered with shrubs and ceanothus trees. You can't accidentally trip and fall and roll down hundreds of feet of slope: the vegetation would break your fall within 5' - 10'.
  
• Theoretically a person who is determined to bushwhack through scrub and brush and explore a canyon or a slope off a trail could do it up in this area. I don't know if Mr. Weaver would have done that. If he didn't and if he fell on or alongside any of the established trails leading up to Stunt/Saddle/Scheurn I think we would know by now.

Everything you said is 100% accurate. If he fell he would have been caught up in the shrubbery and brush and located by the search and rescue fairly quickly. The area where you saw the fliers at the top of the trail , the one going around Rosa's Overlook or Top of the World is exactly where his car was found.