Found Deceased CA - Paul Miller, 51, Canadian, Joshua Tree Natl Park, San Bernardino Co., 13 Jul 2018 #3

[zecats]

Remains found near where Guelph man went missing

Paul's sister states in this video that the skeletal remains were found at the bottom of a lookout in an area with loose rock. My hunch is even stronger that Paul wandered off trail either looking for or following sheep and became lost. A lookout would have been a spot to attempt to look for the trail and the way out. He very likely could have slipped and fallen , and maybe severely inured himself in the process. IMO

 

[zecats]

Remains found near where Guelph man went missing

Paul's sister states in this video that the skeletal remains were found at the bottom of a lookout in an area with loose rock. My hunch is even stronger that Paul wandered off trail either looking for or following sheep and became lost. A lookout would have been a spot to attempt to look for the trail and the way out. He very likely could have slipped and fallen , and maybe severely inured himself in the process. IMO

 

[K9Enzo]

A lookout attracts people to take pics as well. It’s possible he lost his footing or the ground gave way. A traumatic head injury is all it would take.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

"We are keeping our fingers crossed, as strange as that may sound, we are hoping that it’s Paul because it’s been a long year and a half," Miller’s sister, Dawne Robinson, told the Canadian news outlet.

For Greg Nuckolls, founder of Western States Aerial Search, the possibility of giving the Miller family — or any family, for that matter — closure is something that words can't describe.

"It means more than I can possibly tell you," he told KSL.com on Friday. "All of us pilots have stood next to family members of missing people. There's just a level of pain there that I don't think that anyone could explain. ... There's no way you'd know how to react if someone was missing."
Utah drone searchers may have solved missing hiker’s disappearance at California national park

 

[MsFacetious]

A lookout attracts people to take pics as well. It’s possible he lost his footing or the ground gave way. A traumatic head injury is all it would take.

That would also explain how he was so close but couldn't call out for help.

 

[dspdenver]

Utah drone searchers may have solved missing hiker’s disappearance at California national park
[While the remains haven't been identified, Nuckolls said some of Miller's personal items were also recovered after being spotted in the various photos.
It’s the first discovery Western States Aerial Search has made since it was created.]

 

[zecats]

Utah drone searchers may have solved missing hiker’s disappearance at California national park
[While the remains haven't been identified, Nuckolls said some of Miller's personal items were also recovered after being spotted in the various photos.
It’s the first discovery Western States Aerial Search has made since it was created.]

Excellent article. Kudos to all the effort put into this task of finding Paul. The fact that some of his personal items have also been found pretty much sums it up IMO. .

 

[musicaljoke]

A lookout attracts people to take pics as well. It’s possible he lost his footing or the ground gave way. A traumatic head injury is all it would take.

<dbm> in case I am speaking where I should remain quiet.


I hope that he is identified quickly and can be returned to his family.

 

[jash]

Utah drone searchers may have solved missing hiker’s disappearance at California national park
[While the remains haven't been identified, Nuckolls said some of Miller's personal items were also recovered after being spotted in the various photos.
It’s the first discovery Western States Aerial Search has made since it was created.]

Wow, what great organizations! I did not think we would get answers in this case; I'm glad to be wrong. Hopefully some of the funds raised by/for the Miller family will be donated to these two groups.

They studied the terrain and mapped a flight path grid that covered about 1.5 square miles where the drone flew over last month after they received clearance to drone from park rangers, Nuckolls explained. The drones flew with a camera pointed directly at the ground, collecting about 7,000 photos in the process. Those photos were sent to various volunteer sleuths at Wings of Mercy, who helped search for clues.

Reviewing the images was another tedious task. Some reviewers spent three to four hours a day sifting through the many images for anything that might indicate where Miller had gone, Nuckolls said. Finally, after sifting through about one-fifth of the photos, the volunteers spotted what they thought could be human remains and gave park rangers GPS coordinates to the location on Dec. 19.

Utah drone searchers may have solved missing hiker’s disappearance at California national park​

 

[musicaljoke]

Remains found near where Guelph man went missing

Paul's sister states in this video that the skeletal remains were found at the bottom of a lookout in an area with loose rock. My hunch is even stronger that Paul wandered off trail either looking for or following sheep and became lost. A lookout would have been a spot to attempt to look for the trail and the way out. He very likely could have slipped and fallen , and maybe severely inured himself in the process. IMO

Yes, I believe that the ground gave out under him. I don't believe that he was lost. The dogs tracked him to the oasis, if I remember correctly, but lost the trail there. It's my understanding, from talking to a family member, that Paul was on his way back along the same trail. When he stepped off the trail to get pictures at a rocky cliff, the ground gave way under him and he fell and died there. It's possible that the dogs tracked his path, even to this spot, but with him coming and going along the same trail, the dogs may not have picked up the fact that the trail ended there for Paul. It was impossible to check for his remains without the drone.

 

[Hatfield]

Utah drone searchers may have solved missing hiker’s disappearance at California national park
[While the remains haven't been identified, Nuckolls said some of Miller's personal items were also recovered after being spotted in the various photos.
It’s the first discovery Western States Aerial Search has made since it was created.]

This is great news that his remains have been located.

The news of the use of drones in helping to solve this case is amazing and shows great promise to become more heavily used in the future for other missing person searches.

 

[whatsnext]

Wow. With all the meticulous searching, going on just hours after he went missing they found him now. Sorry for being insensitive, but would'nt there have been cadaver odor? Rest in peace, Paul.

 

[musicaljoke]

Wow. With all the meticulous searching, going on just hours after he went missing they found him now. Sorry for being insensitive, but would'nt there have been cadaver odor? Rest in peace, Paul.

Some reading that might interest you:

To Solve Gruesome Desert Mysteries, Scientists Become Body Collectors

 

[MaryG12]

Some reading that might interest you:

To Solve Gruesome Desert Mysteries, Scientists Become Body Collectors

Thanks for that link, I have heard of this place before. I give people like Melissa Connor a LOT of credit for what they do, as I will admit I could never do a job like that.

 

[RickshawFan]

Yes, I believe that the ground gave out under him. I don't believe that he was lost. The dogs tracked him to the oasis, if I remember correctly, but lost the trail there. It's my understanding, from talking to a family member, that Paul was on his way back along the same trail. When he stepped off the trail to get pictures at a rocky cliff, the ground gave way under him and he fell and died there. It's possible that the dogs tracked his path, even to this spot, but with him coming and going along the same trail, the dogs may not have picked up the fact that the trail ended there for Paul. It was impossible to check for his remains without the drone.

When Paul was purportedly passing another man on the trail, was Paul going towards the trailhead or away?

 

[neesaki]

When Paul was purportedly passing another man on the trail, was Paul going towards the trailhead or away?

IIRC, he was reportedly going toward the Oasis, and the other man / witness was heading down , toward the trailhead. If I have this wrong please feel free to correct me.

 

[zecats]

Still no update, according to family (as of yesterday). They did send dental records to help identify Paul. I honestly thought there would be conclusive results by now.

Find Paul Miller

 

[Elainera]

IIRC, he was reportedly going toward the Oasis, and the other man / witness was heading down , toward the trailhead. If I have this wrong please feel free to correct me.

This is how I remember it too.

 

[AzPistonsGirl]

We knew answers would come at some point. Glad it seems to be sooner than it could have been.

 

[zecats]

Canadian hiker's family awaits identification of remains found in Joshua Tree National Park

The family of a Canadian missing since he told his wife he was going for a hike at Joshua Tree National Park more than 18 months ago is still awaiting word from the coroner about human remains found last month.

Joshua Tree National Park authorities reported on Dec. 21 that human remains had been found near the trail the day before.

The discovery came through photographs from a drone flyover of the area in November by a company the family hired.

On Dec. 20, park law enforcement rangers hiked to the area where they found skeletal remains, determined to be human, and personal belongings.

No personal identification was found with the remains, which appeared to have been there for some time, officials said, adding there were no initial indicators of foul play.