Found Deceased CA - Paul Miller, 51, Canadian missing in Joshua Tree National Park, San Bernardino Co., 13 Jul 2018

[Dushi]

To be honest, I have not been following closely as I got lost in another case.
But am I understanding correctly that this hike was just a matter of hours before they were to check out of their hotel for the trip home?

 

[tarabull]

Sorry if this was already posted

Missing Guelph man's family urges search to continue

 

[jash]

To be honest, I have not been following closely as I got lost in another case.
But am I understanding correctly that this hike was just a matter of hours before they were to check out of their hotel for the trip home?

Correct. It's been reported that they were to drive back to Las Vegas to catch a flight home later that day. Paul left the hotel around 9 AM to go on the hike (at least a 5 minute drive away). Check out time for the hotel was 11 AM.

 

[PaulR]

Correct. It's been reported that they were to drive back to Las Vegas to catch a flight home later that day. Paul left the hotel around 9 AM to go on the hike (at least a 5 minute drive away). Check out time for the hotel was 11 AM.

There's a very strong chance his wife would have had to check out of the room before Paul returned with the car - unless he saw sheep in the parking lot.

 

[tarabull]

Sorry if this was already posted

Missing Guelph man's family urges search to continue

Snipped, fwiw...
...Paul Miller was supposed to be gone a couple hours.

When he had been gone for three hours, his wife called for help

 

[FlossyMay]

I'm not going to rule out a suicide. Personally, it seems odd to go about it in this way, but I've never been suicidal (depressed at times, but not to that degree), so I admit I don't understand the thought process that would go along with that. I have known several people who killed themselves in my lifetime and not one of them tried to conceal their body. I've read about such cases here on WS, so I know it happens, but it still seems very odd to do something like that while on vacation in another country. Surely he would know that would be costly for his family. I don't feel like it's the most likely scenario.

 

[bluesneakers]

Correct. It's been reported that they were to drive back to Las Vegas to catch a flight home later that day. Paul left the hotel around 9 AM to go on the hike (at least a 5 minute drive away). Check out time for the hotel was 11 AM.

That seems to be cutting it close. But I'm nervous about check-outs and check-ins.

 

[FlossyMay]

At some hotels, you can pay a little extra for a later check out time. We did this on our honeymoon so we could sleep late, lol. I guess we would know by now if they had done this, though.

 

[meanmaryjean]

I wonder what time their return flight was supposed to leave, because it looks like a solid 3 hours+ to get to the airport in Vegas, not to mention return the rental car, go through TSA and such. Has that ever been mentioned?

 

[Satchie]

That seems to be cutting it close. But I'm nervous about check-outs and check-ins.

Possibly his being in a rush is why he got into trouble. Maybe moving too fast and the heat caught up to him.

ETA, always so hard in these vanishings, to imagine the scenario.

 

[rosesfromangels]

I wonder what time their return flight was supposed to leave, because it looks like a solid 3 hours+ to get to the airport in Vegas, not to mention return the rental car, go through TSA and such. Has that ever been mentioned?

Interesting point. Does his start time line up with time to airport etc? If not, it changes our thinking IWT.

 

[PaulR]

I wonder what time their return flight was supposed to leave, because it looks like a solid 3 hours+ to get to the airport in Vegas, not to mention return the rental car, go through TSA and such. Has that ever been mentioned?

They could make it, I did that research earlier in the thread.

 

[Tim Callahan]

For all we know, his flight could've been 9 at night. I wouldn't really factor it in unless we knew otherwise.

 

[ispy4u]

I read they were flying back through Vegas that afternoon. If it was me and being at the end of my holiday, I would have been in Vegas the night before having a great meal, relaxing by a pool, and having fun. Why stress yourself out with a long drive the day you are flying and trying to fit in a hike to boot? That drive back alone can have so many things go wrong- traffic due to an accident, an accident yourselves, car issues etc. Take care Paul Miller

 

[RickshawFan]

Good point, as a middle-aged Canadian it's never occurred to me that I need to carry my ID with me at all times. I've never been stopped and asked for it. I walk out of the house to go for a walk, to the beach, or short drive away without my wallet, unless I expect I'm going to need to use a credit card, library card, etc. Then I usually bring my whole wallet because I really dislike removing a piece of ID from my wallet, that way it all stays together. If I'm going far away, that's different, it won't be easy for me or someone else to go home and get my wallet.

The problem is if there’s a problem....

 

[RickshawFan]

I’m feeling that this could turn out like the American tourist Susan McLean in Scotland. She had an active thread on here after disappearing on walk in Aberfeldy...she was found 3 months later in a concealed location with evidence of self harm (pills/alcohol).

I just don’t think this particular trail is challenging enough to cause problems (2.5 hours, well marked, no dense undergrowth or very tricky terrain) ....
I hope the family have some answers soon.

2.5 hours is hellish dangerous in the conditions Paul was hiking in. And, as I mentioned upthread, people get turned around on the AT all the time, for gosh sake. And that one’s marked so you can always see the next blaze.

 

[Inthedetails]

At some hotels, you can pay a little extra for a later check out time. We did this on our honeymoon so we could sleep late, lol. I guess we would know by now if they had done this, though.

Also, you can check out but then sit in the lobby. A hotel clerk isn't going to kick you out while you wait in the lobby. I think that's probably what their plan was - she would finish packing, eat breakfast, and have everything in the lobby when he arrived back from the hike.

I agree with the poster above who mentioned the tight schedule might have been a fatal flaw - rushing in the heat wasn't a good idea.

I do hope he is found. The not knowing is horrible for the family, I'm sure.

mo

 

[jash]

I wonder what time their return flight was supposed to leave, because it looks like a solid 3 hours+ to get to the airport in Vegas, not to mention return the rental car, go through TSA and such. Has that ever been mentioned?

I believe this was the first article to mention the flight.
Search scaled back for missing Guelph hiker in California

He left his nearby hotel at around 9 a.m. and parked at the trailhead. The route to the oasis, there and back, is a little more than three kilometres in length. Miller knew he couldn’t be out too long — his flight back home was scheduled to leave that afternoon.

It's unclear what they mean by "afternoon" but I'd lean more to it being an evening/overnight flight (there is a three hour time difference so it's common for West Coast flights to land in Toronto early in the morning).

In this recent interview, they say Paul's wife called their kids to let them know the day after she initiated the search. That also suggests to me the kids weren't expecting them home until Saturday, otherwise she would have called sooner.

(@1:20) Paul Miller's wife, son want search to continue

 

[jash]

New article:
Wife of missing Guelph hiker remaining hopeful

Below quotes are from Paul's wife.

“Basically, if he’s in the desert he hasn’t made it 40 days — your body just can’t last that long without food or water or even just in that extreme heat. So they figure if more people have recently become lost (since), they focus on them.

“Maybe he finished the trail and came out and something happened. We really don’t know,” she says. “But if they can’t find him in the park, then what’s to say he’s not out of the park?”

 

[Yvettea]

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