Missing Hiker Alert-PCT-Story from a thru hiker

[TOW]

My name is Connie Davis and I am thru-hiking the PCT this year with my son, Alex
Davis. We camped with Seabreeze on the night of 5.2.05 at Fobes Saddle. Another
hiker, trail name Gutsy (female), was also camped there. We were there at about
5 PM and Seabreeze arrived later. He told us he had the trail name for a couple
of reasons--that he had been in the Navy and that he used to empty a Seabreeze astringent
bottle and put some whiskey in it when he was camping and his friends gave him that
name. I was impressed by how little gear and clothing he had with him. He was
wearing shorts, had thin nylon pants, but cooked his meal from his sleeping bag
and I think he put socks on his hands to keep them warm.

That evening I know the four of us discussed the trail conditions ahead because
Alex and I had been planning to hike to the top of the tram on San Jacinto and meet
up with relatives in Palm Springs, but we had heard this wouldn't be possible.
Gutsy had a sore foot but needed to make up some lost time and was planning to hike
to Saddle Junction and Devil's Slide Trail. Alex and I were keeping our options
open about which trail we would take off the ridge to the west depending on the
snow. I don't remember if Seabreeze told us his plans.

The next morning Gutsy left before the rest of us. Alex and I leap-frogged up
the trail passing Seabreeze frequently until we got into the snow. I don't remember
if Seabreeze had any hiking poles, but he was wearing tennis shoes. I was wearing
hiking boots and gaiters and my son had trail runners and gaiters. We were in front
of him at this point and when we hit the solid snow, we started looking at maps
for physical features of where Saddle Junction was, where the trail goes down to
Idyllwild. We told Seabreeze he might not want to follow us, since we were using
the compass, altimeter and the terrain to guide us and might not be taking the easiest
route. I was kicking steps in the snow with my boots. Seabreeze continued to follow
us and at one point he stopped to put instep crampons on his tennis shoes. He fell
frequently and would yell loudly. He would then assure us he was okay. After we
passed the two streams in the valley, we used the altimeter to walk a contour at
about 8000 feet, since we knew we would hit Saddle Junction that way. At this point
Seabreeze was behind us but told us he would follow our footsteps. I believe we
were about 1/2 mile from Saddle Junction when we last saw him. We went down Devil's
Slide Trail in about the mid-afternoon and didn't see Seabreeze after that.

When we got down to the park at the bottom of Devil's Slide Trail we met Shutterbugg
and at least three other people headed up to hike Fuller Ridge who were getting
out of Meadow Mary's RV. They may have seen Seabreeze after they got to the top.

I hope this is useful and I am so sorry that Seabreeze is missing.

[Pencil Pusher]

Shouldn't there be a news blurb or equivalent as a preface? I'm assuming you're not Connie.

[TOW]

Read the title pal.............

Shouldn't there be a news blurb or equivalent as a preface? I'm assuming you're not Connie.

[Pencil Pusher]

Read the title pal.............

How profound. Perhaps your own words serve best:

Do not flood the sherriffs dept with phone calls! They have asked that everyone just stay put from the phones so that they can do their jobs! They are well aware that Seabreeze is very well known and thought of, but they cannot handle the flood of calls that they have been recieving. I Trust You guys!

I Trust You Too.

[Stoker53]

How profound. Perhaps your own words serve best:


I Trust You Too.

PP shame on you for assuming that when YOU poke at someone they will not poke you back. You have been on Wander's case from the minute he started the thread......a thread that was intended to bring attention to a possible serious situation for a AT hiker.

[mjwood0]

@PP -- Is this really necessary? Communicating that there is a lost hiker and giving a website from a Police Department seems to make perfect sense on a <gasp> HIKING board...

@Wanderer -- While I have never met or heard of the hiker in question, please do keep us updated on this situation.

[Pencil Pusher]

Poke all you want, no skin off my back. Clear, concise and factual is all I seek. Maybe he's just an odd dude without typing skills. As it reads now, there is no police department link for this thread, The Wanderer is Connie Davis, he has spoken to the sheriff's office and they asked him to pass on info to not call (??)and It Is Hard As Heck To Capitalize Each And Every Word Like The Third Odd Thread For This Topic. THIS IS WHY YOU DON'T CLAIM THE CAPS LOCK KEY WAS ON.

Y'all jump on my guns all you want, I smell something fishy.

[TOW]

What's under your skin here PP?

No wonder you call yourself the American Idiot!

wanderer

Poke all you want, no skin off my back. Clear, concise and factual is all I seek. Maybe he's just an odd dude without typing skills. As it reads now, there is no police department link for this thread, The Wanderer is Connie Davis, he has spoken to the sheriff's office and they asked him to pass on info to not call (??)and It Is Hard As Heck To Capitalize Each And Every Word Like The Third Odd Thread For This Topic. THIS IS WHY YOU DON'T CLAIM THE CAPS LOCK KEY WAS ON.

Y'all jump on my guns all you want, I smell something fishy.

[TOW]

Pencil Pusher go to the post I posted with the link to the sherriffs department. If you want to see where I got all my info I will be glad to email you if you email me first. With the picture post I was just passing on what I had recieved in an email from the person who sent it to me without exposing them. I belong to other hiking sites as well as this one.

Furthermore take your proper journalistic expertise and go on a hike with it! PaL! (How do ya like that one?)

wanderer

[MOWGLI]

Wanderer. Thanks for posting this info. I hope the guy got off the trail and is sitting in a bar somewhere drinking a cold one.

[Tha Wookie]

Wanderer. Thanks for posting this info. I hope the guy got off the trail and is sitting in a bar somewhere drinking a cold one.

I'm buying....

[Nightwalker]

Y'all jump on my guns all you want, I smell something fishy.

Take a shower.

[TOW]

i second that

Take a shower.

[Ridge]

....Seabreeze continued to follow
us and at one point he stopped to put instep crampons on his tennis shoes. He fell frequently and would yell loudly....

I believe a search around this area would be a good starting point.

[Tim Rich]

http://www.pe.com/localnews/hemet/st...28.2a202b.html

Search continues for missing hiker

LOST: John Donovan was walking the Pacific Crest Trail near Idyllwild when he disappeared.

11:05 PM PDT on Friday, May 27, 2005

By KENNY KLEIN / The Press-Enterprise

Rescuers plan to return to the San Jacinto wilderness today to search for a lost hiker they believe may be somewhere along the Pacific Crest Trail.

Fellow hikers last saw John Donovan, 60, of Virginia, near Saddle Junction, east of Idyllwild on May 3, said Riverside County sheriff's Sgt. Terry Meadows.

The search effort will focus on the same area near Idyllwild even though rescuers searched some of the trails last week butfound no sign of Donovan.

"We are learning more day-by-day as hikers pass along information to us," Gwenda Yates, spokeswoman for the Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit, said Friday.

Yates said about 30 rescue unit volunteers will be joined by other rescuers from San Diego, San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties today.

The base camp at Humber Park will operate through Sunday, Yates said.

Donovan began hiking the Pacific Crest Trail on April 22 with hundreds of other hikers on the California-Mexican border north of Baja, Mexico, Meadows said.

Donovan had hiked about 178 miles on the trail with a plan to hike 1,800 miles and finish in Oregon, Meadows said. He also planned to meet cousins in Wrightwood, Meadows said.

Donovan was expected to pick up supply packages at the Cabazon Post Office several days after he was last seen, but never arrived.

Donovan did pick up supplies at the Anza Post Office on May 2, Meadows said.

Hikers use the post offices to pick up supplies they have pre-mailed, and others sent by family and friends, Meadows said.

The Pacific Crest Trail spans 2,650 miles from Mexico to Canada and through three western states: California, Oregon and Washington.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Hemet Sheriff's Station at (951) 791-3400.

[TOW]

thankyou for posting this....................wanderer

http://www.pe.com/localnews/hemet/st...28.2a202b.html

Search continues for missing hiker

LOST: John Donovan was walking the Pacific Crest Trail near Idyllwild when he disappeared.

11:05 PM PDT on Friday, May 27, 2005

By KENNY KLEIN / The Press-Enterprise

Rescuers plan to return to the San Jacinto wilderness today to search for a lost hiker they believe may be somewhere along the Pacific Crest Trail.

Fellow hikers last saw John Donovan, 60, of Virginia, near Saddle Junction, east of Idyllwild on May 3, said Riverside County sheriff's Sgt. Terry Meadows.

The search effort will focus on the same area near Idyllwild even though rescuers searched some of the trails last week butfound no sign of Donovan.

"We are learning more day-by-day as hikers pass along information to us," Gwenda Yates, spokeswoman for the Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit, said Friday.

Yates said about 30 rescue unit volunteers will be joined by other rescuers from San Diego, San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties today.

The base camp at Humber Park will operate through Sunday, Yates said.

Donovan began hiking the Pacific Crest Trail on April 22 with hundreds of other hikers on the California-Mexican border north of Baja, Mexico, Meadows said.

Donovan had hiked about 178 miles on the trail with a plan to hike 1,800 miles and finish in Oregon, Meadows said. He also planned to meet cousins in Wrightwood, Meadows said.

Donovan was expected to pick up supply packages at the Cabazon Post Office several days after he was last seen, but never arrived.

Donovan did pick up supplies at the Anza Post Office on May 2, Meadows said.

Hikers use the post offices to pick up supplies they have pre-mailed, and others sent by family and friends, Meadows said.

The Pacific Crest Trail spans 2,650 miles from Mexico to Canada and through three western states: California, Oregon and Washington.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Hemet Sheriff's Station at (951) 791-3400.

[Abby]

I believe a search around this area would be a good starting point.

Yes, this would probably be a good starting point. I know John Donovan, and in response to some earlier posts, there is nothing fishy about his being missing. Unfortunately, he is notorious for getting lost. (Virginia Appalachian Trail Club) I have been on several hikes with him, and he got lost. He never carries walking poles and probably doesn't have a compass. He takes risks on the trail and carries little gear. He rarely uses maps. He could have fallen and gotten hurt and couldn't find his way out. It is unlike him not to contact someone if he can. Our AT club used to say that if you went on a hike with John Donovan, take along supplies for several days, because you might get lost and not come back on time.

[TOW]

wow alot of you guys as well as some of my friends know this cat pretty well, i thought i met him once in hot springs

[Hammock Hanger]

has this guy been found yet???

[TOW]

has this guy been found yet???

nope...............................