Missing Rockhound
June 14 – July 19, 2025
Cabazon Foothills and Canyons
2025-025
Written by: Eric Holden
Monday 7/14 – Operational Period 1
RMRU was contacted to assist with a search in the Cabazon area for rockhound that went missing about 5 days ago. Temperatures were in 100s and would be in the high 90s for most of the search. Three RMRU members and 3 DSSAR team members searched throughout the hillside above where his car was found but found no additional clues. The search went on into night.
Tuesday, 7/15 – Operational Period 2
Riverside County Search Dogs deployed 3 search dogs and the Riverside Sheriff’s Office used a drone for aerial searching. Three teams were formed – each with one dog, a handler and one person acting as a flanker. The flanker’s role is supporting the dog team, e.g., communications, navigation, safety, etc. The terrain was steep with canyons and, in most areas, filled with boulders and dense brush & shrubs. The teams searched for approximately 5 hours and found a few clues that helped develop a strategy for the next day’s search.
Wednesday, 7/16 Operational Period 3
The call went out for Mutual Aid and neighboring counties came out to assist in the search. Searchers from DSSAR, RMRU, and Sierra Madre. The search started at first light, 0500, to beat the main heat of the day. We received some additional information and due to looking through photos the subject took we were able to determine the LKP (Last Known Position) about 1000ft of vertical elevation up the mountainside. Unfortunately, no other information was discovered this day.
Thursday, 7/17 – Operational Period 4
Mutual aid was requested again and searchers from Bear Valley, Rim of the world SAR, Sierra Madre, San Bernardino Cave Team, and San Gorgonio SAR assisted. Addition cell phone data came in from CALOES indicating that his phone was last used about 1000ft higher up the mountain side. Most of our search was done in this area but unfortunately no additional clues were found.
Friday, 7/18– Operational Period 5
The fifth operational period began early Friday morning with 42 searchers from RMRU plus 6 other California departments including San Bernadino, Fresno, San Diego, Santa Clara, Kern County, and Santa Barbara. 7 search teams were inserted via helicopter to a very rocky steep hillside in the location where a possible footprint and where the subjects cell phone may have been last used. 5 other search teams entered on foot from the valley floor into areas where the subject may be if he was attempting to return to his car. The subject was found deceased at the lower end of the hillside near Jensen Creek.
The heat during this period was extremely hard on searchers. One Searcher suffered a heat related injury and was transported to the hospital for evaluation, while others were hoisted out of the search area and rehydrated at the CP.
RMRU Members Involved: (Chad Becker, David Bever, Alex Cochran, Matt Frenken, Shana Gutovich, Andy Hayt, Glenn Henderson, Eric Holden, Geoffrey Marshall, Tobias Moyneur, Guillaume Plateau, Vinay Rao, and Stephanie Robertson)
Other Agencies Involved: (Desert Sheriff’s Search and Rescue, Rescue 9 RSO Aviation, Star 9 RSO Aviation, Riverside County Search Dogs, Sierra Madre SAR, Bear Valley SAR, Rim of the world SAR, San Gorgonio SAR, San Bernardino Cave Team, San Diego SAR, San Diego Mountain Rescue Team, Santa Clara SAR, Kern County SAR, Santa Barbara SAR, Fresno County SAR.)