Family friends remain hopeful missing hiker is found
The search continues for 51-year-old Paul Miller, who was last seen heading to the 49 Palms Oasis hiking trail in Joshua Tree National Park Friday.
Miller’s car was found in the parking lot near the trailhead on Friday afternoon after his wife reported him missing. Searchers, K9 units, and helicopters have been combing the trail for five days but haven’t been able to find an additional trace of Miller.
Crews have also been battling dangerously high temperatures, on Monday three searchers were taken to local hospitals for heat-related illness.
A friend of the Miller family, Jeff Groenewald, said parishioners, from the church the Millers attend in Canada, are staying hopeful for a safe return.
People living near Joshua Tree said temperatures reached 115 degrees over the weekend.
“At 115 it doesn’t take but walking half a block and you are extremely overwhelmed with the feeling of heat,” said Adel Kirby, who was walking near the trailhead Tuesday night.
The extreme heat doesn’t seem to stop some hikers from visiting the park.
One park ranger told KESQ & CBS Local 2’s Lauren Coronado that he’s seeing an increase in visitors at the park year round, like Matthew Eckhoff. Eckhoff is hiking national parks along the west coast for the next few days.
“I would say what makes this different is how exposed you are out here to the heat and the sun. This place will catch up with you, I would imagine if you were to unfortunately get lost like the hiker earlier, because it’s relentless,” Eckhoff said.
He and his hiking partners made a checklist to prepare for the taxing terrain at the park.
“A map of the area, a compass in case you can’t find where you are on a map, definitely lots of water, at least a few liters, some food, maybe two days worth of food if you think you’ll be out there for a while, a GPS tracker because cell phones you can lose signal,” Eckhoff said.
Joshua Tree National Park’s public information officer, George Land, said the last four hikers to have been reported missing in the park were found alive and well. He’s hoping for a similar outcome in Miller’s case.
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Miller is described as a white male, 5’5″ tall, weighing approximately 160 lbs. Anyone with any information on the whereabouts of Miller is asked to call: 909 383-5651.
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