Angeles National Forest -- Missing Hikers Comprehensive List

RH · Post by RH » Mon Oct 20, 2025 12:40 am

Not sure if this topic exist anywhere else but I was trying to compile some type of master list of missing (or later found) hikers in Angeles National Forest. Would like to see what areas and what time of year most missing incidents happen but it would also be nice to find out what the circumstances were (frequently it's hiking solo in winter or hiking with a group that doesn't wait for the slowest hiker).

This is what I came up with so far.

Monica Reza
(Waterman - summer 2025) -- still missing

Alfredo Nieto De Jesus
(Big Rock Creek - summer 2025) -- still missing

Ki Soo Yang
(Waterman - summer 2024) -- rescued after 30 hours

Carlos Monay Garcia
(Cucamonga - fall 2022) -- still missing

Maria Loida Tice
(Iron Mountain - winter 2021) -- still missing

George Null
(Waterman/Bear Canyon - spring 2021) -- rescued after 5 days

Narineh Avakian
(Waterman - winter 2021) -- body recovered after 6 days

Rene Compean
(Waterman - fall 2021) -- rescued after 36 hours thanks to online sleuth identifying photo

Eric DeSplinter & Gabrielle Wallace
(Cucamonga - winter 2019) -- rescued after 5 days

Eugene Jo
(Waterman - summer 2019) -- rescued after 7 days in Devils Canyon

Jonathan Aujay
(Devils Punchbowl/BadenPowell - summer 1998) -- still missing

Jared Michael Negrete
(San Gorgonio - summer 1991) -- still missing. I included this non-ANF because it seems to be a famous case.

Post by **tekewin** » Mon Oct 20, 2025 6:08 am

Here is a compilation of info on Jonathan Aujay: https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMyst ... _jonathan/

RH · Post by RH » Mon Oct 20, 2025 1:29 pm

tekewin wrote: Mon Oct 20, 2025 6:08 am Here is a compilation of info on Jonathan Aujay: https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMyst ... _jonathan/

Having been a part of several aspects of the Monica Reza search, I've seen how information is misinterpreted, changed passing from person to person, and also heavily speculated by people including ones that don't know the area nor any of the people. So I wonder how accurate some of the Jonathan Aujay information really is. Did he really say those things to his wife? What was his usual route because some say it's not that remote. Well Big Rock up Manzanita to Vincent Gap and up BadenPowell isn't that remote but elsewhere I think it said he went Big Rock up the South Fork Trail to Islip which is fairly remote and less traveled. Was there evidence that he was taking money out and stashing it to start a new life? Did he really give away "belongings" (like what)? They said he was very close with his daughter. Would he just abandon her and never contact her again? Lots of questions but no real evidence.

David R · Post by **David R** » Mon Oct 20, 2025 1:36 pm

Where's Gary Nuetzel, it feels like people forgot about him and he disappeared in one of the most heavily hiked areas in the San Gabriels recently. I find his disappearance as interesting as Monica's just without the coverage.

JakubRZ · Post by **JakubRZ** » Mon Oct 20, 2025 1:40 pm

Gary Robert Nuetzel went missing in 2024, Chantry Flat
https://www.sfgate.com/la/article/missi ... 894296.php

JakubRZ · Post by **JakubRZ** » Mon Oct 20, 2025 1:49 pm

I like the project....here are a few contributions. I am sure there are many others....

Rona May Cuena

https://ktla.com/news/local-news/family ... mountains/

Julian Sands
https://people.com/what-was-julian-sand ... h-11761689

Lefei Huang
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/bo ... rcna138342

Bob Gregory
https://abc7.com/post/missing-hikers-fo ... /12839834/

Post by **Sean** » Mon Oct 20, 2025 2:47 pm

Colin Walker went missing in the summer of 2023 above Monrovia. His body was found over a week later.

Admin note: I edited some posts to include links to forum threads on these missing hikers.

RH · Post by RH » Tue Oct 21, 2025 1:58 am

I found this site that hasn't been updated since 2000 but has some interesting information.
https://tchester.org/sgm/lists/deaths.html#hiking

The Kenneth Andrew Pomykala incident is odd.

RH · Post by RH » Thu Oct 23, 2025 1:25 pm

Anyone else find the Kenneth Andrew Pomykala incident very strange? Why would you leave your friend if he fell? Why would you leave him as he was trying to retrieve his pack?

Also, does anyone have more specific information on Jonathan Aujay? What was his route from Devils Punchbowl to Baden-Powell? Or was it actually Big Rock/South Fork he started from as opposed to Devil Punchbowl parking area? Did he take the South Fork Trail to Islip and then PCT? Or did he take Manzanita to Vincent then up? They mention various people that ran across him and/or chatted but it's unclear where any of these encounters took place (which trails)? They also mentioned finding footprints in the snow on Baden-Powell but he went missing in June, was there still snow on BP that late? Also, BP is very popular so couldn't those footprints belong to many people or did they match his shoes?

cougarmagic · Post by **cougarmagic** » Sat Oct 25, 2025 5:13 pm

Albert Zisook. The day he hiked was during a heat wave. I think I remember temps being around 95F in the valleys. He was found when some hikers noticed a bad odor. He had gone off trail into a gully on the northern slope, presumably to find shade as there is hardly any along that ridge. He was slumped over but in a sitting position. Heart attack or cardiovascular disease coupled with heat exhaustion seem to be the cause.

Searchers went right past him, probably more than once, without knowing it. He was a very short distance from the trail but because there was no sign of ground giving way or a slide mark in the dirt that would be made by a fall, and the gully was very steep and it didn't make sense that a person would leave the trail to go in it, no one would have thought to look there.