Missing hiker (Monica Reza)

[GoalHiking]

The thing is is that the yoga group that subjects A, B, and C are in is literally a cult...

This and the Reddit post shed a whole new light on this issue.

Given the general incompetence of governments at all levels, I hope no one is assuming the FBI already knows about something. Anyone who has insider info or documented research should call the FBI. Also, since this is a public thread, people shouldn't mention what they talked to the FBI about.

[HikeUp]

[Tob]

This meditation thing makes me wonder if they engaged in any mind-enhancing substances on the summit.

I did consider that, initially because I would be inclined to believe something like that vs a uti or a brain bleed/infarct, simply because a uti would be much slower to develop and both hikers would have noticed signs of confusion from her (which maybe they did but I hadn't heard that yet.) Most strokes present with some degree of motor and coordination deficit, not always but typically. I just feel in both those scenarios, I would expect to hear something along the lines to where Hiker A and Hiker C (or just Hiker A later on) earlier on in the trip having noticed Monica was "off" somehow at some point leading up to her disappearance. But that would be a very odd thing for her companions to omit from the story.

However, conversely, for what should be obvious reasons, I could definitely see a scenario where the people she was with now feel the urge to not disclose those details if in fact Monica was under the influence of mind altering substances. That is much more believable in terms of considering potential external factors impacting her decisions when trying to make sense how she lost her way. I guess the next step would be to determine if that group was known to partake in those types of extracurricular activities, or if there's any history of that with the group? I mean from what it sounds like, that activity does seem to fit the mold of what you would expect from a group that seems cultish but to just assume that without an established history isn't exactly fair to them.

Thats definitely an interesting angle and could explain some things but it doesn't really explain the main issue which is why couldn't they find her? And again to reiterate, I'm not saying in like a "I refuse to believe that its possible that they couldn't find her for any other reason than foul play" way either, just to be clear. I'm very aware and open like I've been saying to the possibility that its
more likely than a non-hiker like myself would be accustomed to for her to completely disappear on a mountain like Mt Waterman that quickly in the presence of a search and helicopters, without being found. I just mean in the sense there's an offhand smaller chance that there is some non-hiker centric explanation for her having vanished.

Also, and maybe I'm being a little tinfoily here, so feel free to mock me for what I am about to suggest but do you feel like Monica looks different in the picture where she's walking at a distance? Its very pixelated and I'm sure that's why. I mean its clearly her, I'm not suggesting that it isn't or anything like that. The other two pictures of her from that day she looks exactly like the Monica from the Yoga video but that one where she's walking to me she just looks slightly different. Probably nothing but I just wondered if anyone did a double take like I did.

[Sean]

[David R]

Also, and maybe I'm being a little tinfoily here, so feel free to mock me for what I am about to suggest but do you feel like Monica looks different in the picture where she's walking at a distance?

I think you're on to something, what if Monica Reza never went on the hike? If the two people she hiked with were paid off by agents of a foreign government it is possible that this was the cover up while they absconded her earlier. An agent from China who was Caucasian dressed up as Monica did the hike, she took off her costume, hid out and was later picked up by the two paid informants. The actual kidnapping happened the night before and Monica was smuggled onto the Beijing Star which was leaving the port of Long Beach that next day. Everyone is looking for Monica in the mountains but in actuality she was on the slow ship to China.

[Sean]

I searched the internets for images from the Beijing Star that day. Didn't find anything. But a friend of my barber's cousin's step-brother was on that ship and said he saw someone matching Monica's description!!!!!!!!!!

[SideQuestHiker]

Meanwhile...I posted an ambient hike video (the main reason for my YouTube channel) that is somewhat relevant to Monica's disappearance. It will give you another look at the area where Monica went missing. This is the Three Points-Mt Waterman trail that goes along the south flank of the ridge where Monica went missing. I filmed this back in March before I became interested in Monica's disappearance and therefore doesn't focus on her story. I added timecodes in the description so people can jump to those parts of the video that are relevant to her disappearance.



As you go along the trail you can see how some of the slope is dense brush, other parts fairly open pine forest. Some parts of the trail are easy to see and other parts, not so easy. You can also see boulder piles that can have crevasses and/or cave-like spaces where a body could remain hidden. Keep in mind when watching, the storms we had back in December changed things a bit, too. More washed out trail sections and WAY more blowdowns.

[AW~]

If the two people she hiked with were paid off by agents of a foreign government it is possible that this was the cover up while they absconded her earlier...

No doubt you are refereeing to the people in robes...I was hoping no one would go there "We could see clearly better who were holding the lanterns, the light was bigger than before. We saw one person wearing black robes with pointy hat and four others wearing the classic white robes. They were ahead of us by maybe 30 to 50 yards. So I told everyone to run back as fast as they can, I think they saw us or heard us because they started to shout that they were going catch us and hang us in that big tree on the trail."

[coloradohiker]

Meanwhile...I posted an ambient hike video (the main reason for my YouTube channel) that is somewhat relevant to Monica's disappearance.

Another great video. Proves a video is worth 1,000 pictures and all that. What impressed me most was the scope, the difficulty, the immensity of the surroundings. I'm 79 years old and definitely not up to taking these hikes on. My wife and I do 2-3 hikes/week in the foothills of the Rockies, but it's way tamer than anything like this. I was considering asking a couple of younger friends who are rock climbers to go out & give it a shot. They could do the cliffs in Eldorado Canyon near Boulder, Colorado at night in the rain with 40 mph winds. You can't always trust the info online, but I've read that there was no detection of a mountain lion in the area where the 2 hikers heard a woman screaming. If so, that must have been Monica, and she must have taken a left when reaching the trail you profile in the video. If course, that makes no sense, just as taking a left up top makes no sense. All the explanations for that left turn are, in my opinion, problematic. Maybe the beanie is a plant, but if the woman screaming is a woman and not a lion, who could it be except Monica? I take it that the area near the Twin Peaks Saddle has been searched less than Devils Canyon. Do you think it would be worthwhile to search that area? It must be incredibly frustrating for you and many of the hikers in this forum, who have spent so much effort in searching for Monica, not to be getting any feedback from officialdom. The Tips Line has been functioning for months. We need an update.

[Ry_Ky]

Hi, new to the forum, not in SoCal (I wish!), I've been following Monica's case since the week she went missing because I do search and rescue and someone who knew Monica told me about her.

Unfortunately with my SAR career, I can't help out in any official capacity unless called in an official capacity so ... that's my disclaimer. Take these as Internet musings from someone who has searched in the woods for folks and has planned searches. Willing to help out in an unofficial capacity as long as that's taken as such. As well as answer general questions related to SAR (and how hard it can be to find someone in the wilderness even with organized search efforts).

Thank you for the videos, SideQuestHiker. I'm still working through all of them. Thanks for noting the part of the Mt. Waterman Trail that was below where her beanie was found, I had been thinking about that section. Do you think she would have recognized it as a trail if/when she came to it? From the videos, I can see that it can be really hard to tell where the trail is sometimes, and easy to miss.

Hearing that there have been big storms in the past few months does not bode well. Landslides, mudslides, debris, deadfall, etc may have buried her remains.

I agree that the area around the Mt. Waterman Trail towards the Twin Peaks saddle point should be / should have been searched more, though we don't know what SAR did officially. Looks like there are more gaps in search coverage there, at least in the volunteer searchers' map (but some sections are very steep and probably impassable on foot). coloradohiker, where did you read that no mountain lions were detected near Twin Peaks at that time? I remember reading that FLIR caught bears and mountain lions, though that was likely at night. If it wasn't a mountain lion, it has the potential to be a lead indicating that she did travel towards Twin Peaks.

Also, it's possible she could have got onto the Mt. Waterman Trail and later accidentally got off the trail again. From SideQuestHiker's video, seems to be a pretty gnarly trail at times.

Also, just wanted to say in general that when people are lost and panicking, they make choices that can seem really strange and confusing. I worked a search once where the subject had crashed his car on the highway, ran off, and went missing. I thought for sure that he would be in the wooded median, or the woods off to the side of where he crashed. No -- he crossed several lanes of fast traffic to end up on the other side of the highway.

So when I think about the path that a missing person may have taken, I try to apply logic but also remember that logic can get thrown out of the window.