EISPIRATEN

There doesn’t seem to be a lot of info about this guy or which Mt Wilson trail he was on, but apparently he’s been missing since the 5th (!) and there’s only just been a push on social media about it. I can’t seem upload a photo, so here’s a link:

https://local.nixle.com/alert/10588795/

To upload a photo, click on the "Attachments" tab, then "Add files." Once it's uploaded you can hit "Place inline" to embed the photo within your text.

Based on photos posted to FB, the search area includes the west ridge of Occidental near Eaton Saddle.

I hiked the area on Wednesday. We saw the posters but no sign of Zach

Lots of activity today between Switzers and Red Box. Looked like the focus was the Cloudburst Canyon area. Multiple helos and a bunch of S&R vehicles. Seems a bit far from where the search for Zach was originally focused. Anyone know anything?

Looks like they have been widening the search area. A few days ago they were on Mt. Lowe--with the dog.

ABC News story. Nothing new, but I wonder if he was parked at Eaton Saddle, based on the search areas being Mt. Wilson and Mt. Lowe. I haven't seen a mention of where he was parked.

I asked Zach's girlfriend/wife (not sure the relationship, but she's posting a lot) on Instagram (cristinas_adventure) what trail he was last seen on and where his car was parked.

Her response:

"no car he was seen at the observatory we don’t much more than that"

Hopefully, SAR got a cellphone ping that places him up there.

I followed up on your question and asked how Zach got to Wilson if he didn't drive. She said he took a Lyft.

Thinking about this some, and based purely on the publicly available information (at least that I have seen), I start wondering whether this is a lost "hiker" situation.

The information out there is that Zach was seen (not clear by whom or what) at the observatory and/or near the Mt. Wilson trail (note - not ON the trail). He's not an experienced hiker according to his family and he was wearing only shorts and a short-sleeved shirt (did he have a day pack?). He doesn't drive himself to Mt. Wilson, he takes an Lyft which in and of itself is odd to me.

I don't know about anyone else, but my cell signal is spotty at best at Mt. Wilson. So what was this guy going to do? Go hiking and then come back to Mt. Wilson and call an Uber of Lyft with little or no signal? The only way it makes sense in my mind to get dropped at Mt. Wilson is if you intend to make a one-way hike back down the Mt. Wilson trail to Sierra Madre. But if this guy isn't a hiker, was he really going to do that 7 mile walk? Would he even know about the Mt. Wilson trail and how to navigate it?

None of that makes any sense to me. I start thinking that something else happened, especially since the lead investigative agency is LASD Homicide. Maybe that's normal in these situations, but I still wonder whether this guy really got lost hiking.

On the morning of Saturday Feb. 3rd, 2024 there were several Sheriff's Officers that we saw in the Rubio Canyon area. I talked to one of them and I asked if they had anything more than "Mt. Wilson" as far as location/starting point/trail etc. "Nope". They were basically sending searchers down trails from Mt. Wilson and looking over cliffs, gullies, nooks and crannies for him.

I'm thinking along the lines of Uncle Rico...there doesn't seem to being any indications that this guy is a hiker of any kind, ever. But they have to look.

Assuming it was the Lyft driver who saw him last, that means Zach decided to go to Wilson on a Friday night at sunset. That's not normal if he were planning to hike down the mountain. But if he went up there simply to observe the sky ...
then something unpredictable happened.

remaining anonymous here. I knew Zach personally. I don’t think Zach ever had the intention of coming back down the mountain.

I don’t want to put anything specific on blast, but let’s just say his behavior was erratic the last few months before his disappearance.

walterduffy wrote: ↑Sun Feb 04, 2024 12:52 pmI knew Zach personally. I don’t think Zach ever had the intention of coming back down the mountain.

Did he have any hiking or camping experience? Might he have taken some survival gear?

Sean wrote: ↑Sun Feb 04, 2024 7:42 pm

walterduffy wrote: ↑Sun Feb 04, 2024 12:52 pmI knew Zach personally. I don’t think Zach ever had the intention of coming back down the mountain.

Did he have any hiking or camping experience? Might he have taken some survival gear?

Highly doubtful he would have taken anything other than his wallet and phone. My inclination is he wasn’t up there for a hike…

walterduffy wrote: ↑Mon Feb 05, 2024 12:52 am
Highly doubtful he would have taken anything other than his wallet and phone. My inclination is he wasn’t up there for a hike…

That's very dark. Do you know if LASD Homicide is following that thread? I assume that they are.

Uncle Rico wrote: ↑Mon Feb 05, 2024 7:41 am

walterduffy wrote: ↑Mon Feb 05, 2024 12:52 am
Highly doubtful he would have taken anything other than his wallet and phone. My inclination is he wasn’t up there for a hike…

That's very dark. Do you know if LASD Homicide is following that thread? I assume that they are.

It would be rather simple...they would have found his body already. The SAR dont talk much..but yeah, they are the best.

I do think he went hiking without a hiking perspective....and that brings up...was he chasing dragons?

AW~ wrote: ↑Mon Feb 05, 2024 11:32 am

Uncle Rico wrote: ↑Mon Feb 05, 2024 7:41 am

walterduffy wrote: ↑Mon Feb 05, 2024 12:52 am
Highly doubtful he would have taken anything other than his wallet and phone. My inclination is he wasn’t up there for a hike…

That's very dark. Do you know if LASD Homicide is following that thread? I assume that they are.

It would be rather simple...they would have found his body already. The SAR dont talk much..but yeah, they are the best.

I do think he went hiking without a hiking perspective....and that brings up...was he chasing dragons?

Here’s a timeline of what I know
Jan 5th
>Zach somehow gets a ride via Lyft/Uber/(mutual friend?)up to the observatory earlier in the day.
>Zach texts his gf (not Cristina) to come pick him up around the Cosmic Cafe.
>GF arrives around 4:45-5pm and he doesn’t answer phone / loss of signal / battery is dead.

>Around Jan 7/8th, Cristina attempts getting ahold of him as he’s supposed to be with his kids.

>Jan 14th first public message of him being declared missing.

Zach’s behavior in months prior was not good. I received a thinly veiled text about him wanting to off himself in November, and I last saw him in person in December but he was erratic and I suspected him on some substances. I want to say on record when he was right, he was an upstanding dude.

As for the search, I’m very surprised he hasn’t been found yet. Albeit, it’s of my opinion the search for Zach started far too late. Being up in the mountains, without a viable starting point, nearly a month removed, and with severe inclement weather, his chances for survival are extremely low.

I had assumed suicide but with this additional detail it seems a little odd. Why would you call someone to pick you up, if the intention was to kill yourself? As far as finding him, with all the brush, you can go five or ten feet away from someone and not see them, it doesn't surprise me that he hasn't been found.