Ewasko had changed his plans for some reason. It appears very close and if checked on a map its only 1.5 miles to the rim of the canyon. It would make for a long day and he would miss his dinner schedule at Pappy and Harriets in Pioneertown but it could be an epic adventure. To him, and the knowledge he had available, it made more sense than returning to his vehicle. The first is that people seldom act randomly, they do what makes sense to them at the time at the specific location they are at. This means that Bills car arrived at the parking lot no earlier than 10:20 am, leaving, at minimum, a nearly 2 hour gap from his last phone call. Not at all hard to do in this area.
This suggests whatever accident occurred, it was in the lower half of the descent to the Smith Water Canyon bottom. ", "I always said, he'll eventually befound in someplace no one ever thought he would be," said Mahood via email. After nearly 12 years, hikers at Joshua Tree National Park finally found Ewaskos remains on Tuesday, February 8, 2022, in the northwestern corner of the Joshua Tree Park adjacent to the Panorama Loop Trail and where the Bigfoot and Panorama Loop trails connect. published more than 80 blog posts about Ewaskos disappearance. But if he tried heading for the nearer, westerly Acacia grove hed quickly find his way blocked by a dry waterfall before reaching the grove. died while free-solo climbing at Joshua Tree in mid-January. And by all accounts Ive heard, Bill wasnt the sort of guy to sit in the shade and wait for death to come. Oh, and for the record I dont think foul play, a staged disappearance or suicide have levels of probability worth considering. Upon their return, several of the searchers pointed towards a nearby ridge and said that they could see lights. And if he knew enough to consider a hike there, he also surely read that water flows in Smith Water year round. I think it's likely that after reaching the end of the easterly Acacia grove and finding no water, Bill may have attempted to ascend the side canyon walls in an attempt to acquire a cell phone signal. How can we have so much information about where he was going to go, or at least where he said he was going to go why cant we find him?, Careys Castle was only one of several locations on Ewaskos itinerary. Bills precise arrival time at the Juniper Flats trailhead isnt known. awallet was found with the remains with the name of Bill Ewasko. On Tuesday two water bottles that were hidden under a log in the search area were discovered. The more search coverage of the southerly Smith Water slopes increased the more perplexed and disheartened I became. And it would provide a grand view.
OK thenlets crawl off to the easterly grove instead. High Desert radio station K107.7, KCDZ, reported that a wallet was found with the remains with the name of Bill Ewasko, but the station did not say how it learned that. According to Melsons measurements, Ewaskos phone could have been anywhere from a quarter-mile farther away to very nearly at the base of the tower itself, due to reflections off mountains and rocks. It was yet another failure of imagination. Then in February 2022, nearly 12 years after Bill went missing, remains were found by hikers in the northwestern corner of Joshua Tree, where the Bigfoot and Panorama Loop trails connect. In Summer, Ive only seen water in the westerly grove, above the dry waterfall. They were only able to cover part of the area before the light faded. Clearly no one would make the grueling descent into Smith Water then start up the other side, would they? He was supposed to return to his vehicle and call his girlfriend at 5.00 pm, but he never did.
So Bill set off for Smith Water Canyon and the water he expected to find. On his way to the park the morning of June 24, Bill made two phone calls, reporting that he was on Interstate 10 near Palm Desert, a location subsequently verified by cell phone records. He left a rough itinerary behind with his girlfriend, Mary Winston, featuring multiple destinations, both inside and outside the park. Patrick Comstock, 38, ofRockaway Beach, New York, died Jan., 30 in a fall near Tahquitz Peak near the South Ridge Trail. This was the first time The phone hadnt registered with any towers since the morning of his disappearance, suggesting that his phone had been turned off until that moment to conserve battery life or he had no service. Bill planned to spend a week in the area and fly home on July 1, with a further trip to Florida planned on his return. However, many further attempts to find himcontinued over the years. The crest never seems very far away, yet is a considerable climb. After descending to the canyon bottom he would be able drink what he wanted, refill his bottles, hike out of Smith Water to the west where it intersects the California Riding and Hiking Trail, and return on that trail to his parked vehicle. But 5 pm came and went with no phone call. After studying a number of lost person incidents Ive developed two beliefs. When they failed to find Bill, Pritchett returned to the lot where he was soon joined by police from the neighboring county and volunteer searchers. First, everyone who approaches this case gives different weightings to the few hard bits of evidence available. Since this is a junction of all trails in the area, it offered no guidance as to where Bill might have gone next.
And if he took the fairly obvious route descending a very pronounced side canyon, it wasnt really awful (such things are relative in Smith Water Canyon). After the official search ended and I and my co-conspirators came on the scene, we started filling in the blanks of the original search effort, as clearly thats where wed find Bill. It was assumed that without food and water and with the extremes of the desert climate he could not survive. Hed go out fighting to the last. After the second call, no subsequent cell tower pings were recorded by Verizons system which means Bill turned off his cell phone. The I Just Disappear Blog has a good summary of what may have happened to Bill Ewasko, including perhaps he intended to disappear or was a victim of foul play. Nope, not even close. However with the mountain directly in front, the frontal approach looks easiest. But at this point it was too late to return, the best option would be to continue.
After all, a man died and until hes found speculation on how that specifically happened is usually cringeworthy. His whereabouts between 8 AM and 10:20 AM are unclear but could be attributed to his stopping and taking pictures as he liked to do in Joshua Tree. Unfortunately, the list included sites as far-flung as the Salton Sea and Mount San Jacinto, each more than an hours drive from the park. A friend of Doggett's had previously reported that he had gone hiking alone and could not be reached by phone. And by definition, missing people are always found in the last place someone thinks to look.
It is possible he was waved through without scanning.
Learning that Ewasko was a fit, accomplished hiker added to Pylmans confidence that he would be found quickly and perhaps even self-rescue by finding his own way out. Before I lay out what I think happened and where Bill has ended up Id like to touch on a couple things. One of the itineraries had listed for that Thursday Thousand Palms, Joshua Tree all day, Lost Horse Mountain which added little to the information already at hand. Dave Pylman, the parks deputy planning chief and a former executive director of Friends of Joshua Tree, a climbing-advocacy group, as well as a 19-year veteran of Joshua Tree Search and Rescue, was put in charge of routes, teams and search areas. Annnnnd..Heres the problem. It all fit so well I was really certain wed find him on the southerly Smith Water slopes. The second belief Ive developed is that subjects who arent immediately found by SAR personnel usually do something unexpected or unanticipated by searchers. After approximately 5 miles and 2 to 2 1/2 hours he would have reached Juniper Flats with Quail Mountain looming directly in front. We assumed he did something a bit unexpected and ended up in an unsearched area so we set about clearing them. According to a 2018 article in the New York Times,Ewasko was an avid hiker and Vietnam vet whotraveled by himselffrom his home in suburban Atlanta to Joshua Tree andhe planned to hike for several days. The park sees nearly 50 such cases every year. She reported him missing the next day, shortly after mid-day. Frankly, Id much prefer someone other than I find Bill, and if laying my thoughts out here makes that happen, then great! Had Ewasko even entered Joshua Tree National Park? Ewasko went missing on June 24, 2010. He could turn around any time if he got too thirsty or too hot. Reaching the lowest saddle on the ridgeline, an obvious destination, would have taken about another hour. The view from the upper reaches of Quail Mountain is vast, and its hard to be lost when much of the park and its roads are visible. Yet initial searchers, who would have quickly found a subject in this situation, found no trace. So my thinking at this point is that Bill will be found near the easterly mouth of Smith Water Canyon at some elevation above the canyon bottom, and very close to the Serin tower 10.6 mile radius. A sniffer dog was shown clothes found in Ewaskos rental car, then brought on the trail in addition to helicopter searches Despite this, Bill remained missing. There was only one known visitor to Juniper Flats Trailhead the day Bill disappeared, a hiker named Greg Mendoza. The remains were found with a Wallet that included Ewascos ID. If one gives high weight to the accuracy of the cell ping distance there is a scenario which fits pretty much all that is known about the case and explains why no trace has yet been found. I think Bill would likely have used most or all of his water supply upon reaching this point at Juniper Flats. Smith said, "I think that any unnatural death is investigated as a homicide if there is no other evidence. There is no direct cell phone line of sight from these northerly slopes to the Serin tower, BUT it could bounce off the very well cell-covered southerly Smith Water slopes and provide a poor, brief connection consistent with what was recorded. Although Mahood participated in the official search for Bill Ewasko, helping to clear the region around Quail Mountain, the case became an obsession and he has become determined to find Bill. They are dense groves of Acacias (I think) and are obvious markers for water. Winston reported him missing the next day. Previous search tracks are shown in red and black, and the Serin Tower 10.6 mile radius in light blue.If Bills on the southerly slopes it would have to be lower than the green area of very good cell coverage but in an overlooked spot. As happens with many people, I dont think he realized he was now in a survival situation. The thing I remember the most, Pylman said, was the frustration of: How can this be? But again, it makes sense to the subject at the time. Locating the car confirmed that Bill was inside the park and searchers relocated to Juniper Flats and explored areas including the top of Quail Mountain and south to Keys View. But after the official search ended, the unofficial search continued, including Tom Mahood, a former search and rescue worker based in California. A ranger was left at the car through the night, and in the morning with Bill having failed to show up, a proper search got underway using park personnel and volunteer search and rescue at about 7:30 a.m. that morning, fanning out in the most likely areas in the vicinity of Bills car. In fact the path length is better for the northerly slopes than most places on the southerly slopes. After performing signal tests throughout Covington Flats, however, Melson found that his numerous attempts to mark a specific distance from the Verizon tower revealed large margins of error. The Ewasko search thread hosted by the Mount San Jacinto Outdoor Recreation forum. Robert Doggett, 24, had sustained injuries that"were consistent with a fall," spokesperson Albert Martinez said. Given such a small amount of water it may be that he was planning only a short walk along a relatively flat trail, and was going to eventually turn back. On June 24, Ewasko's girlfriend, Mary Winston, became concerned when she did not hear from Ewasko after dusk. This raised hopes that he was still alive and rangers requisitioned a night helicopter with thermal imaging capability to search the area. 'Something RichardFeynman described as a 'failure of imagination.' For unknown reasons his card wasnt recorded at the western park entrance station despite its opening around 8 AM. Hikers at Joshua Tree National Park on Tuesday found human remains inthe northwestern corner of the park adjacent to the Panorama Loop Trail. He was an avid jogger and a lover of the outdoors. Bills most probable route into Smith Water would have put him in the central bowl, roughly midway between the two groves. That evening, it was revealed that the previous morning, at about 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, Ewaskos phone had pinged a cell tower in Yucca Valley, a city about 20 miles northwest of where his car was found. I couldnt come up with any reason Bill could have made that ping and not be found on the southerly slopes. It should have only taken Bill about half that time to reach Juniper Flats trailhead and it is not known where Bill was for the extra hour or so. That wasnt definitive proof of anything, if a long line of cars forms, members are often waved through, but it meant that there was no record of his visit. I believe Bill considered the 5.3 miles back to the car against the 2.5 miles to the water of Smith Water Canyon and chose to head cross country to Smith Water. A broken leg or ankle would likely have Bill crawling at this point, but getting to either area of vegetation would appear possible to him. Mike Melson became interested in the disappearance in the spring of 2012. A helicopter was used to search for Doggett by air and located himon rocky terrain. My thinking is that he attempted something that none of us have yet thought of in our wildest imaginings, and possibly came close to pulling it off. The light blue line is the 10.6 mile radius from the Serin Drive cell tower. At this point I think Bill did something none of the initial searchers could have foreseen. It was my expectation Bill would be found in the rugged terrain of the southerly slopes of Smith Water Canyon. I think Bill took some sort of stumble, perhaps aggravated by dehydration, and suffered an incapacitating ambulatory injury. The light blue line is the 10.6 mile radius from the Serin Drive cell tower. The station did not say how it learned that. As the search ramped up on Saturday morning, June 26th, it appeared it was merely a missing hiker somewhere between the Juniper Flats trailhead and Quail Mountain. But from the vantage of Juniper Flats it doesnt look bad. Given the temperatures, he may have begun to experience initial symptoms of dehydration and realized he could be in a small predicament by overextending himself. He has to know that at this point he likely has only hours left to him. So Bills in the bottom of Smith Water, reaches the easterly Acacia grove and finds no water. However, an informal group of sleuths continued to look for Ewasko over the years. He actually might have been more mobile vertically than laterally as its possible to gain a lot of feet vertically for not much horizontal distance. But if hes still got a bit of his wits about him he might realize he has a clever Hail Mary chance..get high enough up in the canyon to get a cell signal out. Hewas an educator who loved the outdoors, according to his mother. I think what a man of Bills reported determination may have attempted in his last hours could have a great deal to do with why hes not been yet found. a hiker diedafter an apparent fall on rocky and remote terrain near Idyllwild. Later cell records confirm both calls, and the tower in use during the second call is consistent with Bills stated location. Thus he would have been forced to continue on, possibly crawling and covering ground very slowly. But hey and follow on searchers found no trace. This usually manifests itself by the lost subject covering more ground than the searchers expected and thus leaving the search area. I personally find climbing up its slick slope pretty puckery with two good legs and it might be completely impossible with a broken ankle, effectively shutting the door to the westerly grove. I always said, he'll eventually be found in someplace no one ever thought he would be. Heres the thing about Smith Water Canyon..There IS water there year round, but you have to know where to look. Volunteers were already arriving from throughout Southern California, and an incident command post was created at Cap Rock. The ping distance, when figuring in the bounce path length, comes out about right. But later that day, a California Highway Patrol helicopter finally spotted his car at the Juniper Flats trailhead, nearly a 90-minute drive from the Careys Castle trailhead. Pritchett looked but could not confirm this. Previous search tracks are shown in red and black, and the Serin Tower 10.6 mile radius in light blue.If Bill's on the southerly slopes it would have to be lower than the green area of very good cell coverage but in an overlooked spot. On July 5, 11 days later, the official search was called off. Others suggested that the ping had been deliberately staged to mask the true reasons for Ewaskos disappearance. Due to that amount of search coverage completed on the southerly slopes I think the probability is higher hes on the unsearched northerly side slopes. The nearest salvation, Park Road, is 3.5 miles away, invisible to Bill and impossible to reach in his dire condition. While a cell signal could have been a salvation, he had a much more urgent need for water, which he knew existed at the bottom of Smith Water. Had he reached the bottom of Smith Water Canyon he obviously would have been found, therefore he obviously experienced some sort of accident on his descent into the canyon preventing him from reaching the bottom. One more mistake or bad decision could put him in a situation he wouldnt be able to get out of. The first call was to the owner of Bills condo. On July 5, 2010, the official search was called off, 11 days after Bill was reported missing to Rangers as the money had been exhausted. There are two areas of very pronounced vegetation in Smith Water Canyon, both pretty visible from the higher slopes of the canyon (and in Google Earth). The ridgeline where lights had been seen the previous night was searched, but nothing was found. How could that be the case? On a hot June day, thats a considerable distance. In May 2016, Tom Mahood summarised the disappearance and search. On Saturday, June 26, nearly two full days after Ewasko failed to show up, a sheriffs deputy was dispatched to Bills borrowed condo where additional itineraries and maps were found. Continuing on to Quail Mountain, a few hundred feet higher and another half mile away would now seem unwise (Bills signature was never found on the peaks register). From this ridge saddle there is a wonderful view to the northwest and towards Smith Water Canyon. Rangers headed to the trailhead, but Ewaskos rented Chrysler Sebring was not there. After more than a year of hiking in the Death Valley area, on November 12, 2009, Mahood and another searcher found the remains of the German family who disappeared in Death Valley 13 years earlier on 23 July 1996. An initial search was called off after a week. ", Mahood added: "While we now know the conclusion, we may likely never know any detailsunless Bill left behind any surviving notes as to his predicament.". I can only speculate how long it would have taken Bill to reach the canyon bottom. His first hike, on Thursday, June 24, was meant to be a loop out and back from a remote historic site known as Careys Castle, an old miners hut built into the rocks. By May of 2016 the area of interest had been searched very well, tracks in red, suggesting an accident on descent might not be the correct scenario. At the time of his arrival in the park at around 10:20 am, there was no one else at the trailhead, however upon his return between 5.30 and 6.00 pm, he sawEwaskos car parked parallel and next to the curb on the north side of the parking area, instead of in one of the diagonally drawn designated parking spots.