Date Changed 10/24/2005

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Photos and write up from Bill Gibbons

Tales from the South Side of the Ridge 

I’m including a brief description along with the names of the personnel who participated in the search on the south side of Bear Back. I must say up front that this group was amazing to work with in the field.

Bill Gibbons

Albert Wallace            

Chris Aedo                               Adventure racer

Daniel Arno                              Large game hunting guide

Brad Agron                              Adventure racer

Carla Bender                            Adventure racer

Marc Bender                            Adventure racer, deputy sheriff Riverside County, CA

Sam Bender                             Adventure racer

Chance Cooper                        Ranch hand, pole-vaulter, USAFA candidate

Paul Cooper                             Commercial airline pilot, rancher

Carl Davis                                Adventure racer, aerospace engineer, expedition hiker

Caroline Goulard                        Adventure racer, emergency veterinarian

Steven Juliani                            Adventure racer, musician

Jon King                                   USAF, Edwards AFB

Joe Kinn                                   Hang-glider, local resident

Scott Martin                             US Naval Academy midshipman, local resident

J.C. “Cam” Martin              NASA test pilot, sail plane pilot, local resident

Roger Roots                             Adventure racer

Rick Searfoss                           Astronaut, local resident, Ron’s USAFA classmate

Arnold Stocker             USAF PJ, Nurse Anesthetist

Mark Stuckey                          NASA test pilot, paraglider, Ron’s friend

Eric Wallace                             Energetic searcher

Christopher Wallace                        Energetic searcher

Diana Wallace                          Enthusiastic Support

Kristen Wallace                        Support

Ray Yoshida                             Adventure racer, doctoral student – group/family counselor

After going through the process to use the Buddy Passes to arrive in California, myself and the Wallace’s made our way to the Tehachapi Summit Travelodge. The hotel owner and staff were perfectly helpful with our arrangements and our unknown number of needed rooms.

The Cattleman Restaurant and Saloon also served as the perfect arrangement for planning meetings and breakfasts. The owner was gracious enough to establish a tab system in the event that searchers were rotating into the field.

The Monday before Christmas was our opportunity to recon the coordinates that were given to us as being the Launch Site. Using the GPS linked to TopoUSA, we found it to be in the forbidden land. As luck would have it, while returning to the hotel, we received a call from Joe Kinn. He explained that he was the hang-glider who picked Ron up along the road after he had crashed previously. He wanted to help us and was wiling to meet us that evening to share all that he could.

We called the Ranger search team to offer the opportunity to meet but were told that they did not have time for meetings.

Joe Kinn and a gentleman named Jim (last name escapes me, but I’ll track it down) met us at the Cattleman that evening. Jim is himself a paraglider who flies from Bear Back on a regular basis. They were very knowledgeable of the conditions that existed the day that Ron went missing. Joe chose to fly from a different mountain ridge that day because of the winds and his wife actually saw Ron up that day. They were also able to identify the actual Launch Site. With this new information we were able to formulate a plan of action.

The next morning we pushed into the area we termed “The Bowl”. It is immediately north of the Launch Site and listed as a high probability area. After a couple of hours of moving through the terrain, taking pictures to use in our briefings, and generally becoming familiar with our home for the next few days, we made contact with the Kern County Sheriff. We wanted to discuss the discrepancy in Launch Site coordinates and ask questions that would aid us in refining our high probability areas. We were informed that a briefing was already in progress with the Ranger search team and that two briefings were out of the question. He later called to apologize for his abruptness. We let him know that we appreciated all the help that he was able to provide to the entire search effort. We met and coordinated our efforts with the Bear Valley Police Chief. He was more than helpful and granted us entry passes for the entire length of stay. Joe Kinn drove me to the Bear Mountain hang-gliding launch site which would be our westernmost boundary. I took a few pictures and while returning to the blacktop road, saw the full grown bobcat that was thigh-high at its shoulders. Sleeping in the hotel seemed a better idea than ever.

That night we met with “Cam” Martin and his son, Scott. Cam works for NASA’s test pilot program and his son is a midshipman at the Naval Academy. We discussed our plans to recon more of the area from different angles the next morning. Cam and his family live just adjacent to Black Mountain. He also flies fixed-wing gliders. Scott grew up, hiking and playing in the very area that we would be searching. It didn’t take us long to figure that having that degree of personal knowledge on our side could only help.

During breakfast on Wednesday, we were introduced to three local ranchers. These guys were straight from a Chevy Truck commercial. Paul Cooper, a Southwest Airlines pilot from Houston, a personal friend of Al Wallace and fitting the part of Stetson-wearing wrangler, knew the stories of most of the staff and patrons of the restaurant even before we rolled in that morning. He was able to do more with a handshake and a cup of coffee than we could have hoped to do. By the time we finished, so that they could go to get ready for the incoming storm, we had all of the phone numbers to the landowners that covered the Bear Mountain/Black Mountain area.

Within a matter of twenty minutes from leaving the restaurant, we had secured permission to gain access to the fire road that ran along the top of the ridge and would give us a more efficient means to insert the team. We drove the fire road, noting the location of parking areas, the location of the Mission base for the July search, and the good fortune we would have if we could use this on the day of the search. We sent a hasty team through a cap on the ridge and met them back at the Launch Site.

We missed a turn while making our way back down and had to turn around mid-slope to correct it. The scenery was beautiful as the horizon of the road edge fell away from in front of the hood of the mid-sized SUV. I decided to break out the GPS and laptop again to guarantee that we would not have to do another “get close to God” U-turn. While we did not search much that day we felt that identifying this access was time well spent. Besides, how much could it snow anyway?

We attended Christmas Eve services at the church in the Bear Valley Community.

The morning of Christmas, after a hardy breakfast, the handful of us who were present could not stop ourselves from heading back into The Bowl. If the weather prediction was correct this might be our last clear view of the landscape. The increasing humidity and occasional precipitation made the soil on the slope, 60 degrees most of the time, gave way easily under our feet. Using ski/trekking poles and/or crampons would be helpful to our search efficiency.

We met up with the Ranger search team for a very nice holiday meal. We underestimated the weather conditions and were forced to find shelter in a friend’s house of Fuzzy Zeller. Repeated checks with the Dept of Transportation let us know that the roads would not be opened until 0900. Many of the incoming adventure racers were also stuck in the same road conditions. Only one chose to turn back because she only had my office phone number on her person and did not get word that we were moving forward with the search.

Panicked that we had searchers arriving at the same time as us and the conference room still needed to be set up and breakfast to get ready, we walked in to find a donated feast of everything you could imagine to prepare for a full day of searching. A simple note of “Good Luck from Don’s Auto” was the only recognition. It turns out that Rick Searfoss has written an article for the local newspaper describing the search and the sacrifice being made by the searchers. This prompts numerous phone calls from local business owners to assist in the effort with goods, services, and contributions. Even more words of encouragement came throughout the week from townsfolk anywhere we went.

Despite the snow, and with a handful of 4-wheel drive vehicles, 14 of us attempted to reach the fire road. As we reached the steeper sections, having prior knowledge of the road conditions from the day before, we were forced to turn back when a cloud quickly moved in and created a white-on-white condition that removed the horizon of the road. The road could easily make a turn and the vehicle not recognize it and take an unending plunge to the bottom of the canyon.

We moved around to the Launch Site and moved into the eastern edge of The Bowl. With only a few hours of daylight, we pushed up to an altitude that would allow us to complete a thorough search of the lower half of the Bowl. We returned to the hotel for another feast of donated hot dishes, a soak in the hot tub and a resolve to get an early start.

We accepted that searching the upper sections of the high probability areas would mean hiking in from the base. On Saturday, with 5 more searchers, including Arnold Stocker and the Chief of the Cedar Canyon Search and Rescue serving as support, we packed for a full day’s search and set our sight for the higher elevations. The initial push took about 30 minutes. Intervals were established and the search was on. Using FRS to coordinate, the team was very thorough at searching every crevice and grouping of dense scrub oak. Halfway through the day, I needed to escort one racer/searcher down from elevation for unexplainable inability to catch his breath. Once we were able to convince him to be seen at Tehachapi Hospital, I made my way back up to the search line. As night was falling, we were finished with the Bowl and the two adjacent ravines. As we were picked up by Paul Cooper we were handed Whoppers and Cokes, donated by the local Burger King. He explained the mission and asked for a couple dozen sandwiches. They gladly contributed and wished us good luck.

That evening was the pot-luck dinner. During the evening we presented a slide presentation of the Hawk Mountain School and Ron’s life. Ron’s parents were there as well as Deb and their daughter. Those present who knew Ron told of their memories of him. The racers thanked those of us who organized the effort for giving them the opportunity to apply their skills.

Our numbers continued to grow on Sunday with Team Fred joining the effort. Marc Bender and his wife have over 100 races between them. They usually race separately since Carla is more competitive than Marc. Marc is a deputy sheriff in Riverside County and needed to arrange coverage for the mudslide that had wiped out a church camp in order to be with us.

We had everyone sign additional releases to gain permission to search on the restricted property. During the donated buffet breakfast, we gave the description of the day.

Our objective of the day was the section west of the Launch Site. We made our way to the hang-glider launch site. Those who had them calibrated their wrist-top altimeters. We established our search intervals and set out for a long day. As the ridge gained and lost altitude, the line adjusted. This ad hoc group of “untrained and uncertified individuals and well wishers” performed on par with any official search team that I’ve ever met. We pushed to just about dusk and finished the day with a run back to the vehicles.

I needed to leave on the Monday after Christmas. The search continued with ten searchers. Al Wallace assumed field team command and searched further east from the Launch Site. Over the next couple of days, the area was thoroughly searched to the point near Black Mountain.

The interest in returning to complete the mission has been expressed by everyone who came out. I can not adequately express the emotion I have for the support that was given to the search effort. Equipment to meet the potential physical hazards, food, vehicles, services, and funds made this a success of planning and execution.

I’ve been in communication with several national publications to print the story of the search.

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Last modified: October 24, 2005