Southern Humboldt Man Dies in ATV Crash This Morning

CHP Feature FatalityPress release from the CHP:

At an unknown time, between the Saturday May 27, 2017 and the morning of Wednesday May 31, 2017, David J. Dresser of Redway, CA was driving a 2005 Yamaha ATV east on an unmarked Jeep trail approximately one quarter mile west of Barley Road and south of Briceland Road. For reasons still under investigation, the ATV overturned and Dresser was ejected. The ATV came to rest on its right side and Dresser was trapped underneath the ATV. Dresser was located, deceased, on the morning of Wednesday May 31 at approximately 7:30 am by local concerned citizens who were actively searching the area where he was last known to be.

Agencies who assisted with the investigation include: Southern Humboldt Tech Rescue, Briceland Volunteer Fire Department, Humboldt County Sheriff Department and the California Highway Patrol.

This collision remains under investigation by the California Highway Patrol. At this time, it is unknown if drugs or alcohol were a factor in this collision.

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Silverlining
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Silverlining
6 years ago

That is really sad. Thank you responders. Nice to know you folks are there to help save lives and help with tragedy.

Melodie
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Melodie
6 years ago
Reply to  Silverlining

R.I.P. COWBOY….. MY HEART IS HEAVY WITH SADNESS… LOVE TO U ♡ AND YOUR MOM AND FAMILY

Charles Dresser
Guest
Charles Dresser
6 years ago
Reply to  Melodie

Cowboy Dave. Thanks Melodie, I appreciate your kind words. I should be up there soon, perhaps this weekend, to deal with whatever he left behind. Hope to see you. Feel free to call.

Charles Dresser
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Charles Dresser
6 years ago
Reply to  Silverlining

Thanks for your warm thoughts on my brother.

Bronco
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Bronco
6 years ago

So sad.

Still Discriminative Against Farmers
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Still Discriminative Against Farmers
6 years ago

Be careful on those quads an atv”s out there!

owyhee kid
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owyhee kid
6 years ago

happens every year atv’s are dangerous

Charles Dresser
Guest
Charles Dresser
6 years ago

David was my brother, my dear brother and he will be missed big time. If any of his compatriots wish to contact me my number is 805-657-3481. I plan on coming up to Humboldt to deal with his remains soon.

Jen Marinacci
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Jen Marinacci
6 years ago

Charlie so sorry to hear about David. I’ve oftened wondered what came of you three. You all were such a big part of my HS years. Hug to you brother ❤

G-MAS
Guest
G-MAS
6 years ago

My condolences to your family Charles .My he Rest in peace. I’m so sorry.take care on your travel here.

Dave Goldberg
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Dave Goldberg
6 years ago

Condolences to Dave’s Family from the Goldberg’s.

Mary T. Dresser
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Mary T. Dresser
6 years ago
Reply to  Dave Goldberg

hi Dave, sister mary here. thanks hope you are well

Mary K Dresser and Christopher Dresser (Dave's bro and Sis)
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Mary K Dresser and Christopher Dresser (Dave's bro and Sis)
6 years ago

a eulogy written by Christopher Dresser re Dave, Cowboy Dave ie David J Dresser

“His place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”May 31st,2017
Word has come from Humboldt County, California that our dear brother, David Joseph Dresser, was found dead yesterday by a Sheriff’s Department Search Team. He was born on Oct 12, 1957, and Died on or about May 27th, 2017. He was 59 years old. He had been reported missing by friends after having been last seen the previous Saturday, and was apparently killed when he lost control of a 4-wheel ATV he was riding on the logging trails around the mountainous property where he was living and working as a caretaker. The Coroner reports that it was an apparent accidental rollover of the vehicle, and he likely died instantaneously.From his first moments, it was obvious that Dave was going to live by his own rules. His was a breech birth, as if he was asserting from the outset that he intended to live life his on his own terms, and that he would never be forced to do anything against his will. David was a Class of 1976 graduate of Mt.Vernon High School, Alexandria, VA.Before and after graduation, he worked in the grounds maintenance department at Mt. Vernon Plantation, where he developed a lifetime love of history and working with plants. He was very proud of the work he did there alongside of his brother Charles, who worked there in the painting department contemporaneously with him, and he would often bring cuttings home to add to the plantings in our bay window.After high school, David was briefly married to nee Cynthia Purnell, with whom he had a son named David Marshall. It was the greatest disappointment of David’s life that he was precluded by circumstances from ever establishing the close and loving relationship with his son that he so strongly desired. He often spoke of his great love for David Marshall, who it should never be doubted was always in his father’s heart and thoughts.He lived his life as a proud heathen, outlaw and renegade, who never truckled under to authority, and reviled those in positions of power who abused the citizenry, especially himself. In the words of a little known song he loved, “He loved the women and he hated the law, and he just wouldn’t take nobody’s jaw!” That line fit Dave to a tee. In typical Davidesque fashion, he actually ran for the office of Sheriff of Humboldt County as a reform candidate some years back. Though his unlikely candidacy was not successful in the conventional sense, he took great pride in getting in the ‘arena, for though he failed, he failed while daring greatly, so that his place will never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat,’ to paraphrase Theodore Roosevelt. In David’s mind, he was a Viking warrior, and if there be such a place, he has no doubt earned his chair in Valhalla. Adamant that “a man should always wear the proper headgear,” he was rarely spotted without one of his many trademark dog-eared and weathered cowboy hats. The more ragged and beat up they were, the more he seemed to like them. Perhaps he felt an affinity for them because, just like his old sombreros, he had been beaten up and scarred by life, but he still served a useful purpose. Besides, he liked them good and worn in! This is why his friends, foes and fellow denizens of Garberville and Redway all knew him as “Cowboy Dave”.
A deep connection to the Earth was one of David’s greatest joys, and he was a proud cannabis cultivator of great renown amongst the cognoscenti of Humboldt County and beyond. He took great pride in conscientiously growing a superior organic product. He was also an early and fervent organizer and participant in the “Redwood Run” Motorcycle meet that he attended and worked on for many years. Our brother loved to shoot pool, defiantly smoke his weed or cigarettes and sing karaoke. One of his favorite songs illustrates David’s outlook on life perfectly: “The Impossible Dream.” It was reported by no less of an authority than Dave himself, that he was a frequent winner of pool tournaments at his local bar, the “Brass Rail,” and that he was the opponent most dreaded by the local sharks, with whom he often did manly battle. He had been in frequent contact with family recently, and he was excited about the future and his prospects for a new life, love and adventure. Our brother was a man who lived life on his own terms, who made no apologies for who hewas or how he lived. He was always entertaining and could spin a yarn as good as a any sailor, with one of his most famous refrains being, “I never let the truth get in the way of a good story.” To our knowledge, he pretty much followed his own advice… religiously! And like any great raconteur, he had a knack for always leaving you wanting a little more. If David told you a story ten times, it would invariably evolve with each retelling, and unfold like Kurosawa’s great film “Rashoman,” with multiple contradictory versions of the same event. His enemies would multiply in number, size and wickedness, but, in the end, Dave would always triumph over the forces of evil that bedeviled him. As a child he loved Western movies, and he identified strongly with the heroic and rugged mountain men doing battle with the land and their ever-present enemies. His many flirtations with the Grim Reaper are the stuff of legend, and from his earliest youth he exhibited a disregard for danger and perils that left us with innumerable confirmed accounts of his myriad brushes with death. His unique perspective will be deeply missed by those of us who loved him despite his unconventional, offbeat and sometimes ornery ways.It gave us great comfort to learn that he died free, in a place he considered his home and where he was happiest, doing something he enjoyed, in the great outdoors that he loved andtreasured his entire life. By all accounts, he went out as happy as he has ever been, with a circle of local friends who loved and cherished him as much as we did! Once we have had a chance to process our grief, we will post information regarding funeraland memorial services.Thanks to all of you who loved and befriended David on his sojourn through life, and to all of you who have sent your kind wishes, prayers and condolences. siblings Michael, Jeannee, Charles and Christopher, Mary K. and mother Mary T., ,also Jackson Garcia, Owen Dresser,Katherine Dressers and our Koretke family cousins

A few of the confirmed and reported close calls in the life of David Joseph Dresser… Anyone wishing to add their own recollections of David’s confirmed or reported deathdefying doings is welcome to share them below:1) Drank a large quantity of brown paint he thought was chocolate milk, necessitating the first of many subsequent emergency room visits.2) Almost lost along with his brother Chris paddling a flimsy plastic toy boat out into the middle of Sister Bay in Wisconsin.3) Nearly shot by Fairfax County Police officers with brother Chris and family dog Shatzi.4) Shot by park cop in Ft. Washington, MD.5) Assaulted with a hammer to the head by VA lowlife.6) Rollover truck accident in Lorton or Clifton or thereabouts in VA.7) Rollover truck accident returning from visit to Blacksburg, VA.8) Near fatal episode of Rocky Mountain Spotted fever.9) Near fatal cliff dive in Negril, Jamaica.10) Accosted in Garberville by 2 machete wielding assailants intent on crop robbing him. 11) Brown Recluse spider episode.12) The incident

Mary K Dresser and Christopher Dresser (Dave's bro and Sis)
Guest
Mary K Dresser and Christopher Dresser (Dave's bro and Sis)
6 years ago

from Mary Dresser (sister) Dave’s sudden loss is a big blow, yet it is a consolation that he was in a place he loved and had so many friends. Things were looking up for Dave and that’s a good thing. Thank you all for the good wishes and phone calls. Dave always wanted me to move up there and I hope to some day come up and will look forward to meeting some of his dear friends in person. Thanks especially: to Harley Jim, Carl and Christine, Melodie and Linda

John Van Dyke
Guest
John Van Dyke
6 years ago

Hi Charlie,
Very sad to hear about David. David and I went through so many “growing up” things together that even though I never saw him again after leaving Mt Vernon I still have many fond memories of him. We had a lot of fun. My mother still tells of being called in by the school administration to informed that I was “associating” with David and that he would be a bad influence on me. She replied that maybe I would be a good influence on David. It is true that we grew apart quickly but in those intense early teen years everything is so magnified that David looms larger in my memory than many people that I knew for a much longer time. I consider David to have been a positive influence on my life. My condolences to you and your family.

John Van Dyke