Missing Man Found Dead This Morning Was Attending Event at Mendocino Magic

Press release from the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office:

mcso Mendocino County Sheriff's Office MCSOOn 06-11-2018 at approximately 8:18 PM, Mendocino County Sheriff’s Deputies were notified of a missing person last seen at 3000 Branscomb Road in Laytonville, California.

The location was a 600 acre rural property that is maintained as a private campground and event center, known as Mendocino Magic.

Upon arrival at the location, Deputies were informed that on 06-09-2018 Joshua Piszczek was on the property and had gone missing.

It was reported Piszczek had been attending an organized music festival event at the campground. On the afternoon of 06-09-2018 Piszczek went swimming in the lake at the campground and was last seen by his girlfriend sitting on a dock moored to the shore of the lake.

After a short time, the girlfriend looked back and Piszczek was gone. The girlfriend, along with several other event goers searched the area for Piszczek thinking he might have left the lakeside on foot. After 2 days, and Piszczek not returning, the Sheriff’s Office was contacted.

Deputies searched the area of the lake on foot during nighttime hours after receiving the report, however the area is steep with rugged terrain with lots of tree and brush coverage.

On 06-12-2018 the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue team was sent to the location.  An Incident Command Post was established and searchers began searching, with special focus on the lake.

The Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Team had one diver in the lake. The Sheriff’s Office requested Cal Fire assistance by having Copter 101 from the CAL FIRE Howard Forest Helitack Base assist by searching from the air as the lake had water clarity of about 10 feet in depth.  Additionally members of the Little Lake Fire Department Water Rescue Team and Southern Humboldt Technical Rescue responded to assist with inflatable boats and Kayaks on the lake.

Having no luck finding Piszczek, mutual aid was requested from the California Office of Emergency Services and plans were set in place for additional searching on 06-13-2018 to include surface and sub surface searching of the lake.

On 06-13-2017 2018 as resources were arriving and checking into the Incident Command Post for their search assignments,  a Mendocino County Sheriff’s Deputy arrived at the lake at approximately 7:18 P.M. a.m. and observed what he thought was human remains floating in the lake, near where the missing person was last seen.

The remains were removed and identified as being the missing person, Joshua Piszczek. No foul play is suspected at this point, however an autopsy is pending.

The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office would like to the thank the following agencies for their response and assistance:
CAL FIRELittle Fire DepartmentSouthern Humboldt Technical RescueCalifornia Governor’s Office of Emergency ServicesSonoma County Search and RescueMarin County Search and RescueContra Costa County Search and RescueSan Mateo County Search and RescueBay Area Mountain Search and Rescue (BAMRU)Napa County Search and RescueSolano County Search and RescueCalifornia Explorer Search and Rescue (CAL-ESAR)

Earlier Chapter: Body Found in Laytonville Pond After Extensive Search

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17 Comments
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Hobo-joe
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Hobo-joe
5 years ago

Attending a music festival in Laytonville at Camp Magic, one can only wonder what type of illicit drugs this poor man was on at the time he fell in the water.

Liz
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Liz
5 years ago

Kym, Mendo sherrif has some dates and time wrong. The third from last paragraph the year is wrong. The time could not be 7:18 pm today as it is only 6:00 pm now.

PaulyJ
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PaulyJ
5 years ago

Since the mutual aid agencies “were arriving and checking into the Incident Command Post for their search assignments” at the time the deputy spotted the victim, it was most likely this morning and a typo that should be 7:18 am rather than pm. That also corresponds to the information in the previous article that “a body was found in the Laytonville area this morning.”

Either way, a sad ending.

BRandedtowhom?
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BRandedtowhom?
5 years ago

Sure hope these folks had permits and liability insurance. Sad way to go. My condolences to the family of this man.

DH
Guest
DH
5 years ago

I knew him and if anyone has any info please let me know. He is a father and it’s not fair that we don’t know what happened.

Nena Garcia
Guest
Nena Garcia
3 years ago

Hello Kym – it appears that my letter to the editor has gone by the wayside. No matter,I see that the main story of Josh’s death remains in tact. Does that story remain part of RHB permanent file? I have returned to the letter from time to time over the last year just to see if any other comments from the public would appear. As if attempting to move forward were not difficult enough, on June 15 we lost our oldest son to heart failure. Two major losses within 2 years is more than one family can bear. Thank you for your time Kym. I trust this finds you well.

nena garcia
Guest
nena garcia
3 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

Thank you Kym. I did not see your reply till tonight. I so appreciate your consideration.

L
Guest
L
3 years ago
Reply to  Nena Garcia

Nena I’m so sorry to hear about your oldest son. I hope you can get some closure when you finally visit again. I knew Joshua x

Nena Garcia
Guest
Nena Garcia
3 years ago
Reply to  L

May I ask who you are and how you knew my son?

A
Guest
A
2 years ago
Reply to  Nena Garcia

Nena, I have yet to find closure in losing this young man in California. I lose a lot of sleep, still heavy on my mind. I wish I had been at the event. I am sorry about the loss of your other son as well. Please know that he has friends who did respect and value him, sadly none of us were there. He was a light in my life and it grieves me that we did not get the chance to see and learn more from him. I send your family my love. I’ve been following online since he first went missing. I can’t tell you how it changed my life too, it doesn’t matter how, but I hope you can believe someone cared. My deepest condolences at the loss of your two boys.

Nena Garcia
Guest
Nena Garcia
2 years ago
Reply to  A

Aurora?

Nena Garcia
Guest
Nena Garcia
2 years ago

Another year has passed. 3 years ago today. My heart has a permanent scar so I am not expecting true healing. We were a perfect match as mother and son and I cannot believe how much I miss him. I take comfort in knowing that his older brother is with him and that one day I will see them both again.
To all who knew him, consider yourselves blessed.

Nena
Guest
Nena
1 year ago

4 years ago today we lost our Josh. It’s the longest I have ever gone without seeing him. Every single thing about him is missed. There is no peace and many questions remain unanswered. If ANYONE knows ANYTHING, please respond.

Last edited 1 year ago
Todd Piszczek
Guest
Todd Piszczek
1 year ago

Joshua Piszczek
Younger brother to me and,
nothing but warm memories from our past.
Paul my older Brother is 10 years older than me but we still had some fantastic times, of course not as many as I had hoped.
I went to see my brother Paul not too long after our brother Joshua had passed.
I’ll never forget the moment we had first seen each other in years, again,
we didn’t even say anything to one another,
we just both burst into tears as we embraced each other,
thinking of what had happened to our little Bro
being taken by the forces that be.
Little did I know that our short visit would be our last visit, that I had taken to visit my brother Paul.
Love You BRa
Love you Little BRa
I will be seeing you two again
just not yet….. . . .

Nena Garcia
Guest
Nena Garcia
9 months ago

The anniversary date has come and is almost gone. Were it not for my Heavenly Father I know that I could not have gotten thru these last 5 years. As a mother who loved her son very much, there is not a day that goes by that my heart does not hurt and feels so very heavy. The “missing” cannot adequately be described.

I will no longer be posting on this site.
Thank you Red Headed Black Belt for allowing me this small space to express my sorrow.

His name was and IS Joshua Piszczek.