[UPDATE 8:21 p.m.] Search Continues for Missing Whale Gulch Man as Law Enforcement and SAR Converges on Remote Area of the Lost Coast

The search for missing Whale Gulch resident Dave Taylor continues today, with the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), Mendocino Search and Rescue, and Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office personnel assisting in additional searching efforts.

Dave Taylor, an 84-year-old Mendocino County resident, was last seen on February 6 after returning from a trip to the hospital for medical issues. Authorities say Taylor is known to be a reclusive individual who likes to spend time alone, so his absence for a few days did not initially raise any alarms. It wasn’t until February 18 that a concerned Whale Gulch fire department member reported Taylor missing after not being able to reach him.

Search efforts were quickly underway as officials attempted to locate anyone that may have seen or heard from the missing man.

Search and rescue teams have returned to the remote area today, with a coordinator and 8 volunteers searching the roads and areas north of Whale Gulch into Humboldt County. “We’re doing an ‘every place search’ right now,” said Mendocino County Sheriff Matt Kendall. “We just don’t have a starting point, with the exception of possibly the store in Shelter Cove, but we can’t say 100% that was his vehicle.”

Authorities have located surveillance footage of a two-door vehicle that they believe may belong to Taylor, from the afternoon of February 6, west of the last confirmed known whereabouts of Taylor.  Though Sheriff Kendall believes the vehicle is the same one associated with the missing Whale Gulch man, law enforcement cannot confirm it was Taylor driving the vehicle as the person inside did not exit the vehicle on camera.

Additionally, the 90’s style, two-door Nissan Pathfinder is not registered to Taylor, complicating the search efforts. Sheriff Kendall is urging anyone with information on where Taylor may have purchased the vehicle to come forward.

Yesterday, a California Highway Patrol (CHP) helicopter out of Redding searched the area for any signs of Taylor or the vehicle, but did not locate either, according to Jon Clevenger from the Garberville CHP office.

The search continues today as law enforcement from both Mendocino and Humboldt counties converge on the rural area near the Humboldt/Mendocino border on the Lost Coast, where Taylor was last seen. “[All the media attention] is getting [the public] to open their eyes,” Kendall said. “But what we need to do is we need to find that vehicle so that we can have a starting point.”

Authorities are asking the public to report any information that could aid in locating the missing Whale Gulch man. The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office can be reached at 707-463-4086.

UPDATE 8:21 p.m.: According to Diana Totten this evening, Taylor has still not been located.

Earlier:

• Search Underway for Missing Southern Humboldt Senior
• Search Continues for Missing Whale Gulch Resident Dave Taylor