In the Hills Between Counties, a Fugitive Hunt Continues

In the steep, forested country — where Humboldt and Trinity counties meet — stunning landscapes can also conceal hard stories of survival, isolation, and fugitives hiding in the hills. [Burnt Ranch – Photo by Todd Gregory]

Industries that once supported families such as timber, commercial fishing, and more recently cannabis cultivation have shrunk dramatically, leaving behind economic hardship, abandoned properties, and communities struggling to hold on. Both Humboldt and Trinity counties consistently rank among California’s poorest counties, and residents in remote areas often live far from steady employment, services, and law enforcement patrols.

For some, the struggle is no longer just economic though, it is personal safety.

That reality became painfully clear on the night of January 8, 2026.

Cody Benjamin Sides 2022

According to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, a 40-year-old Willow Creek woman was refueling her truck along Highway 299 near Panther Road after helping a neighbor haul hay when she was stabbed by someone she knew — Cody Benjamin “Muddy” Sides, a 45-year-old Willow Creek resident.

The woman suffered severe internal injuries requiring emergency surgery to repair damage to her stomach, colon, and pancreas. Though on the mend, the woman must now cope with medical and financial uncertainty.

Deputies searched the area that night but were unable to locate Sides. A Ramey warrant was issued for his arrest on suspicion of attempted murder. Authorities say he remains at large.

The case marks the second time Sides has been sought in connection with an attempted-murder investigation. In 2022, tribal police and law-enforcement agencies searched for him in connection with a Trinity County attempted homicide case before he was eventually arrested in Willow Creek after evading officers for months.

Today, investigators believe he may again be moving through remote areas near the Humboldt-Trinity county line.

For rural residents already stretched thin, the situation feels deeply unsettling.

A struggling cannabis farmer who spoke on condition of anonymity said Sides, along with others the farmer believes are part of a theft ring, has made life in the backcountry even harder.

“These [people] rocked my place around Christmas time,” the farmer alleged. “They took a bunch of generators, they took cannabis.”

The farmer said the theft came after years of setbacks, including the Knob Fire destroying his property and the collapse of the cannabis market that once sustained many rural families.

“I completely lost everything in the Knob Fire, and I can’t afford to lose even a shovel anymore,” the farmer said.

The interviewee says abandoned cannabis cultivation sites have unintentionally created places where stolen property can be hidden and people can squat without being noticed. He said that is where he located many of the items he alleges Sides stole from his property.

“That is really creating a major security vacuum in the rural areas,” the farmer said. He alleges that Sides and those he runs with systematically move through remote communities seeking targets and shelter, shifting to the next dirt-road area when their presence becomes known to the dwindling number of residents in the hills near the county line.

A resident said they spotted attempted murder suspect Cody “Muddy” Sides on Waterman Ridge around February 4, 2026.

The farmer said Sides has been spotted in the Friday Ridge and Waterman Ridge areas, allegedly posing as someone collecting firewood while scouting rural properties.

“That’s their cover up,” the farmer said. “They’re like wood pickers… but they’re really… scoping people’s properties.”

Reports to law enforcement were followed up, but Sides wasn’t located.

Law enforcement officials say abandoned properties have become a real concern as the cannabis economy contracts and people leave rural land unattended.

A permitted cannabis farmer says they found several of their stolen items along with stolen generators and tools on a neighbor’s abandoned property where the farmer alleges Cody “Muddy” Sides had been squatting.

At the same time, the geography that draws people to rural life also makes policing difficult, leaving residents feeling largely on their own.

“For 10 years, I never even had a lock on my gate, and now I’m going to my property armed,” the farmer said. “I never had a lock on my gate, and then they drove through it… it really sucks.”

That growing sense of vulnerability is something law enforcement leaders say they understand — even as they acknowledge the limits of policing vast rural areas with small departments and tight budgets.

Without probable cause for a search warrant, law enforcement cannot enter private property, even abandoned cultivation sites, in search of Sides.

Honsal said the Sheriff’s Office covers the entire county with limited patrol staffing.

“On a full staffing day…, we have 10 deputies and two sergeants. That’s for the whole county,” he said.

In the past, the department maintained resident deputies in remote communities such as Orleans, Bridgeville, and Orick, but those positions were eliminated due to budget reductions. “These areas of Humboldt County essentially have no dedicated patrol services,” Honsal said.

Trinity County Sheriff Tim Saxon described similar challenges across his county’s vast landscape. “Trinity County is 3,200 square miles,” Saxon said. “When you’re looking in the area where Mr. Sides is suspected to be… it’s a very remote area.”

Saxon said Sides is well known to law enforcement in both counties and familiar with the rural terrain near the county line, making him difficult to locate.

“He knows the back roads… he basically knows how to hide out,” Saxon said.

Despite the challenges, both sheriffs emphasized that agencies in the region work closely together. Humboldt and Trinity deputies, along with CHP, Fish and Wildlife officers, federal agencies, and others, regularly coordinate searches and share information under mutual-aid practices common in rural Northern California.

Both sheriffs say public help remains critical.

“Anytime anybody has information to contact law enforcement as quickly as they can,” Saxon said, urging residents not to approach Sides if they see him.

Honsal echoed that request as the search continues.

For people trying to rebuild their lives in the hills outside Willow Creek and along the Humboldt-Trinity border, this case exposes how thin the sense of security can be in remote communities and how quickly hardship can compound when violence enters already-struggling communities.

For now, the search for Cody “Muddy” Sides continues across the back roads and forested ridges he is believed to know well.

If you have information about the whereabouts of Cody “Muddy” Sides, contact the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539, or contact the Trinity County Sheriff’s Office at (530) 623-8126.

Note: A photo caption was updated for clarification after publication.

Earlier:

• Driver Flees Traffic Stop Leaving Two Firearms, etc.
• Deputies Arrest Wanted Felon With ‘Hidden Handcuff Key Attached to his Belt’
• Reckless Driving Leads to Arrest for Stolen Vehicle and More, Says Humboldt County Sheriff
• Yurok Tribal Police Looking for Attempted Murder Suspect
• Trinity County Attempted Murder Suspect Captured in Willow Creek
• Willow Creek Woman Stabbed, Deputies Seek Suspect Cody Benjamin Sides