August 27, 2024 – Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office officials report that they have made the decision to suspend the search for 71-
year-old Michael Moore. Michael was last seen Friday, August 16th, when he filed for a wilderness permit for the Emigrant Wilderness. Michael’s dog was found by hunters in the area Saturday morning, West of his intended destination. His pack was found and reported to law enforcement on Monday, August 19th, West of his intended destination. TCSO contacted TCSO Search and Rescue (SAR) and initiated a search for Michael after linking the found dog and pack and locating Michael’s vehicle at the Gianelli Trailhead.
Over the past 7 days, an impressive group of approximately 450 personnel from over 18 mutual aid agencies have searched for Michael in the rugged, brushy steep terrain surrounding the area where his pack and dog were found. These dedicated team members included ground searchers, air support with helicopters and UAVs, K9s, and UTVs including side by sides and e-bikes, all working together in a coordinated effort.
The majority of personnel on the search were Search and Rescue volunteers, who collectively laid approximately 3,435 miles of tracks during the search. With no clues to indicate the direction of travel, searchers looked in all directions for Michael, including North towards the Stanislaus River Drainage, South towards the Bell Creek/Clavey River drainages, East towards the Emigrant Wilderness, and West towards the Dodge Ridge Resort. Much of the terrain encountered was extremely rugged, remote, and sometimes dangerous for our search personnel. No clues located during the search could provide insight as to what happened to Michael or what direction he went. An investigation by deputies during the search found Michael’s gear and actions while enroute to the area showed his intention to be in the wilderness for an extended time. There was nothing found during the investigation that would indicate foul play.
At this point, TCSO has suspended the search and suspended requests to the state through CalOES for mutual aid assistance in the search. TCSO SAR will continue to search for Michael in the area on a limited basis based on any new clues and resource availability. It is a difficult decision to suspend a search, but our SAR teams have thoroughly searched an extensive area, exhausted leads, and searched extensively along the likely on/off trail routes someone lost in the area would take or would end up being pushed into by the terrain. Our goal during future search efforts remains to find Michael and bring closure to the incident.
We want to thank all of the mutual aid agencies and personnel who traveled to Tuolumne County and assisted us throughout this search.
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Source & photo: Tuolumne County Sheriff's Office
