SAR for Ric DeVan, Mt. Goode Area, Bishop, CA.

Use this forum to stay informed on missing persons alerts, active SAR's and unfortunate hiker accidents we can all hopefully learn from. Any information you may have on a missing person, including first hand weather related information or any other insight (however little) may prove to be critical information to Law Enforcement / SAR in locating the person in question.
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sharoncheffins
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SAR for Ric DeVan, Mt. Goode Area, Bishop, CA.

Post by sharoncheffins »

[-o< PLEASE HELP SEARCH FOR RIC!!!!
I have a missing family friend named Ric Devanfrom San Diego. He is an experienced hiker/rock climber. He left his wife and daughter on the hiking trail on Fri. 4th of July to spend the night and continue his hike. His wife Vicky and daughter are in Bishop, as are my son Mike and daughter-in-law Shannon. Ric is Shannon's brother. If there are any volunteers in the area that could help in the search for Ric we would be so greatful. You could contact the local authorities if you have any help to offer, we all would be eternally grateful. The official search and rescue teams are going to scale back their search after tomarrow.I am in Salem, OR. with an ailing Mom right now or I would be there too. Thanks so much to you all for all the prayers and support [-o< [-o<
Best regards,
Sharon Cheffins. San Juan Capistrano CA. via Salem, OR.
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sharoncheffins
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Missing Hiker

Post by sharoncheffins »

There have been new developments in the search for Ric DeVan. The officials have stopped searching and now it is up to the family and friend of Ric to continue. The family is now organizing volanteer search parties in the area where Ric was last seen. For volanteer info contact my son Mike at 619 966-9712 or 760 216-3151 Please spread the word via e-mail and forums to solicit volanteers for the search. We need all the help and eyes we can get to find him!!
Best regards,
Sharon Cheffins. San Juan Capistrano CA. via Salem, OR
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sharoncheffins
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Re: SAR for Ric DeVan, Mt. Goode Area, Bishop, CA.

Post by sharoncheffins »

I'am dissapointed that the state has halted the search for Ric DeVan. Maybe he should have gone missing in Nevada...the state of Nevada spent $1.6 millon dollars searching for the Canadian missing millonaire pilot lost last year. We as Ric's family are not ungrateful for the extreme hard work and effort of the Inyo SAR team, on the contrary we are extremely blessed to have such people. We feel it is still too early to give up the search. Ric's family, friends, co-workers and the hiking/climbing community are still up the mountain looking for signs of Ric. :paranoid:
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Trekker
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Re: SAR for Ric DeVan, Mt. Goode Area, Bishop, CA.

Post by Trekker »

Ric DeVan's body has been found. It is trapped under boulders according to the local late night news report, and will hopefully be recovered tomorrow. More info in this article. Sad news.


Missing San Diego Hiker Ric DeVan Found Dead
Reported by: San Diego 6 News Team



Missing San Diego Hiker Ric DeVan was found dead Wednesday, two weeks after he was last seen. A volunteer searcher, a hiking guide from Los Angeles, found DeVan's body today several hundred feed below where his backpack was found late Tuesday in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

DeVan's father, Ric DeVan, Sr., tells San Diego 6 News it appears the ground gave way under him as he walked along a rugged unnamed peak know as Peak 12,689. It's near Bishop Pass and east of Mt. Goode where DeVan had signed a registry.

Efforts to recover DeVan's body are being delayed by bad weather. He was found at about 12,000 feet elevation. His widow, Viki DeVan, is near the recovery site and hopes to have his body taken to Bishop tomorrow and then back to San Diego.

DeVan's body has not been officially identified, according to Inyo County sheriff's spokeswoman Carma Roper.

But DeVan's father and friends have confirmed his death to San Diego 6 News.

The 44-year old DeVan was a vice president with the San Diego Futures Foundation.
A statement issued by Megan Graulich of the San Diego Futures Foundation Wednesday afternoon says, in part, "On behalf of Ric’s family and friends, it is with a very heavy heart that I relay the sad news. Unfortunately, Viki DeVan shared with me this morning that the search for her husband, Ric DeVan, is over. Search crews found Ric’s backpack along a ridge in the Sierra’s last night, and evidence of a rock slide below. Today, the Inyo County Sheriff’s Department recovered his body several hundred feet up the mountain from the backpack, and it will be returned to Bishop as soon as the weather permits."

DeVan's last confirmed location was on top of 13,000-foot Mount Goode, where he signed the summit register July 4, Inyo County sheriff's officials said. He indicated he was going to traverse a narrow, unstable ridge to Mount Johnson.

A National Park Service spokeswoman described this exposed ridge as particularly hazardous. Some High Sierra guidebooks describe the ridge as "airy'' and challenging.

Volunteers who searched for DeVan in the Bishop Pass area included teams from Sierra Madre, San Dimas, and San Bernardino County.

Acquaintances of DeVan have made impassioned pleas on the Internet for the search to continue. Some entries indicated they believe the search was called off too soon.

"I am disappointed that the state has halted the search for Ric DeVan," wrote Sharon Cheffins on a blog last Sunday. "Maybe he should have gone missing in Nevada...the state of Nevada spent $1.6 million dollars searching for the Canadian missing millionaire pilot lost last year." Cheffins is an in-law of DeVans.

"We as Ric's family are not ungrateful for the extreme hard work and effort of the Inyo SAR team," said Cheffins. "We feel it is still too early to give up the search. Ric's family, friends, co-workers and the hiking/climbing community are still up the mountain looking for signs of Ric."

See full coverage on this story on San Diego 6 News at 10 p.m. and on San Diego 6 News in the Morning.
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Re: SAR for Ric DeVan, Mt. Goode Area, Bishop, CA.

Post by TehipiteTom »

Terrible news. My condolences to Ric's family and friends.
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sharoncheffins
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Re: SAR for Ric DeVan, Mt. Goode Area, Bishop, CA.

Post by sharoncheffins »

I am so sorry for Ric's family and friends. I am amazed at the many lives he touched and the effect his life had on so many others. His family can be so very proud of the man they knew and loved. I only knew Rick for a short while, we had family and Pugs in common.
The community that rallied to save him was massive. I wnt to give my thanks to their response and participation in getting the word out to mobilize such a massive effort of support for Ric's family. May he rest in peace.
Shawn
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Re: SAR for Ric DeVan, Mt. Goode Area, Bishop, CA.

Post by Shawn »

On July 8, 2008, I happened to be in the area unaware of the SAR efforts until I noticed the CHP helicopter. Seems there are too many that are lost in the Sierra, but the forum keeps their memory alive.
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