Searched for depressed man
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January 27, 1984 |
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By Kevin Walker
Fridays are typically hectic at Arrow Printing, and this was not unlike any other. The sheriff called with news of a missing man from Lake Elsinore. After making my calls to fellow members, I picked up the No. 1 van and proceeded to the Elsinore station. Surprisingly, I was the first RMRU member there. I started gathering information and learned that David Carver, age 23, had left his home on Wednesday in a depressed state. On Thursday David's parents called the sheriff and reported him missing. Two deputies went out and talked to the parents, and then after speaking with the parents, went out and started following a set of foot prints along with the prints of a dog, which belonged to David. They did an excellent job and followed the prints up into the foothill’s above the South end of the lake. As I was being told of what had transpired Rick Pohlers arrived. We also learned that David took a 22 caliber pistol and a bottle of Vodka with him. Needless to say the situation did not look good. We drove to a roadhead near where the deputies lost the prints. There they showed us how and where they had followed David's tracks. After that we went back to the vans and loaded our packs up. As we were doing so, Rob Gardner and Bruce Gahagan arrived. just as we were preparing to start hiking a couple walked by and asked what we were doing. After telling them we were searching for a missing man, they said they had seen a man and a dog sitting on a small ridge just up a dirt road from where they were the day before. The sheriff drove the couple up the road to where the person was last seen. Soon the sad news came back, that the body of David Carter had been located. We put the wheel on the litter, pulled out a body bag and walked up the road, down and across a small ravine and then up to where the body was. There we found the sheriff's personnel, the apparent suicide victim of a shotgun blast to the head, and a very confused Shepherd pup. Not much else needs to be said. Joe Erickson arrived soon behind us and then the coroner. After the needed info was gathered, the body was placed in the bag and we wheeled the litter back to base.