Arnold, CA…At 4:42 AM on Monday, April 12, 2021, the Calaveras Sheriff’s Office Dispatch Center received a report that four off-road motorcyclists were missing. The four subjects were adult men who had left on Sunday (4/11/21) for an off-road trip. The reporting party stated the four men had been expected to return Sunday evening and had not taken camping equipment with them. The men were believed to have parked their truck and trailer in the OHV (off-highway-vehicle) interface staging area near White Pines Park.

Sheriff’s Deputies located the subject’s parked vehicle unoccupied at approximately 7:20 AM near the OHV Staging area located north of White Pines Lake in Arnold. It was discovered that the only cellular phones which were turned on and/or receiving service had been left inside of the vehicle.

The Calaveras Search and Rescue Team and the California Highway Patrol were activated to search for the four missing men. CHP utilized a helicopter and a fixed-wing airplane to search the surrounding areas, while 10 Search and Rescue Volunteers responded and began the ground search with all-terrain vehicles. Sheriff’s Deputies also began searching the area in vehicles and additional off highway vehicles. Tracks leading behind several locked gates and through privately owned land were quickly located and followed. Sheriff’s Deputies contacted the land owner in order to obtain keys to the gates rather than cause additional damage by driving around the gates.
At approximately 10:30 AM, one of the four men was contacted by a member of the Sheriff’s Office and a representative of the private property owner while riding his off-road motorcycle back to the parked truck. The man explained that all four motorcycles had nearly run out of fuel the day before and that the four men had built a fire and stayed in the forest overnight.

That morning, the men had consolidated the remaining fuel into one motorcycle in hopes that the fuel was sufficient to allow the motorcycle to be driven back to the truck. The man admitted the group had gone around the locked gates and that the route had been planned in advance. The man was able to identify the area where the remaining three men were located as being near the CAL FIRE Station at Hermit Springs off Winton Road. The CHP helicopter was able to locate the 3 men from the air and instructed the men to wait where they were. CAL FIRE personnel were able to access the men by travelling through West Point and leading an additional friend of the subjects through seasonal gate closures so that the men and their motorcycles could be picked up. A Sheriff’s Deputy also responded to meet with the remaining three men in order to follow up on the missing person case.

The Calaveras Sheriff’s Office would like to remind those who enjoy recreating outdoors to always inform a responsible person of a clearly planned route as well as an expected return time. Additionally, we would like to remind everyone that locked gates should always be respected, and travelling around them and through private property is illegal and irresponsible.

The multiple resources and staff time which were assigned to this incident was significant and could have easily been avoided with proper planning and responsible actions.