Richard Edward Cambria, a 59-year-old man from Manahawkin, New Jersey, had embarked on a solo cross-country road trip in July 2018. His journey had taken him west, with the last communication his family received being a text message in the middle of that month. For months, there was silence, a quiet that was abruptly broken for his family on November 25, 2018.
A call from the Washoe County Sheriff's Office in Nevada delivered the unsettling news that Richard's 2014 silver BMW X5 had been found abandoned. The vehicle was discovered parked at a scenic overpass on a mountain, a location popular with hikers but closed at the time due to the onset of severe winter weather. The discovery of the car triggered a series of questions, as the family had not heard from him since July.
The investigation into Richard's disappearance began to piece together his last known movements. Authorities with the Washoe County Sheriff's Office determined that his car had been parked near the Tahoe Meadows trailhead on Route 431 for a number of days before it was towed on November 25 because it was obstructing snow plows. This discovery prompted them to contact his family, who then confirmed he was missing. Earlier on the day he vanished, November 13, 2018, surveillance footage captured him checking out of the Nugget Hotel and Casino in Sparks, Nevada. A subsequent ping from his cellphone at 6:52 p.m. that same evening placed him in the same area as his abandoned vehicle. Inside the BMW, investigators found his luggage and other personal belongings, including his fully charged cell phone, which had been turned off. The only item that appeared to be missing was the car key.
Richard Cambria is described as a Caucasian male, standing at approximately 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighing between 140 and 150 pounds with a medium build. He has brown eyes and brown, balding hair, and he sometimes wears gold-rimmed glasses. It is believed he may have been planning to hike in the challenging terrain of the Mount Rose Summit area, which was experiencing winter weather conditions at the time of his disappearance. Extensive searches were conducted in the area, but no sign of Richard has been found. The circumstances surrounding his disappearance remain a mystery, leaving his family with unanswered questions and a profound sense of loss. The case is an overview of a man on a journey, whose last known steps were in the mountains of Nevada, leaving behind a vehicle and a lingering silence.Last Seen: Nov 13, 2018
