William "Bill" Ewasko, a 65-year-old from Marietta, Georgia, went missing during a solo hiking trip in Joshua Tree National Park on June 24, 2010. Ewasko was an experienced hiker who had visited the park several times. He had planned to hike and return by 5:00 PM, after which he was supposed to contact his girlfriend. When he failed to do so, she reported him missing the following day.
Search efforts began immediately after his disappearance, focusing on the area surrounding Quail Mountain, where his rental car was found parked. Despite the deployment of helicopters, sniffer dogs, and teams of volunteers, the search was largely unsuccessful. Only minimal evidence, such as a red bandana, was recovered. The search was complicated by a puzzling phone ping from Ewasko’s cell, detected by a tower over 20 miles from the search area days after he vanished. However, no concrete leads resulted from the phone signal, and the official search was called off after 11 days, although volunteers continued searching for years.
In February 2022, nearly 12 years after he disappeared, hikers discovered Ewasko’s skeletal remains in a remote section of Joshua Tree National Park, approximately 10 miles from his car. His backpack and personal belongings were also found nearby. The discovery brought some closure to the case, but the circumstances surrounding his death remain a subject of speculation, as he had ventured into a notoriously harsh and unforgiving landscape.
Last Seen: Jun 25, 2010
