On February 13, 2014, 56-year-old Paul Victor Tomasso, an experienced outdoorsman, was seen for the last time in Heber-Overgaard, Arizona. He was at a Circle K convenience store on Highway 260, wearing beige cargo pants, a dark long-sleeved shirt, and a dark vest. Tomasso, who often wore sunglasses and had a custom necklace to hold them, was preparing for a solo hiking trip into the vast and rugged Tonto National Forest.
After leaving the convenience store, he drove his white 2011 Toyota FJ Cruiser southeast toward the community of Young, a journey tracked by cell phone and GPS records. He parked his vehicle off Highway 288 and it was there that he left a handwritten note, detailing his plan to embark on a hiking trip lasting approximately four to five days, beginning on the 13th.
For several days, with no reason to suspect anything was amiss, Tomasso was presumed to be on his planned excursion. However, as the days passed beyond his expected return, his family grew increasingly concerned when they couldn't get in touch with him. By February 25, 2014, with still no word from Paul, his brother officially reported him overdue and missing to the Gila County Sheriff's Office. Deputies responded to the area near Young where Tomasso's vehicle had been located. An initial investigation at the scene confirmed the presence of his parked vehicle and the note he had left behind, signaling the start of a formal search in the challenging mid-February conditions of the remote backcountry.
A large-scale search was launched across the remote canyons and forested ridgelines of the Tonto National Forest, but the efforts were hampered by the late start, as Tomasso had already been missing for a significant amount of time before being reported. Despite the extensive search, there has been no definitive evidence to explain his disappearance. Paul Tomasso has never been located, and no remains have been recovered. His case remains an open and unsolved mystery, leaving his family with unanswered questions. The circumstances of his disappearance highlight the potential dangers of solo hiking in remote and rugged wilderness, even for an experienced individual. The leading theory suggests he may have suffered an accidental injury and succumbed to the elements in the vast expanse of the Tonto National Forest.Last Seen: Feb 13, 2014
