Samuel Richard Pharis, a 21-year-old from Olivehurst, California, was last seen on June 13, 2013. He left the home he shared with his fiancée at approximately 6:45 p.m. in a manner that suggested he intended to return shortly. The lights were left on, a fresh glass of tea sat on a table, and the dogs had been put in their kennel. Pharis, however, never came back and has not been seen or heard from since.
Three days after he was last seen, on June 16, 2013, Pharis's black Ford Bronco was discovered abandoned and stuck in the sand near the Feather River at the river bottoms off Island Road in Olivehurst. Inside the locked vehicle were his cell phone, wallet, and a gun. Notably, his keys were missing. An empty rifle case was also found in the car, leading authorities to believe he may have been armed. An extensive search of the area was conducted by the Yuba County Sheriff's Department, search and rescue teams, the Posse, canine units, and hundreds of volunteers, covering both land and water, but yielded no clues as to Pharis's whereabouts. The search efforts also utilized aircraft.
In the months leading up to his disappearance, Pharis had been struggling with an addiction to prescription painkillers. Just two days before he went missing, he had been caught stealing painkillers from his father, Rex Pharis, which had reportedly made his father furious. Following this incident, Samuel Pharis had expressed a desire to his fiancée to seek help for his addiction and was scheduled to see a doctor on the day he vanished.
Investigators have stated that Rex Pharis acted strangely after his son's disappearance and withheld information from law enforcement, leading them to consider him a person of interest in the case. He reportedly took a polygraph test, but the results were inconclusive. Rex Pharis has denied any involvement in his son's disappearance and offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to his recovery, as well as hiring private investigators. He also provided police with a typewritten note he claimed was from his son, which read, "You think I'm gone, Oh, how wrong! You'll see me soon, right around noon. SP." However, authorities do not believe Samuel Pharis wrote the note. Police suspect foul play was involved in Pharis's disappearance and believe his vehicle was likely left by the river by someone other than himself. It was considered uncharacteristic of him to go anywhere without his gun. His case remains unsolved.
Last Seen: Jun 13, 2013
