The puzzling disappearance and death of Paul Miller in Joshua Tree National Park
Paul Miller, disappeared July 13, 2018, Joshua Tree National Park, California. Body found November 2019
Revised June 2024
In July 2018, Paul Miller, 51, and his wife, Stephanie, from Ontario, Canada, embarked on a vacation through California and Nevada, with plans to celebrate their 26th wedding anniversary in Las Vegas.
Their trips were typically adventures in the backwoods, filled with camping, hiking, and kayaking. They had journeyed across Canada, North America, and Mexico, fueled by their shared passion for the outdoors. Both Paul and Stephanie were seasoned hikers, fit and eager to explore new terrains.
On July 13, 2018, under the relentless desert sun, Paul decided to take one last hike before their trip to Las Vegas. He set his sights on the 49 Palms Oasis trail in Joshua Tree National Park, assuring Stephanie he would be back by late morning. That was the last time Stephanie saw him.
Hours turned into days, and the serene Joshua Tree landscape held its breath. Paul had vanished without a trace. Search parties combed the area, but the vast, unforgiving terrain seemed to swallow every clue. Stephanie clung to hope, haunted by the question: what had happened to Paul?
Then in late 2019, analysis of drone footage revealed a chilling discovery: Paul's remains, lying in a remote, off-trail area of Joshua Tree. The drone had found what countless human searchers searching for hundreds of hours could not.
The desert, it seemed, had kept its secrets well. The question remained, hanging in the dry air: what had happened to Paul Miller on that solitary hike? The answer lay somewhere in the silent, sun-baked expanse, whispering in the wind that swept through the Joshua trees.
Who was Paul Miller?
Paul Miller had a degree in environmental sciences and worked for a small company making water filtration systems to bring water to different communities.
He was described as being fun to be around, with lots of friends, outgoing but caring and compassionate by friends.
The Miller’s kids had left home and were about to enter the “empty nest” stage of their lives. Stephanie described their relationship as being best friends, and they were looking forward to the next stage of their lives. They were a solid couple and loved spending time together.
Friends described Stephanie and Paul as having a great marriage, and they had just finished renovating a house they had bought four years before. Stephanie's permanent teaching job was confirmed in September 2018, and Paul had a raise at work. With the children leaving home and their work news, this was an ideal trip to have their first vacation just as a couple to celebrate their 26th wedding anniversary.
Paul was always on the go, never a couch potato and loved getting out in nature, especially with his camera. He was in great shape and never had any medical conditions, with no family history of health problems.
The trip to Twentynine Palms and hike to Joshua Tree National Park
The Millers were getting ready to leave their hotel room in Motel 6, in Twentynine Palms on July 13, 2018, the last day of their trip, but Paul wanted to take one more short hike to take some pictures of some bighorn sheep.
He left the hotel alone around 9 am and drove to the 49 Palms Oasis trail in Joshua Tree National Park. Paul promised Stephanie to be back later that morning.
Stephanie was going to accompany her husband on the morning hike, but with time constraints pressuring them on the morning of their last day, she decided to stay at the hotel and pack up their belongings. Check-out at the hotel was 11 am (actually noon). They had gone to have a leisurely breakfast at Denny’s that morning. Stephanie was also a slower hiker than Paul, and they had both hiked in Joshua on July 12, so, reluctantly, he decided to go on the solo hike.
The motel was very close to the trail, and Paul was sure he could do the hike and return within a couple of hours, as they had to be in Vegas to catch the flight back to Ontario.
Paul wore dark shorts, dark grey, almost black Hi-Tec Altitude VI WP hiking boots, a black hat, sunglasses, a Camelbak hydration pack, and a Nikon D5300 camera.
Joshua Tree National Park
The 49 Palms Oasis Trail at Joshua National Park
Joshua Tree National Park is an American national park in southeastern California, east of Los Angeles and San Bernardino, near Palm Springs, covering 790,636 acres. It is named for the Joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia) native to the Mojave Desert. Initially declared a national monument in 1936, Joshua Tree was redesignated as a national park in 1994 when the U.S. Congress passed the California Desert Protection Act.
According to the NPS, "The 49 Palms Oasis Trail offers a three-mile round-trip hike to a fan palm oasis. It requires two to three hours and is rated moderately strenuous, ascending about 300 feet each way. This well-maintained trail climbs to a ridge where large numbers of barrel cacti dot the landscape. After winding around the ridge top, the trail descends steeply to the oasis located in a rocky canyon. Towering palms create a canopy over clear pools of water. Large boulders provide a place to rest and enjoy the sights and sounds of this small ecosystem."
George Land from the NPS said “It’s not a real difficult trail. You go in and come out the same way. However, it is a little bit of a rigorous trail.”
The disappearance of Paul Miller and the search begins
When Paul hadn’t returned by 11 am, his wife grew concerned but decided to give him another hour and didn’t want to worry anyone unnecessarily.
At noon, when Stephanie still had not heard from Paul, she called National Park officials at Joshua, and Rangers began a search immediately by walking the trail. By 2 pm, a full Search and Rescue operation had started.
At first, the park wasn’t too concerned as Paul was only 1.5 hours late, and missing visitors often turned up after a couple of hours.
Paul's rental car was quickly found at the 49 Palms Oasis trailhead parking lot. His cell phone was left behind at the hotel, but it was not unusual for Paul to do this.
At 4 pm, the washes leading off the 49 Palms Oasis Trail, the rocky areas, and side canyons began to be searched until 10 pm that first day.
For five days, the search for Paul continued in the Park, involving 600 people putting in 6000 hours (90 people at peak), up to 20 dog teams, an ATV search team and a helicopter.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department deputies, detectives, search and rescue and emergency services; California Rescue Dog Association; Nevada Search and Rescue; and the National Park Service with personnel from the Investigative Services Branch, Mojave National Preserve, Death Valley National Park, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and Joshua Tree National Park all participated in the search. Due to steep ravines and cliffs, technical specialists with high-angle rescue skills were also deployed.
But no sign of Paul was located, and no other evidence other than his car that he was in the park, such as his camera turned up. Park Superintendent David Smith said, "We have a witness who saw (Miller) at the trailhead that morning, but that’s all.”
Another visitor from England at the park reported seeing Paul at around 9 am, walking quickly and with purpose; about halfway down the trail, he was resting by a rock that offered some shade. The witness reported seeing one other vehicle, two women and two men in their 20s who went in after Paul down the trail, but authorities have been unable to locate it. There was no camera at the parking lot at the Park at the time of the disappearance.
Despite a large number of K9 teams, the dogs were unable to pick up a scent. It can be hard to detect scent in high temperatures in the Park at that time of the year. One of the dogs even had the pads of its feet burnt. Because of the high heat, infrared FLIR detection using helicopters was also impossible as the rocks were warmer than the human body.
The search was scaled back after five days of intensive search on July 18th. The probability of Paul’s survival in the extreme heat was low, and park authorities decided to scale back the official search.
Park Superintendent Smith said as of mid-August 2018, there were no new clues as to what happened to Paul Miller, stating, “I assure them, the park service will not forget about Mr. Miller. We are doing all that we can. The FBI is called in only if there is a murder or homicide, and at this point, there is no indication that is the case ... nothing to indicate this was a planned disappearance.”
Stephanie said, "Maybe he finished the trail and came out, and something happened. We really don’t know. But if they can’t find him in the park, then what’s to say he’s not out of the park?”
Remains found
In late December 2019, the NPS and San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department reported they were investigating the discovery of human remains found in a remote and rocky portion of Joshua Tree National Park.
Park authorities were alerted about possible evidence of human remains after another agency was analyzing photographs of the area taken by drone in November.
Park rangers hiked to the 49 Palms Oasis area and found the remains and personal belongings away from trails. No identification was found with the remains, which appeared to have been in the area for some time. They reported no initial signs of foul play were found.
Remains confirmed as Paul Miller
In mid-January 2020, official identification of the remains found at the end of 2019 was made and confirmed to be that of Paul Miller.
What happened to Paul Miller?
Another puzzling and sad U.S. National Park solo hike death shows the dangers of hiking alone, even on safe and well-marked trails.
Paul was an avid outdoorsman and experienced hiker. It was hot in Joshua in July 2018, but he was with plenty of water on a well-established trail, hiking in the cooler part of the day. He appeared to be well prepared but rushed to get back to Stephanie and leave the area, as it was the end of their vacation.
Trail cameras are planned to be installed by the Joshua Tree park authorities, and one at the parking lot at the trailhead.
Theories on Paul’s death:
Paul’s remains and personal belongings were found away from any trails, so it appears he got lost and disorientated in the heat and succumbed to hyperthermia.
It gets sweltering in Joshua in July, and perhaps he sought shade by wandering off-trail. He was wearing hiking boots, and the trail was well-marked.
Maybe he walked off the trail to relieve himself, stumbled, and fell, hitting his head against a rock.
There are plenty of steep ridges in Joshua, and Paul may have tried to take a picture of the wildlife and fallen off the cliff edge.
Did Paul suffer a medical emergency like a heart attack?
Did he meet someone on the trail that caused him to run for safety?
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Sources
#findpaulmiller on Twitter
https://www.facebook.com/FindPaulMiller/posts/
http://www.thevanishedpodcast.com/archive
https://www.nps.gov/jotr/planyourvisit/upload/49siteMap.pdf
https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/local/2018/07/21/missing-without-trace-family-friends-canadian-hiker-paul-miller-hold-tight-hope-hes-alive-joshua-tre/813118002/
https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/local/2018/08/18/guelph-ontario-canada-resident-paul-miller-missing-hiker-joshua-tree-national-park/1032363002/
https://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/missing-guelph-man-s-family-urges-search-to-continue-1.4062417
https://www.guelphmercury.com/news-story/8854051-wife-of-missing-guelph-hiker-remaining-hopeful/
https://eu.desertsun.com/story/news/local/2019/12/21/joshua-tree-national-park-human-remains-found/2724249001/
https://eu.desertsun.com/story/news/local/2020/01/14/remains-found-joshua-tree-national-park-identified-canadian-paul-miller/4432976002/