Search Dogs Find Missing Man's Scent

This story was reported and written by editor Liz Spear.

Searchers led by the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office plan to resume their ground search Thursday in the area where a missing man's van was found abandoned Saturday.

Erik Lamberg, 51, who had been living in Redondo Beach with family, has not been seen since May 28 when he left Laytonville and headed south on Highway 101 toward Willits. His wife, Samantha Lamberg of Hermosa Beach, last spoke with him May 26 when his van had broken down on the road and he was waiting for a tow from AAA.

Sheriff's Capt. Greg VanPatten told Patch two bloodhounds had detected a "scent trail" Wednesday on the road heading east and west from where Lamberg's van was found. He said the west-leading scent "trailed off"; however, the east scent took searchers for about eight miles heading toward the coast. 

It wasn't clear if the dogs got tired or if the scent ended when searchers concluded their canine search Wednesday, he said. Thursday's search plans included a new bloodhound and one of the two dogs from Wednesday's effort, he said.

Temperatures in the area were in the low to mid-90s during Wednesday's search and expected to be the same Thursday.

VanPatten said it appeared Lamberg had taken to the road and may have headed west and then circled back to his van and headed east on the road. The dogs did not detect his scent trail off the roadway.

Lamberg's van was found 20 miles heading west from Willits toward Fort Bragg on Sherwood Road, a dirt road, in a rural area with "tough terrain." VanPatten said the route to Ft. Bragg was another 13 miles from where Lamberg's van got stuck in mud.

The road has steep inclines and declines, he said, and is traveled by logging trucks, four-wheel drive vehicles, motorcycles and ATVs due to its condition. Searchers were checking "any kind of properties" along the route and knocking on doors in Ft. Bragg to find out if anyone had seen or picked up Lamberg and alert them to be on the lookout for him.

VanPatten said officials were "speculating on what" it could mean if Lamberg's scent did indeed end where the bloodhound stopped Wednesday, saying it was possible the man got a ride.

During Wednesday's search, motorists passing by said they'd seen the van abandoned on the road prior to June 1st, indicating the vehicle was intact when they saw it. The van was recovered with a broken window but officials believe it was an act of vandalism and not related to Lamberg's disappearance.

VanPatten said it was "very odd" that Lamberg turned onto Sherwood Road, unless he'd talked to a local about the unpaved route to Ft. Bragg or stopped at the convenience store at the corner of 101 and Sherwood Road. The road beging as a paved road and goes into a "heavily populated area" before becoming dirt as it leads into remote, rugged and hilly terrain, he said.

Previously:

• Local Man Missing in Mendocino County
• Search for Missing Man Resumes