A 25-year-old UCLA student who was last reported gassing up and buying water and protein in Inyo County, about 200 miles north of Los Angeles, was reported missing, the Los Angeles Police Department said Wednesday.
Michael David Myers, who drove away in his 2002 Gray Dodge Durango, was last seen Nov. 4.
Inyo County Sheriff's Department said Wednesday at 10:15 p.m. that the vehicle was found abandoned around 4 p.m. on a side road near the entrance to the Mount Whitney trail.
His friend, Peicheng Yu, said the last time he saw Myers, the hiker was showing him where he was planning to go on his excursion to Mount Whitney in Inyo County.
Yu said Myers showed him a live webcam site showing snowed-in, cloud-shrouded mountains.
Myers reassured his friend he would be totally prepared when Yu said it looked dangerous.
After five days, Yu didn’t hear from his friend.
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"When I Skype him, and we're talking about physics, he usually replies immediately," Yu said.
This time, Yu got no response.
Police searched in the air, but have found nothing.
Yu said Myers is passionate, and dedicated to the plasma physics project they're working on at UCLA.
Myers didn't show up the weekend of Nov. 14 for an important project meeting in Georgia, prompting Yu and his colleagues to take action.
With the permission of Myer’s family, they hacked into their colleague's laptop.
His search history indicated he was planning a possible "off-road" foray into the nearby Mojave Desert, Yu said.
Inyo County Sheriff's officials confirmed that a search for Myers was still ongoing Wednesday night.
The clues include a gasoline, water and protein bar purchase on Myers’ credit card on Nov. 5.
Yu and his fellow researchers said they hope a returning hiker or skier will recognize Myers from the photos released by the media.
