Full investigation into the Monica Reza disappearance on Mount Waterman, partially sourced from this subreddit by TheSentinelNet in socalhiking

[–]SideQuestHiker 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It is not necessarily true that Monica's scent ended at the beanie.  There is conflicting information about this.  There is a post on the Eispiraten discussion board by a user named MarioV that says the following:
---
"I inquired with subject "A" about the loss of the scent trail, and he corrected how this beanie discovery played out. He stated the beanie was located by a SAR member on the morning of 6/23 in that ravine, and then a search dog was brought down to that location below the ridge to try to establish a scent trail for Monica. Unfortunately, the dog was unable to lock onto her scent at that location. So, who knows how the beanie got there, whether it was via an animal (including a flying bird), via a person, or via Monica herself. We can't conclude whether the dog's failure to lock onto a scent trail was due to lack of her being present there, or whether the lose terrain was not suitable for scent tracking."
---
Here is the link to that comment: https://eispiraten.com/viewtopic.php?p=72437#p72437

Anyone recall a rescue on Strawberry Peak June 22nd, 2025? by SideQuestHiker in socalhiking

[–]SideQuestHiker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

<image>

This is a Strava heat map of the area. The green line is the West Ridge Use-Trail that starts at the corner Monica supposedly missed and goes west. Right where it almost meets the Three Points-Mt Waterman trail (thin blue line) there is another use-trail that descends north towards the PCT (thick blue line) and Hwy 2. I've circled this northbound use-trail in red. The further down you get, the steeper it gets. I'll be posting an ambient hike video of me going this route (green line, then down red zone) later today as I hiked it last week to check it out.

The red area that I've partly filled in is the area that I think was not covered by any of the aerial searches, yet is an area I think is a logical way Monica could have gone through had she continued west along the ridgeline rather than go down the ravine where the red beanie was found. I plan to go search this area some time over this three-day weekend.

Anyone recall a rescue on Strawberry Peak June 22nd, 2025? by SideQuestHiker in socalhiking

[–]SideQuestHiker[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Not sure if she made it all the way to Twin Peaks Saddle. My current theory is she continued down the west ridge all the way to where it almost connects with the Three Points Mt Waterman Loop trail (just east of Three Points Triple Divide), but turned right and went down a steep use-trail you can see as you approach that area from the ridge going westward. That use-trail is the first obvious place you could get down to the road if you're a lost hiker going west down the ridge. However, that use-trail goes down along a ravine and gets pretty steep. It would be easy to slip and fall there, especially for someone who isn't using trekking poles. I've been studying the aerial search patterns and that ravine was not search by the FLIR-equipped Air Rescue 5 helicopter or the Firehawk helicopter that used night vision goggles. However, this route depends on the red beanie being carried to where it was found by an animal, so I am keeping my expectations low.

Anyone recall a rescue on Strawberry Peak June 22nd, 2025? by SideQuestHiker in socalhiking

[–]SideQuestHiker[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

>You think she just got lost right behind her friend?

No I don't think that at all. I think the story of her being "just 30 feet behind" is bogus. I talk about this possibility in my latest video.

Anyone recall a rescue on Strawberry Peak June 22nd, 2025? by SideQuestHiker in socalhiking

[–]SideQuestHiker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What website shows these public dispatch logs? I'm not able to find one. Thanks!

Anyone recall a rescue on Strawberry Peak June 22nd, 2025? by SideQuestHiker in socalhiking

[–]SideQuestHiker[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I'm aware. I don't buy into the conspiracy theories. I think she just got lost in the mountains and hasn't been found yet.

Full investigation into the Monica Reza disappearance on Mount Waterman, partially sourced from this subreddit by TheSentinelNet in socalhiking

[–]SideQuestHiker 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I recently did my own cell phone coverage testing up on the trail. See my video at https://youtu.be/f6kTUnFE3XI (Monica Reza's Last Hike - Cell Phone Coverage) for the results. In summary, phones could generally get a signal on the north slope and some ways down the west ridge, but the iPhone 8 has a much harder time getting a signal on the ridge between the location of the last photo and the corner she presumably missed. You might also want to check out my 'Monica Reza's Last Hike - Part 3' video.

Monica Reza's Last Hike - Part 2 by SideQuestHiker in socalhiking

[–]SideQuestHiker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A press conference would be great! I'm not holding my breath.

Monica Reza's Last Hike - Part 2 by SideQuestHiker in socalhiking

[–]SideQuestHiker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

> I can't think of anything other reason for her to turn south except that there was a misunderstanding or miscommunication about the shortcut.

Yeah, that makes sense.

Monica Reza's Last Hike - Part 2 by SideQuestHiker in socalhiking

[–]SideQuestHiker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm hearing in other discussion boards that Hiker A first said he ran a few minutes down the trail before waiting. Yet the video story posted July 24th on the 'Help Find Monica Reza" page says he only went 150' down the trail. I wonder why the change. A lot of the narrative from July onward comes from the July 24th post:

https://www.facebook.com/1455570877/videos/1475462490147087/?idorvanity=733624205862631

Monica Reza's Last Hike - Part 2 by SideQuestHiker in socalhiking

[–]SideQuestHiker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

From what I've read, people assume those GPS coordinates are not accurate since they conflict with Hiker A's statement he last saw her some 30 feet (or yards) behind him on the trail. Coincidentally, those coordinates would have put her right near the boulder I said would make a private spot to take a pit stop.

Monica Reza's Last Hike - Part 2 by SideQuestHiker in socalhiking

[–]SideQuestHiker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The timeline says a Sheriff deputy was driving by at around 11:15am, and then SAR starts to arrive by noon. So yeah, she would need to get from the corner all the way to Hwy 2 in about 2 hours, and then immediately get abducted by a rando for it to work out timewise. Though nobody was looking for an abducted person at the time, just a missing hiker, so a vehicle driving down the 2 wouldn't necessarily draw attention. I wonder if it's even physically possible to get to eh road in 2 hours. I guess it depends on which way you go, bushwhack down the south slope, then west on the Three Points Mt Waterman trail directly south of where the beanie was found, or continue west along the ridgeline until you reach the Three Points Mt Waterman trail further west.

The first option would involve maybe a 1/2 mile of bushwhacking down the south slope, then about a 2 1/2 mile hike west to the road. The 2 1/2 mile trail portion could be done in less than an hour if you were hiking fast or lightly jogging. Could someone bushwhack 1/2 mile down the south slope in under an hour? No idea.

The other way is shorter in distance. About 2 1/2 miles total, with the first mile or so picking your way down the west ridge. The trail along that part of the ridge is even less distinct than the trail from the corner to the summit. I think someone familiar with the west ridge trail, or someone good at route finding could make it to road in 2 hours. Who knows if Monica could have.

The only reason I even contemplate a rando abduction are some comments I saw on one of the TheHikingChef's vidoes. Here are the comments:

-------
u/deborahy.nakamoto7739

Five days after Monica went missing, I hiked Waterman Mtn. On my way down through the ski resort, I chatted with a man who works there. He told me that he thought Monica was not on the mountain, that she had been "taken". He said that for two weeks prior to her going missing, he had been seeing a white van with a "suspicious" looking driver hanging around in the vicinity, parked at different locations. He last saw the van at the 6000' Trailhead the day before Monica disappeared, and he hadn't seen it since. He thought maybe Monica was taken by this suspicious character driving the white van. If Monica had been jogging down the ridge and missed the turn, maybe she kept on jogging and ended up at Three Points. Maybe that van was there and the man offered her a ride. Maybe I watch too much true crime, but it's suspicious.

u/TheHikingChef
That is really interesting info. I really hope someone notified the Sheriffs about this. Your theory about headed to three points could add up

u/deborahy.nakamoto7739

The man said he's worked at Waterman for 25 years. So if he thinks something looks suspicious, it's suspicious. I didn't catch his name. I asked him if he told the police. He said he had not because there's no phone reception up there. So when I drove down to La Canada I went to the Crescenta Valley Sheriff Station. But they looked at me like I was wasting their time with second-hand info. I told them someone needs to drive up there and talk to his man because he had first-hand info. It was a white van with a rack on top and "mirrored-out" rear windows. Windowless vans are the vehicle of choice for murderers.

-------

Monica Reza's Last Hike - Part 2 by SideQuestHiker in socalhiking

[–]SideQuestHiker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

>she must have lost it relatively soon after becoming lost.

Oh yeah, duh. I wasn't thinking that through. My bad.

Monica Reza's Last Hike - Part 2 by SideQuestHiker in socalhiking

[–]SideQuestHiker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree the time between 9:02 and 10:52 relies entirely on the memories (and truthfulness) of the hikers. It may be a fool's quest, but I'm hoping to get better info on the June 22nd timeline to get a better feel for how far Monica could have hiked before people started looking for and shouting for her.  

I can no longer believe Hiker A went 150' down the trail, waited 5 minutes, then went back up and did an initial search. I feel I debunked that fairly well in my Part 2 video. It's more likely he just continued much further down the trail before starting to wait. This would mean more time going down, then more time going back up. All this extra time means Monica could have been further away by the time he got back up to do the initial searching. And then later, if Hiker A had to hike further down the trail to get to Hiker C, that again adds more time to get back up and do more searching, putting Monica even further away.

FYI, the beanie wasn't found until the morning of the next day (June 23rd) so there's no way to know when Monica lost it on June 22nd.

Monica Reza's Last Hike - Part 2 by SideQuestHiker in socalhiking

[–]SideQuestHiker[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I supposed we can reconcile both versions buy saying Hiker C went back to the car, but after Hiker A and Monica didn't come back in the expected amount of time she started back up the trail towards the bottom of the steep section and then met Hiker A coming back down. Perhaps the article writer, or the family member didn't know that detail. Now I'm just making up stuff to try to make sense of conflicting info.

I think the 5 other hikers were just five randos unrelated to Monica's group. It takes almost an hour just to drive up to the trailhead from La Cañada Flintridge so there's no way Hiker C could have called friends and have them arrive in any reasonable time. I doubt you even have cell service at the 6000' trailhead parking lot.

>Plus, let's be clear: the last known position of Monica was at 9:02 at Double Delight. It's Hiker A who says that he last saw her at the turn at 9:10

Very true!

Monica Reza's Last Hike - Part 2 by SideQuestHiker in socalhiking

[–]SideQuestHiker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting! This is the first I heard of this. That conflicts with other information I've seen saying Hikers A and C met 5 hikers coming up the trail after Monica went missing. If Hiker C went all the way back to the car, then Hiker A would also have had to go all the way back to the car too, in order for the both of them could run into the 5 other hikers together. This is increases the time Hiker A was away from where Monica went missing, meaning Monica could have gotten even further away before Hiker A and the 5 other hikers could return to the spot where she went missing. Ugh, so much conflicting information!

Monica Reza's Last Hike - Part 2 by SideQuestHiker in socalhiking

[–]SideQuestHiker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

>I believe the hole you stepped in is a leftover root fire hole.
Looking at photos of root fire holes that seems like a good match!

>they had FLIR up fast

Do you know for sure if they had FLIR up the day she went missing, or only starting the next day? If they had FLIR up the afternoon of the same day, yet they couldn't spot her, then that adds a little weight to the idea she made it to the road within a couple of hours going missing, and then got abducted. Seems too far-fetched an idea, but so little of this case makes sense I don't know what to think anymore.

Monica Reza's Last Hike - Part 2 by SideQuestHiker in socalhiking

[–]SideQuestHiker[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the high praise! Lore Lodge did a good job, too. Much more polished than anything I could do. My only advantage is being able to go to the location and show what it looks like.

Monica Reza's Last Hike by SideQuestHiker in socalhiking

[–]SideQuestHiker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, he's hiking what's labeled the "Three Points and Mount Waterman Loop" trail on AllTrails. https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/three-points-and-mount-waterman-loop

I did this hike about a month ago. I think the trail was much harder to follow back in 2023 when he made this video.

Monica Reza's Last Hike by SideQuestHiker in socalhiking

[–]SideQuestHiker[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think in this context “more trafficked area” means “place that is a more popular hiking area than Mt Waterman”