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Missing friend in Mammoth Lakes area

PostPosted: Thu Aug 01, 2013 8:56 pm
by tdavidock
Our friend was out in the Mammoth Lake area for the past few weeks and hasn't been in contact with anyone since July 16th. If anyone has been hiking/climbing in the area and ran into Matt, please contact the ML police below. His photo is in the link below. Thanks and please forward to others who may have been in the area.

http://www.sierrawave.net/25773/mlpd-ma ... her-found/

Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Matthew Greene is requested to contact the Mammoth Lakes Police Department at (760) 934-2011 or the Mono County Sheriff’s Office at (760) 932-7549 X7.

Re: Missing friend in Mammoth Lakes area

PostPosted: Fri Aug 02, 2013 3:13 pm
by Bob Sihler
Bump

Re: Missing friend in Mammoth Lakes area

PostPosted: Fri Aug 02, 2013 4:09 pm
by tdavidock
I heard back from the PD in another message about some of the gear that was left in his car. It's not extremely detailed, but may be helpful. Most importantly, it sounds like his large backpack was not there, he had his crampons with him, and possibly some climbing equipment. He didn't take his ice axes (not sure about a mountaineering ax). In taking his crampons, it's possible that he may have planned to be on some snow or ice. I'm trying to find out what camping gear he may have had with him too. I know he has a bivy tent in addition to a larger tent for the campsite. It sounds like the larger tent was left behind, but I don't know about the bivy tent.

If he was planning on a simple day hike, I think he would have left his larger backpack behind and took a day/summit pack with him. It's also possible that he may have stashed his larger pack somewhere if doing a peak and just carried with him his small summit pack and technical tools. I have seen two references above to Mt. Lyell, but again, nothing has been confirmed. Any sections in that area that would have required or suggested the need for crampons?

Also, if anyone knows someone who took the shuttle from Mammoth Lake to the meadows on the 16th or 17th, please share this info with them.

I will post any additional info that I find out.

Tom

Re: Missing friend in Mammoth Lakes area

PostPosted: Fri Aug 02, 2013 8:28 pm
by tdavidock
In talking with Matt's Friends who were last with him and are communicating with local authorities, they feel strongly that he either attempted Mt Lyell from Tuolumne or Mt. Banner/Ritter in Mammoth Lakes on July 17th. They went through his car and gear and based off of past conversations with Matt, agree that one of these areas were likely scenarios for him. They are leaning more toward Mt. Lyell.

Search and Rescue can't initiate a search without more concrete information on where he may have gone. Until that happens or until S&R makes the decision to go anyway, the hope is that some locals or others in the area could head out this weekend and search these two mountains. If anyone is able to do that, please let me know. I'm not sure if anything formal can get established between now and then (I and several of his friends are on the East coast), but just having people out there walking these areas would be extremely useful.

Thank you!
Tom

Re: Missing friend in Mammoth Lakes area

PostPosted: Sat Aug 03, 2013 5:12 pm
by fossana
Adding a link to the FB page with recent updates (visible without a FB acct). Looks like they're searching Ritter and Lyell.
https://www.facebook.com/findmattgreene

Re: Missing friend in Mammoth Lakes area

PostPosted: Sat Aug 03, 2013 5:29 pm
by artrock23
tdavidock wrote:If he was planning on a simple day hike, I think he would have left his larger backpack behind and took a day/summit pack with him. It's also possible that he may have stashed his larger pack somewhere if doing a peak and just carried with him his small summit pack and technical tools. I have seen two references above to Mt. Lyell, but again, nothing has been confirmed. Any sections in that area that would have required or suggested the need for crampons?


Tom, sorry to hear about your missing friend. Hopefully he'll be found safe.

I just climbed Mt. Lyell on Monday 7/29. Here are pics/info I posted:

post931836.html#p931836

IMO, both ice axe and crampons would be necessary. Lyell glacier is large, and up near the top gets somewhat steep. The ability to self-arrest would be vital. Feel free to contact me if there's any beta I can offer.

Re: Missing friend in Mammoth Lakes area

PostPosted: Mon Aug 05, 2013 11:47 pm
by tdavidock
Here is the latest (posted from his family):

I received updates through Bill w/ SAR and ran through everything with Matts friend Tony as well. Unfortunately, the search did not yield anything. The helicopter was able to do an aerial while the ground crews were out but they did not uncover any evidence of Matt. They did take a bunch of pictures while they were out that they will be reviewing and zooming in on to make sure nothing was missed. He did not sign the registers at the top of Banner or Ritter. Yosemite is still suppose to check the one at Lyell, though SAR does not think it's probable he would be there. SAR took pictures of the registers and are also pulling what info they can from permits issued to try and call/email those individuals to see if anyone might have any info on Matt. The fellow from the repair station is not of any circumstance; he was back a few days now and was actually part of SAR; the only thing Matt spoke to him about was his car repair. They went through Matt's gear again and established that he was not equipped for overnight; tent/bivvy/sleeping bag/stove/heavy jacket were all still with gear. Additionally, no rope or technical equipment was missing so they don't believe he was attempting any climbs. That about sums it up; I'll be editing the notes too with all this. I really think at this point that we need nationwide media coverage to get new leads and get them quick. I've contacted the major ones (Fox, NBC, CNN) but need to hound them more to get some attention brought to this story ASAP.

Re: Missing friend in Mammoth Lakes area

PostPosted: Mon Aug 05, 2013 11:51 pm
by tdavidock
Here is the latest (posted from his family):

I received updates through Bill w/ SAR and ran through everything with Matts friend Tony as well. Unfortunately, the search did not yield anything. The helicopter was able to do an aerial while the ground crews were out but they did not uncover any evidence of Matt. They did take a bunch of pictures while they were out that they will be reviewing and zooming in on to make sure nothing was missed. He did not sign the registers at the top of Banner or Ritter. Yosemite is still suppose to check the one at Lyell, though SAR does not think it's probable he would be there. SAR took pictures of the registers and are also pulling what info they can from permits issued to try and call/email those individuals to see if anyone might have any info on Matt. The fellow from the repair station is not of any circumstance; he was back a few days now and was actually part of SAR; the only thing Matt spoke to him about was his car repair. They went through Matt's gear again and established that he was not equipped for overnight; tent/bivvy/sleeping bag/stove/heavy jacket were all still with gear. Additionally, no rope or technical equipment was missing so they don't believe he was attempting any climbs. That about sums it up; I'll be editing the notes too with all this. I really think at this point that we need nationwide media coverage to get new leads and get them quick. I've contacted the major ones (Fox, NBC, CNN) but need to hound them more to get some attention brought to this story ASAP.

Re: Missing friend in Mammoth Lakes area

PostPosted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 2:46 am
by tdavidock
Please take a moment and take a look at the Flickr Page that was created for Matt. There are photos on there and a few videos of Matt. Please share with anyone that may have been in the area in the past couple of weeks. If more people see his face, maybe somebody will remember something.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/findmattgreene/

Thanks-

Tom

Re: Missing friend in Mammoth Lakes area

PostPosted: Wed Aug 07, 2013 3:43 am
by ywardhorner
Good luck to you. I'll put your friend's pic on my FB page and send you a link to some people who might be able to help you.

Re: Missing friend in Mammoth Lakes area

PostPosted: Wed Aug 07, 2013 5:16 am
by tdavidock
Hi everyone-

Again, thanks for all of the help, ideas, leads, etc. As all of you can probably guess, this is extremely hard for those of us that know Matt. It's almost impossible to describe every last detail that we know, but I will try to provide the latest update and thinking by those involved in the search efforts.

Matt went missing on July 17th. His last contact with someone was on the evening of the 16th.

Matt's car broke down and he was in Mammoth Lakes staying at the Shady Rest Campground. His car was being fixed in town and was scheduled to be finished on the 18th. Matt was in town, from what we know, on the 16th. He was on a computer (we suspect the library) as indicated by a summit post forum post about water intoxication around 2:45 on the 16th. He talked with his father that day and texted a friend that night (around 9:00PM). He gave no indication to anyone that we know of that day what his plans were. His last cell phone ping came from Mammoth Mt., which would have been the tower from Mammoth Lakes

We suspect that on the 17th, Matt decided to do a day climb/hike as he took no overnight gear with him. He had a large pack and gear for snow, which indicates that he was thinking that snow was a possibility (crampons, Mountaineering axe, and boots). He had no bivy gear and it clearly seems like he had every intention of coming back that same day.

Matt was happy and loved life. He was a quiet guy, but happy to have a conversation with anyone that wanted to talk. He met a lot of people on his trips, so it's likely that he talked to someone that we weren't in contact with yet. As for questions about depression, while valid ones to ask, they do not make sense in this case or for Matt.

Matt had no transportation, so would have used his own two feet, hitched a ride, or more likely taken the shuttle. He was used to riding the shuttle as he did another hike on the 11th to do Clyde Minerat. I understand that he may have done another one in the Minerats as well. He talked about this with a fellow climber on what we believe was the 11th, but gave no indication of definitive plans and the info he was given covers a fairly large area. This person was also participating with SAR.
Matt had pages torn out of his guide book for the entire Minerat area, which covers approximately a 5 mile by 20 mile area, which included both Ritter and Banner (hence the search of the summit registers). Neither register was signed by Matt as reported by search teams. Other speculated that he may have attempted Lyell, but that would have required an early start that the shuttle service wouldn't provide. There are a lot of options in the Minerats, which would have been likely choices for Matt.

SEARCH

SAR was out on both Ritter and Banner last weekend as well as had a chopper that covered some of the snow fields for about 30 minutes. Without more information, they couldn't proceed with further efforts. Additionally, to make things harder, the area that is suggested as a possibility is in another county jurisdiction, which makes organizing the search more challenging for allocating resources.

Right now, SAR has put together some flyers asking for anyone and everyone hiking and climbing in those areas to CHECK the registries. Please do so if you're out there and help spread the word. This will be posted at all major climber hangouts in the region, but please help to spread this via word of mouth. The focus areas is in the Minerats right now since the limited info suggests that more so than any other location. However, there is always the possibility of the wildcard and he jumped the YART and headed into the park.

All permit offices were checked and those with permits from the time frame before and after he was missing are being contacted. Matt was known to get an early start, so it's very possible that he could have been the 1st one on the trail.

Right now, the missing piece to the puzzle is information. We need something, however small, to help hone in on his location or possible plans. If there is anything that you wish you could do, it's spread the word. Some resources are available for this including:

1. Facebook page: www.facebook.com/findmattgreene
2. Flickr Page with lots of photos: http://www.flickr.com/groups/findmattgreene/
3. Flyer: http://socalcrisis.org/findmattgreene
4. Mono County Sheriff: http://www.monosheriff.org/
5. And tons of news stories (google Matthew Greene, Missing)

I will try to provide any additional info that I get or clarify something that is missing. It is challenging to get everything out, but I and his other friends and family will do our best. Please continue to share. Miss you, Matt.

Tom

Re: Missing friend in Mammoth Lakes area

PostPosted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 10:57 pm
by Dave Daly
I'm not sure if this has been asked already but was is Matt capable of climbing solo. Up to low 5th class? Seems like he was limited in range since his car was broke. One route of interest in the Minarets might be the Rock Route (4th class) on Clyde Minaret. You can actually link up with several of the other Minarets. Curious if went over to Michael Minaret to check out the Pete Starr Memorial plaque. The climbing from Clyde to Michael has some commiting and exposed low 5th class on less than ideal rock. Just thinking out loud. I heard SAR was checking out Cylde Minaret.

Re: Missing friend in Mammoth Lakes area

PostPosted: Fri Aug 09, 2013 3:12 am
by Mono SAR
Peak Baggers in the Central Sierra Nevada:
You can help with the search for Matt Greene.

If you summit any peak located in the general area between Tom's Place and Lee Vining, please carefully examine the summit register for Matt Greene's name on the dates of 15-19 July 2013. Remember that summit registers can be disorganized, and several log books may be present. Note that we want to hear from you whether or not you see his name; the absence of his name on a given peak is useful also.

Please report your results to Mono County Sheriff Search and Rescue Team at MosarOps@gmail.com. If you don't have email access, then please leave a phone message at: 760-566-6727.

Please print this page and take it with you as a reference for the dates and email address.

Note:
Although we are posting this request, SAR volunteers are not permitted to discuss ongoing missions in any public fashion. We are instead required to direct inquiries to the Mono County Sheriffs Office, as we work under their direction:
760-932-7549 x7 (ask for the SAR coordinator or secondarily the Watch Commander)
sar@monosheriff.org

Thank you for your assistance-.

Mono County Sheriff Search and Rescue Team

Re: Missing friend in Mammoth Lakes area

PostPosted: Fri Aug 09, 2013 6:23 am
by mmaki
We were contacted by an NPS ranger at the head of Lyell Cyn who informed us of Matt. She asked us to check the register of Mt Lyell if we summited. We did, and the register had no mention of Matt. Hoping for the best and that he is found soon.

Re: Missing friend in Mammoth Lakes area

PostPosted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 3:45 pm
by tdavidock
SEARCH UPDATE:

Hi everyone- the Group is out in the back country as I type. there was no information from yesterday, but they do have the ability to communicate directly with SAR, so any information that they get can get radioed in.

I also heard that SAR had been EXTREMELY helpful and accommodating to this group- Thank you so much!!!

One team went out to Michael's Minaret yesterday, but couldn't get on top. They may try again today. There was also a report that the Clyde Minaret log was signed by Matt on July 11th, which indicates that he signing the logs, as he normally does.

I was also asked to post a request:

Is anyone planning to climb Michael's Minaret or others within the next few days? Also, any other beta is always welcomed. The feedback that everyone has provided thus far has definitely aided in the search.