HikeArizona.COM

Chandler man missing after leaving for hike

azfamily.com

Posted on April 11, 2011 at 10:05 AM

Updated today at 11:00 AM

CHANDLER, Ariz. -- The Chandler Police Department is asking for the public's help to locate a missing man with autism.

Chandler resident Steven Michael DeMarlie, 44, was last seen at 11:30 a.m. Sunday by his family. DeMarlie indicated that he was going hiking in the Tonto National Forest with his dog, a white lab.

He called a friend in Chicago at 3:30 p.m. Sunday and has not been seen or heard from since.

DeMarlie suffers from dyslexia, autism and mild mental handicap, according to police.

He was last seen wearing a green polo shirt, shorts and hiking boots. Steven is 6 feet tall, weighs 240 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes.

DeMarlie was driving a red 2005 Nissan Altima with white mirrors and Arizona license plate 187WCE.

Anyone with information is asked to call 480-782-4130.


http://www.azfamily.com/news/local/Chan ... 10074.html

Good news:

A missing 44-year-old Chandler man was found at Roosevelt Lake by Gila County Sheriff's Officers, according to Chandler police.

Several fishermen called the Gila County Sheriff's Office and said they saw a man walking around aimlessly.
Officers arrived and confirmed the man to be Steven DeMarlie at 1 p.m. Monday.

DeMarlie was OK, but was mildly dehydrated, officials said.

DeMarlie suffers from dyslexia, autism and a mild mental handicap. He was last seen by family members on Sunday around 11:30 a.m., when he told them he was going hiking in Tonto National Forest with his dog.
His family is en route to his location to pick him up, Chandler police said.

It is unclear how DeMarlie became separated from his vehicle, and if his dog was found with him.
He had made a call to a friend in Chicago at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, and had not been heard from since.

Great! Tonto NF isn't much to go on, so a little bit of luck was in order. I'm glad there was some available.

I couldn't find any further articles indicating what happened to the dog. Anyone?

Glad they found him. Luckily this didn't turn into another Parker Creek with someone wandering away never to be seen again.

Tough_Boots wrote:Parker Creek with someone wandering away never to be seen again.

are you talking about the guy with alzheimer's that disappeared?
i was hiking up there several years ago and SAR was doing a training exercise but also looking for him
they asked me to keep an eye out for anything unusual
think there had also been a fire up there recently if we're talking about the same place
it was kind of unnerving - one of those things that make you question hiking alone most of the time

Don't recall the Parker Creek hiker had any medical problems, he was with a group and lagged behind and so far has not been found.

I'm pretty sure I remember hearing that he did have alzheimers. I'm not sure if the fire hit that area or not. The fire damage I remember up there was mostly near the Aztec Peak summit.

Tough_Boots wrote:I'm pretty sure I remember hearing that he did have alzheimers.

Somehow that didn't come out quite right.

re: the forever missing man @ Parker Creek
The flier that was in a clear plastic sheet-protect, and left along the Parker Creek Trail said he had Alzheimer's. The flier was in pretty rough shape, but so was I courtesy of hosting a party to watch the Suns playoff game the night before. Note to self: do not have a boozy party the night before hiking with Joe B, Tim #2, Bruce, Chaos & JohnLP. The area the flier was in was mostly medium-growth ponderosa and Gambel's oak, and didn't look like it had burned for at least 10 years. Wish I had done more in the Sierra Ancha Mtns when I lived in AZ.

this was probably ten years ago

You're correct Gecko. I think it may have even been further in the past. Hope his family has found some peace