The case of a hiker who went missing at a beach near Vandenberg Air Force Base in early September is taking a bizarre twist.
It turns out that Santa Maria resident Andy Trejo Silva, who was reported missing on Sept. 6 after hiking the rocks at a Point Sal beach, either might be someone else or everyone is searching for the wrong guy.
According to Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Kelly Hoover, a friend who was with the 32-year-old Silva reportedly watched Silva get swept away by a large wave while standing on a rock at Brown’s Beach and reported him missing shortly afterward.
The Sheriff’s Office verified Silva’s identity from a driver’s license that was inside what’s thought to be his backpack found at the beach.
Soon, a multi-agency search for Silva was underway all day that Sunday and Monday. Agencies including the U.S. Coast Guard, the California Highway Patrol, and crews from Vandenberg and Santa Barbara County fire and sheriff’s departments scoured the land and the sea to find Silva but were unsuccessful.
The search came to a halt the next evening, and Silva was nowhere to be found.
Four days later, on Sept. 11, a lead emerged. People claiming to be family members of Silva came to the North County Sheriff’s station and provided authorities with documentation that Silva is actually 41-year-old Ramiro Elorza Sanchez of Santa Maria.
The Sheriff’s Office says it’s in the process of confirming the missing man’s identity. Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Sheriff’s Office at 681-4150 or 681-4171.
This article appears in Sep 24 – Oct 1, 2015.