ST. GEORGE – La Plata County Sheriff’s Office in Colorado conducted several days of searches this past week in the area of Middle Mountain for clues related to the November 2012 disappearance of then 13-year-old Dylan Redwine. Although items were collected during the search, the Sheriff’s Office said in a statement released tonight that it will not comment on the type of items found or their condition given this is an ongoing investigation.
Dylan is the cousin of LaVerkin resident Jason Howard, nephew to Dylan’s mother Elaine Redwine. Jason Howard and his wife, Jamie, have been doing what they can from Southern Utah to keep the public alert and on the lookout for Dylan since he first went missing.
“We hope that they found clues to where Dylan is,” Jamie Howard said. “We have hope Dylan will be home with his Mutti, brother, and the rest of the family soon.”
Recap
Dylan arrived at Durango-La Plata County airport on November 18, 2012, and was picked up by his father, Mark Redwine for a court ordered Thanksgiving holiday visit at Mark Redwine’s house in Bayfield, Colo. Dylan’s father told investigators Dylan was at his house on County Road 500 when he left to do some errands at about 7:30 a.m. on November 19, 2012. He said Dylan was gone when he returned to the house at about 11:30 a.m. that day. Elaine Redwine, Dylan’s mother, reported him missing to La Plata County Sheriff’s Office the following day. What began as a search and rescue mission became characterized as a criminal investigation in December 2012.
The Middle Mountain searches
The Middle Mountain searches began last Saturday and were concluded this afternoon. Sheriff’s Public Information Officer Dan Bender said in a statement tonight that the searches were not based on any recent tips nor new information. They were part of a series of follow-up searches conducted in the Vallecito area since snows melted this Spring.
A variety of items were collected during five days of searching along 12 miles of U.S. Forest Service Middle Mountain Road. Further investigation, interviews, and laboratory testing will determine if any of the items are pertinent to this investigation.
Middle Mountain is located north and within sight of Vallecito Lake, near Dylan’s father’s home. The search area ranges from 8,000 feet to 11,000 feet altitude and consists of deep canyons and dense forest.
About 45 personnel from law enforcement and search and rescue teams deployed and worked over 1,600 man hours during the five-day search which concluded this afternoon. Photos included with this report depict the difficult terrain covered.
Search teams negotiated steep drainages with extensive ground cover as they looked for clues. Sectors were treated as possible crime scenes. At times the searchers were almost shoulder to shoulder as they moved up and down the difficult terrain.
Groups taking part included: La Plata County Sheriff’s Office; Durango Police Department; Bayfield Marshal’s Office; Dept of Homeland Security; U.S. Forest Service; La Plata Search and Rescue; La Plata Mounted Patrol; AZSTAR K-9 teams (Arizona); members of the Southwest Drug Task Force; Necro Search; Upper Pine Fire Protection District; Durango Fire and Rescue Tactical Team; anthropologists and archaeologists from Fort Lewis College; and the FBI.
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Multiple agency personnel and K-9s search for clues in the search for Dylan Redwine who went missing on Nov. 19, 2012, in La Plata County, Colo. Middle Mountain area, Colo., June 22-26, 2013 | Photo courtesy of La Plata County Sheriff's Office
Multiple agency personnel and K-9s search for clues in the search for Dylan Redwine who went missing on Nov. 19, 2012, in La Plata County, Colo. Middle Mountain area, Colo., June 22-26, 2013 | Photo courtesy of La Plata County Sheriff's Office
Multiple agency personnel and K-9s search for clues in the search for Dylan Redwine who went missing on Nov. 19, 2012, in La Plata County, Colo. Middle Mountain area, Colo., June 22-26, 2013 | Photo courtesy of La Plata County Sheriff's Office
Multiple agency personnel and K-9s search for clues in the search for Dylan Redwine who went missing on Nov. 19, 2012, in La Plata County, Colo. Middle Mountain area, Colo., June 22-26, 2013 | Photo courtesy of La Plata County Sheriff's Office
Contacts for anyone with information on Dylan’s disappearance
La Plata County Sheriff’s Office: Telephone investigators Dan Patterson (970-382-7015) or Tom Cowing (970-382-7045).
Tip line local to La Plata County: Telephone 970-382-7511 – tips can be left on an answering machine that is regularly checked by investigators.
Crime Stoppers local to LaPlata County: Telephone 970-247-1112
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children hotline: 800-THE LOST / 800-843-5678. Reference Case No. NCMC1206449.
Durango-La Plata Crime Stoppers.
Missing: Dylan Redwine poster dated Dec. 27, 2012
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Blessings on the searchers and Dylan, wherever he is. I lived there for years and the photos only show the “easy” places on the mountain.