Scared Monkeys Discussion Forum

This MP came up in the Amber Dubois thread. This article says he went missing on Nov 27th but in the NCMEC they have the date as 11/26/2009 so I'm not exactly sure.

WHAT HAPPENED TO MICKEY GUIDRY? SAN MARCOS TEEN WENT MISSING THANKSGIVING WEEKEND NEAR OCOTILLO CAMP IN ANZA-BORREGO; WHEREABOUTS REMAIN A MYSTERY

Questions raised over early handling of case; no major search mounted for weeks after Jeep SUV found disabled 22 miles off-road in remote desert locale

By Miriam Raftery

(http://eastcountymagazine.org/sites/default/files/Guidry%2C%20Mickey%20yearbook%20pic.jpg)

February 25, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) - Grounded for stealing his stepfather's motorcycle and going joyriding November 20th in a Riverside County park, 16-year-old Mickey Guidry (also called Mike or Mikey) took his parents’ blue Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV on Thanksgiving to join friends who were camping at 5454 Split Mountain Road in Ocotillo Wells. He left camp at 3 p.m. on Friday, November 27th—and hasn’t been seen since. Now ECM has learned that this wasn't the first time the teen has gone missing. Sheriff officials are treating the case as a runaway.

 
But the boy's mother, Missy Perucca, believes her son made it out of the desert alive and may now be living elsewhere--and hopes he didn't meet with foul play.  "I just hope someone somewhere knows something and reports it to the police so we can finally have a direction to go in," she said.
 

On Saturday, the 28th, a family off-roading reported the Jeep abandoned, tire worn to the rim, along Fish Creek Wash, 22 miles along a rugged, rocky off-road vehicle trail on November 28th. They spotted it in the morning, but didn’t report it until 5:30 p.m., when Ranger Don Strampfer at Anza Borrego State Park confirmed the Jeep had been reported stolen. Guidry’s stepfather reported the Jeep stolen but declined to file a missing persons report on his son, believing the boy would return as he had in the prior joyriding episode.He'd asked permission to go camping for the weekend with friends, and when his parents refused, he took off in the Jeep.
 

Unaware that a teen was missing, Strampfer waiting until Sunday to visit the site by daylight. He found a key in the ignition and turned it, but the vehicle was not driveable, stuck in sand with one wheel. “The front bumper was torn off.  The front tire was blown off and the rim was melted down. He was hell-bent to get where he was going (assuming Guidry was driving). He couldn’t go any further,” he said, adding that Guidry likely took off on foot—or may have been picked up by passerbys, since it was the businest weekend of the year for off-roading.


Guidry on Mt. PalomarBut Guidry’s wallet, with his high school ID, was left in the vehicle. His cell phone had been shut off after his parents reported the vehicle stolen. Authorities believe the teen may have tried to walk back, or cut across rough terrain around 8 miles to Highway 78.


He had no flashlight. No water. No food. His wallet, ID, and clothes were left behind in the Jeep. No working cell phone. His cell phone, though its service was cut off, was not in the vehicle when it was found.
 

Despite these disturbing circumstances, Sheriff’s officials have treated his disappearance as a teen runaway case. No forensic evidence was gathered from the Jeep or the scene where it was found. Only a cursory search has been done on the boy’s computer. Media was not notified of the missing teen until three weeks after his disappearance—and then only because an aerial search was finally mounted; officials say they issued a release because the public would ask questions about helicopters and dog teams combing the area weeks after the teen vanished.


“There is no explanation as to why the SD Sheriffs didn’t bother to start looking for him until three weeks after I reported him missing,” Perucca, posted in a comment on East County Magazine February 8th. They tell me that they “thought he’d been found already”…but they never verified it."

 
Some authorities dispute that contention; Sheriff’s representatives, Ranger Stampfer, and Guidry’s mother provide conflicting details.

 
On Monday, November 30th, Ranger Stampfer reached Perucca, Guidry’s mother, to inform her the Jeep had been found. He confirmed that she told him her son had taken the Jeep.


She filed a missing person’s report on her son later that same day with the San Diego County Sheriff. Detective Anthony Radicio took the report.

 
“At 4:50 p.m., I received a satellite call from the boy’s stepfather in Afghanistan,” Stampfer disclosed, adding that Guidry’s mother conveyed Stampfer’s request to her husband. Major Douglas Perucca had deployed to Afghanistan on November 28th, the Saturday after his son took the Jeep. “He said Mickey was familiar with that area, because he’d taken him out there multiple times,” Stampfer recalled.

 
On Saturday, December 5th, Stampfer next heard from family friends who came to get the Jeep.

 

“If it was my kid, I would have had my own search team out there 24/7—immediately,” he noted.
 

Stampfer then arranged a meeting with his staff and supervisor, and made flyers to post in the Anza-Borrego area. He next spoke with Mickey’s mother on the 12th. “She called me back to ask if we found a cell phone in the Jeep, and she informed me that her son, Mickey, was still missing,” he said.

 
He received a call from Detective Pat Yates, San Marcos Sheriff Substation, at some point and learned that a major search was being planned. But Stampfer confirmed, “Nobody did a search in at least the first week.”
 

Mickey’s mother  says she made numerous calls to Sheriff’s officials. “They just said, `Oh, he ran away. He’ll come home when he is ready. They pretty much just blew it off until I sent them a letter…I told them I would go higher up, up to the media, whoever was higher because they wouldn’t give it any attention,” she told East County Magazine.

 
Jan Caldwell, spokesperson for Sheriff Bill Gore (photo, left), says a deputy responded “immediately” after the first call was made. “The detective has tried numerous times to speak with the parents, however his calls are never returned,” she said in an e-mail to East County Magazine. “He has even left cards with neighbors.”

 
Caldwell suggested we invite the boy’s mother to meet with us and detectives. She declined, stating she felt it would be a waste of time and that she would rather spend time searching for her son or seeking media coverage of his case. So ECM met with three Sheriff’s representatives on our own.

 
“I can tell you that the husband did not report the kid missing for several days, even though they reported the car stolen,” said Captain Don Crist. “There were several prior incidents like this one.”


One week earlier, detectives learned, Guidry’s stepfather reported his motorcycle stolen. Guidry had taken it joyriding on Ortega Highway in a state park in Riverside County. When it ran out of gas, he walked out and upon meeting up with a park ranger, made up a story that he’d been kidnapped, but escaped. The fib sparked a helicopter search for the kidnappers, until the teen confessed to a Riverside Sheriff’s deputy that the story was not true.

 
According to Detective Patrick Yates, “The Mom reported that had happened before that. Ours is perhaps the third or fourth time that he had taken a vehicle from the parents.” Perucca disputes that there were prior episodes, but did confirm the Riverside situation. “He was just stupid. He was afraid he would get in trouble, so he told them he’d been kidnapped. He didn’t realize it would be such a big problem and start a big search.”

 
Asked if the family got a bill for the search due to the bogus story, she replied, “They said they were going to send us the bill, but they haven’t yet.”



Crist said the stepfather was advised when reporting the Jeep stolen that the boy could be apprehended at gunpoint, since without a missing persons report, deputies would assume the driver to be armed and dangerous. He said it is rare for parents to follow through with a stolen vehicle report by a teen for that reason. “Three times they declined to report him missing,” he said.

 
At first, Perucca said that she and her husband believed Mickey would return home after the weekend, and assumed he was safe with friends. They had the cell phone company turn off his cell phone service as a punishment and planned to ground him when he came home.


But he never returned.

 
Crist defends the department’s actions. “We did take it seriously. We expended a lot of energy,” he said. “Our detective went to the house. He even left cards with neighbors. We even tried to call the father in Afghanistan on his cell phone…She [the mother] even said `Quit calling my neighbors.’”


But Perucca tells a different story. “They never said they wanted him to contact them,” she said of her husband. “They never once asked for his e-mail.” She said she stopped responding to the detective who came to the house because she didn’t believe he was taking the case seriously.

 
“I told him to assign the case to somebody else—he kept saying `Your son is a runaway and we’re not going to look for him. After those three weeks, I told him `Don’t call me and don’t go to my house anymore. I wanted the case to go to someone who would actually go look for my son….How do they know he didn’t get picked up by some pervert and buried in the desert?”

 
She said she had friends on dirt bikes go search the desert for her son. She contacted the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and had flyers made. Guidry is listed there as an "endangred runaway."  Mickey's mother said officials in local law enforcement tried to discourage her from putting up posters. “They said not to waste my time.”
 

On December 14th, Yates said he got a call from the boy's mother, who hung up when he put her on hold for “less than 30 seconds” to respond to Deputy Radicia. He says he called all of her phone numbers and the stepfather’s several times over the next three days, then knocked on neighbors’ doors.
 

He said when the boy was first reported missing, the department viewed it as a “standard runaway case.”  There are more than one million missing kids, he added.
 

Asked how many runaways return within the first 48 hours or so, he acknowledged, “99%.” Most of the rest are parental abductions, he confirmed.
 

Asked why a disabled vehicle abandoned in a remote desert location wouldn’t trigger concern that the boy may have come to harm, he replied, “People dump vehicles in the middle of nowhere all the time.”


Asked why the department finally issued a press release, posted quietly on its website on December 17 or 18, he replied, “Generally when there is a lot of activity in the field, the public will ask questions.”

 
As for why Search and Rescue operations were not commenced until December 17th, with a major search not held until December 20--over three weeks after the vehicle was found--Yates maintained that there was a search “immediately” with “units on the ground and in the air. He said Rangers in Anza Borrego had also done some initial searching.


When asked about Yates’ statement, Stampfer expressed surprise. “I do circles around for about a hundred yards and follow prints, but it’s nothing like a major search with helicopters and dogs.” He was not certain when the first air search or use of dogs occurred, but confirmed, “Nobody did a search in at least the first week.”


Perucca is upset that the Sheriff has refused to conduct forensic tests on the vehicle. “They never looked at the car,” she said, adding that rain would have destroyed any prints long before the Sheriff’s searches began weeks after Mickey disappeared. “My friends brought it on a flat bed truck and took it home…They never once said can we look at the car.”


Yates said he examined the vehicle, but didn’t say where. Crist said no forensics would be taken because “there was no evidence of a crime.” He added that there could be hundreds of prints, adding “We could bog down the system looking for prints on this and prevent a rape case from getting forensics done…We’re not going to do anything further.”


Told of Yates statement, Perucca responded with anger. “He only looked at the outside of the car. He never looked at the inside. I had it locked. The alarm was set. From the time we reported it missing, they had an entire week to go out to see the car in the desert and they never did….I think what they’re realizing now is they did wrong in this initial thing and they’re trying to cover their butts.”


Stampfer said he looked inside the vehicle and didn’t note anything obviously amiss, such as blood stains. He expressed surprise when told that the Sheriff’s office has declined to take fingerprints, though he concurred with Yates’ contention that it would be hard to find a suspect’s prints when so many other people had been in the vehicle.

 
Donald A. Parker, sergeant in charge of Search and Rescue operations for the San Diego Sheriff, says he did not find out about the missing teen until December 16th. He and Astrea helicopter pilots flew out the next day but found nothing, other than tracks in the dirt where the Jeep had been (it was removed by friends of the family), and a white blanket that may have been Guidry’s in a wash northeast of the Jeep site.

 
In coming days, more searches were done by air and on foot. Searchers used Google Earth, knowing they were likely searching for a body after so many weeks. They focused on the route from Split Mountain to the Jeep’s end location at longitude N. 33, 02, 55, W. 116, 01, 54, as well as the route Guidry may have taken on foot if he’d struck out over rugged, boulder-strewn terrain toward Highway 78, visible from a rise near where the blanket was found.
 

On December 20th, with weather down to 25 degrees, a major search was finally launched with helicopters, Parker, Yates, and about 50 trained volunteer searchers. San Diego’s Search and Rescue has a national reputation for excellence, said Parker. “They all get training. We have one academy a year and we’re always looking for volunteers.” Volunteer searchers include the CEO of Scripps Healthcare, former police, former and current military members, nurses, paramedics, software engineers, and stay-at-home grandmothers.
 

The Sheriff’s department also brought three or four teams of cadaver dogs. Even after so many weeks, a body would still have a detectable odor, said Parker, who recalled finding one body after six months. They searched Harper Flat, where a searcher reported a smell, but found nothing other than numerous footprints that may have belonged to illegal border crosses who frequent the area.

 
Searches were also conducted using motorized units, including quad units from the west to Pinon Valley, where a drop-off is so steep that four-wheel drivers must winch theselves up from the command post. Motorized vehicles searched along the route from 78 towards where the blanket was found, but could not go the final portion due to impassable terrain.


“We found zero—except the blanket,” Parker said.

 
The team did spot mountain tracks, and even made efforts to find where a mountain lion might have holed up. “It’s literally a needle in a haystack,” said Parker, who added that given that Guidry is 5 foot 10 and weighed 155 pounds, a mountain lion attack would be unlikely—unless he fell and was injured.

 
Parker hopes to go back with a borrowed unmanned aircraft, which is less costly than a helicopter costing $1,000 an hour. The same aircraft has been used in the search for Amber DuBois—the missing Escondido teen whose disappearance has been widely publicized, even making national TV news, in stark contrast to the case of Mickey Guidry.


Parker said limited resources made it impossible to search the 200 square miles of very rugged terrain. “There are boulders the size of this table,” he said of one wash where an earthquake struck not long ago.

 
“Do I think he’s out there?” he paused. “I really don’t know.”

 
Sheriff’s say four basic scenarios are possible. If Guidry tried to walk out, he may have died from exposure or injury, and simply hasn’t been found. A positive sign is that no buzzards were spotted circling in the vicinity visible from a ranger station, and all such sightings are investigated due to border crossers and off-roaders who often run into trouble in the desert.


The second scenario is a staged disappearance, in which the Jeep was abandoned on purpose and Guidry hooked up with friends who spirited him away. But he couldn’t have known his parents would shut off cell service, and had no way to communicate with anyone after leaving the campground.

 

Third, he could have met with foul play. Perhaps someone met him at a gas station and forced or convinced him tp go 22 miles into the middle of nowhere. Or he drove on his own, got stuck, then set off on foot or got a ride with someone who had bad intentions.  If so, he could be anywhere--killed, or held captive, like Steven Staynor or Jaycee Dugard.

 

The fourth possibility is that he hiked out (or got a ride) and left voluntarily with whoever picked him up. If he made it to Highway 78,depending in which direction he went next, he might ridden to Julian, Borrego Springs, Brawley, El Centro, the Imperial Valley or points further east. It is also possible that he returned to the San Diego area, or headed out of state.

 

Crist thinks Guidry may well have been able to reach Highway 78, or get a ride. “He could have gotten out of there easily. There were several options,” he asid.

 

“We’re sure he made it out,” Perucca told East county Magazine, “but what happened after that? All the things that cross your mind…He’s very impressionable. There were no troubles with drugs or alcohol,” she said, adding that she has searched his room in the past to make sure. She believes he had help to steal the motorcycle, and doesn’t believe he would plan to runaway on his own.

 

She said she has spoken with her son’s friends, who continue calling and texting her. “I have all his phone records, everyone he called.” She said she spoke with the girl and her family that Mickey camped with, and that the mother confirmed her daughter’s version of events. Mickey’s mother referred to the girl as his “girlfriend.” She confirmed that Mickey had reportedly told that family a tall tale, indicating his Dad was going to Iraq.

 

“I don’t know where he came up with this stuff—it’s totally out of the blue,” she said. “He wasn’t always like that. He wasn’t a big liar other than little stuff, like did you clean the cat box? Yeah Mom, if he was feeling lazy.” She said Mickey was slated to have a meeting with a psychiatrist, however, because of the earlier stolen motorcycle incident, but never made the appointment since he disappeared before.

 

Perucca said the family told her Mickey was wearing a white jacket, a detail she found puzzling. He didn’t own a white jacket and had no money to buy one, she noted.

 

ECM called the”girlfriend”, who declined to speak with us. We did speak with the girl’s mother, who asked that the family’s names not be published. Sheriff officials say the girl’s family was cooperative, but the girl’s mother seemed less-than-candid with ECM.

 

“He was there with us,” the woman said. Asked when he left the camp, she said she couldn’t remember the day, but noted, “As far as we know, he was going home.”

 

Asked if they had any reason to believe he would runaway, she replied, “Absolutely none, not a thing…We just met him so we had no clue what he was like, didn’t know anything.” She insisted that her daughter barely knew Mickey and that they were just school friends.

 

Yates said the family told authorities a somewhat different story. “They were snowed—led to believe by Mickey that his family was abandoning him; he told them they were splitting up and he was going to a brother in Los Angeles. There is no brother, no siblings, and according to his family he was not told to get out.”

 

Mickey showed up unannounced at the family’s campsite at the Ocotillo Wells trailer park, he said, adding that the family told authorities they gave Mickey gas money to get home. It is unknown whether or not he stopped for gas before heading out on the rugged road, which ran right by the campground, or whether he might have met up with someone – a stranger, perhaps—at a gas station or someplace else before heading out into the rugged terrain—if in fact he was still driving the vehicle at that time.

 

ECM asked the girl’s mother what date she learned that Mickey was missing. She said she didn’t recall. We asked when she was first questioned by authorities. “I don’t recall if it was a day or two later, or two weeks later,” she said. She claimed she didn’t remember if she had talked to Mickey’s Mom. “I don’t recall talking to her directly. She talked to my daughter,” she said. “I feel really bad that he hasn’t shown up. As a mother I would be going crazy,” she added.

 

She said she found it odd that there was so little media coverage, noting that an article in the Borreo Sun didn’t run until three or four weeks after Mickey disappeared. “As a Mom, I would have been on the news two or three days after my daughter was gone; after one day I would have been calling trying to find out.”

 

A Google search has turned up no other media reports on Mickey’s disappearance, other than East County Magazine’s December 22 article. Not one. (Note: Our story indicates the Sheriff announcement of Mickey being missing was made December 18. The Sheriff’s office has since removed that press release from its website. The Sheriff declined our request for written records on this case, citing a pending investigation and the fact that we requested records more than 30 days after the disappearance. )

 

Josh Watkins, a friend of Mickey’s, said he last saw Mickey shortly before Thanksgiving, about a week before he disappeared. “He’d ridden his Dad’s motorcycle to school,” he said. “I don’t know who he went camping with; normally he calls me to invite me to stuff like that.”

 

He said Mickey was a loner who didn’t have many close friends and hung out with “random” people after school.

 

Asked if there was anyone Mickey was close to, he named the girl whose family Mickey camped with the last night he was seen alive. He described her as “really close to him” and added, “She sits next to me in class. She was calm about it; she seemed worried but she wasn’t extremely freaked out.” He said the girl told him she hadn’t seen Mickey since about a week before he went missing. “I asked her if she knew anything and she said she didn’t.”

 

He said he didn’t believe Mickey was involved with drugs or gangs, and that Mickey had told him how he and his stepdad “always rode motorcycles together; it sounded like he was having fun.”

 

No one interviewed for this story expressed any knowledge of any serious problems for Mickey at home, other than the vehicle thefts. But Watkins noted, “He hung out with some trouble-makers; he just liked to get into trouble, do like dumb stuff.” Asked for an example he said, “Like making bombs out of household items just for fun,” but added he never thought Mickey would do anything threatening or “too dangerous.”

 

He said a Sheriff’s official called him about a week after Mickey’s disappearance, but he didn’t return the call. A couple of weeks later they called back and talked with him.

 

Sheriff’s officials don’t know what happened to Mickey Guidry. But they assured, “nothing lends itself to foul play involving the family, because the kid dictated his own moves.” Nor do they suspect the family that Mickey Guidry camped with on the last day he was seen alive.

 

Mickey did not yet have a driver’s license. The Jeep, registered in his stepfather’s name, was a gift for his birthday in August and was to be transferred to his name once he obtained his license.

 

“That he made it this far is amazing,” Yates said of the place where the Jeep became stranded. Strampfer concurred that it would take considerable driving skill to navigate the treacherous dirt off-road for so many miles.

 

Mickey’s mother expressed frustration that school officials at San Marcos High School have refused to give her information. “They won’t talk to me at all,” she says. “They say talk to the principal, but he won’t talk to me either.”

 

Sheriff’s officials say that teachers and school officials have been cooperative.

 

East County Magazine called the school and asked to talk with school officials, teachers, and anyone else who knew Mickey. We also asked for public records on when the school was contacted by Sheriff’s officials, or whether the school reported Mickey missing. One official returned our call, only to inform us that tersely, “I’m not going to share any information. You can speak to the parents. You can’t speak with any of the staff members here on record,” he added, citing board policy. “And I don’t want to be quoted in any publication I will take you to court if it’s public.”

 

Mickey’s mother expressed frustration, and said she’s more than willing to have records on Mickey made public if it could shed any light on his whereabouts, or anyone who might know. “At this point, to me, he doesn’t have any privacy. He needs to be in the media. Somebody has to have seen him at some point.”

 

Asked where he might have wanted to go, if he left voluntarily, she said he had wanted to go back to the family’s former home in Arkansas. But she’s notified a realtor there to keep an eye on the home, which was vacant for a couple of months, with no results. Mickey enjoyed Future Farmers of America (FFA) and ROTC courses at school, though his grades had slipped, prompting the grounding before he took off on Thanksgiving, she said. He enjoys working with small engines—lawn mowers and cars—so possibly could seek work in a repair shop if he did run away, which she believes is not likely.

 

Sheriff’s deputies recently came to the home to take DNA samples of her son and herself, also requesting dental records. Sheriff’s officials say they have searched hospitals and morgues in adjacent counties, but no match has been found.

 

They recently took Mickey’s computer and a cursory-level search found nothing. Asked when a deeper search would be completed, they would not give a date. “It’s a slow process…very bogged down, and we have to prioritize our cases,” Yates said.

 

He suggested that putting up flyers for Mickey Guidry could be counter-productive for the department. “You start putting these out with every runaway and it hurts,” he said, suggesting that the public would stop responding to posters for children believed in imminent danger if too many runaway cases are publicized.

 

He suggested that Guidry, like the fabled boy who cried wolf, may have been responsible for his own fate—and for law enforcement not considering foul play a likely motive.

 

“Mickey was the last one to have control over his life,” Yates concluded. “The last person who spoke to him told him, `Mickey, go home.’”

 

Mickey has sandy hair and blue eyes. His birthday is August 3, 1993. He may have been wearing blue or black shorts or Dickies jeans with blue high-top tennis shoes.

 

Asked what would happen to Mickey if he should return home, Yates “Probably nothing,” added that it’s unlikely the family would press chargers for the stolen vehicle, as they would merely be glad to have their son safely home.


 

Perucca, a scuba diving instructor (photo, right), says she is not working because of Mickey’s disapearance. Mickey’s stepfather asked for and received permission from the military to come home early on compassionate leave, and was slated to arrive home last night.

 

“I just can’t handle this anymore,” Mickey’s mother said, her voice breaking.

 
Detective Yates said he has “zero leads” and encourages anyone with information to call him at (760)510-5233.

http://eastcountymagazine.org/node/2826

 

http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewChildDetail&caseNum=1137889&orgPrefix=NCMC&seqNum=1&caseLang=en_US&searchLang=en_US
NCMEC Poster

Listed as endangered runaway.

My goodness this is like a she said/he said episode. Mean while there is a person missing.

The actual town of Ocotillo Wells is just a tad south of the address reported in the first post.

The map shows:
From: where he was last seen/5454 Split Mountain Rd Borrego Springs, CA 92004

To: where the Jeep was found/Fish Creek Wash, Julian, San Diego, California 92036

distance 15 miles
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl&q=5454%20Split%20Mountain%20Rd%20Borrego%20Springs%2C%20CA%2092004%20to%20Fish%20Creek%20Wash%2C%20Julian%2C%20San%20Diego%2C%20California%2092036

This missing persons case could be a possible kidnapping case...I hope somebody here will recognize him or find some good information that will help find this teen, he is not considered a runaway according to his mother. I don't think he is a runaway, he has already passed that age I hope.

WHAT HAPPENED TO MICKEY GUIDRY? SAN MARCOS TEEN WENT MISSING THANKSGIVING WEEKEND NEAR OCOTILLO CAMP IN ANZA-BORREGO; WHEREABOUTS REMAIN A MYSTERY http://eastcountymagazine.org/node/2826 (http://eastcountymagazine.org/node/2826)
More February 2010 Articles News Mickey Guidry Mike Guidry Mikey Guidry missing children missing teen Sheriff Bill Gore
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Questions raised over early handling of case; no major search mounted for weeks after Jeep SUV found disabled 22 miles off-road in remote desert locale
 

“Thanksgiving weekend is the busiest of the year. Tens of thousands of people were in the desert…It’s likely someone would have come across him. If it was at night and he was on foot, someone could have given him a ride.” -- Detective Patrick Yates

 

By Miriam Raftery

 

February 25, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) - Grounded for stealing his stepfather's motorcycle and going joyriding November 20th in a Riverside County park, 16-year-old Mickey Guidry (also called Mike or Mikey) took his parents’ blue Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV on Thanksgiving to join friends who were camping at 5454 Split Mountain Road in Ocotillo Wells. He left camp at 3 p.m. on Friday, November 27th—and hasn’t been seen since. Now ECM has learned that this wasn't the first time the teen has gone missing. Sheriff officials are treating the case as a runaway.

 

But the boy's mother, Missy Perucca, believes her son made it out of the desert alive and may now be living elsewhere--and hopes he didn't meet with foul play.  "I just hope someone somewhere knows something and reports it to the police so we can finally have a direction to go in," she said.

 

On Saturday, the 28th, a family off-roading reported the Jeep abandoned, tire worn to the rim, along Fish Creek Wash, 22 miles along a rugged, rocky off-road vehicle trail on November 28th. They spotted it in the morning, but didn’t report it until 5:30 p.m., when Ranger Don Strampfer at Anza Borrego State Park confirmed the Jeep had been reported stolen. Guidry’s stepfather reported the Jeep stolen but declined to file a missing persons report on his son, believing the boy would return as he had in the prior joyriding episode.He'd asked permission to go camping for the weekend with friends, and when his parents refused, he took off in the Jeep.

 

Unaware that a teen was missing, Strampfer waiting until Sunday to visit the site by daylight. He found a key in the ignition and turned it, but the vehicle was not driveable, stuck in sand with one wheel. “The front bumper was torn off.  The front tire was blown off and the rim was melted down. He was hell-bent to get where he was going (assuming Guidry was driving). He couldn’t go any further,” he said, adding that Guidry likely took off on foot—or may have been picked up by passerbys, since it was the businest weekend of the year for off-roading.

 


Guidry on Mt. PalomarBut Guidry’s wallet, with his high school ID, was left in the vehicle. His cell phone had been shut off after his parents reported the vehicle stolen. Authorities believe the teen may have tried to walk back, or cut across rough terrain around 8 miles to Highway 78.

 

He had no flashlight. No water. No food. His wallet, ID, and clothes were left behind in the Jeep. No working cell phone. His cell phone, though its service was cut off, was not in the vehicle when it was found.
 

 

Despite these disturbing circumstances, Sheriff’s officials have treated his disappearance as a teen runaway case. No forensic evidence was gathered from the Jeep or the scene where it was found. Only a cursory search has been done on the boy’s computer. Media was not notified of the missing teen until three weeks after his disappearance—and then only because an aerial search was finally mounted; officials say they issued a release because the public would ask questions about helicopters and dog teams combing the area weeks after the teen vanished.

 

“There is no explanation as to why the SD Sheriffs didn’t bother to start looking for him until three weeks after I reported him missing,” Perucca, posted in a comment on East County Magazine February 8th. They tell me that they “thought he’d been found already”…but they never verified it."

 

Some authorities dispute that contention; Sheriff’s representatives, Ranger Stampfer, and Guidry’s mother provide conflicting details.

 

On Monday, November 30th, Ranger Stampfer reached Perucca, Guidry’s mother, to inform her the Jeep had been found. He confirmed that she told him her son had taken the Jeep.

 

She filed a missing person’s report on her son later that same day with the San Diego County Sheriff. Detective Anthony Radicio took the report.

 

“At 4:50 p.m., I received a satellite call from the boy’s stepfather in Afghanistan,” Stampfer disclosed, adding that Guidry’s mother conveyed Stampfer’s request to her husband. Major Douglas Perucca had deployed to Afghanistan on November 28th, the Saturday after his son took the Jeep. “He said Mickey was familiar with that area, because he’d taken him out there multiple times,” Stampfer recalled.

 

On Saturday, December 5th, Stampfer next heard from family friends who came to get the Jeep.

 

“If it was my kid, I would have had my own search team out there 24/7—immediately,” he noted.

 

Stampfer then arranged a meeting with his staff and supervisor, and made flyers to post in the Anza-Borrego area. He next spoke with Mickey’s mother on the 12th. “She called me back to ask if we found a cell phone in the Jeep, and she informed me that her son, Mickey, was still missing,” he said.

 

He received a call from Detective Pat Yates, San Marcos Sheriff Substation, at some point and learned that a major search was being planned. But Stampfer confirmed, “Nobody did a search in at least the first week.”

 

Mickey’s mother  says she made numerous calls to Sheriff’s officials. “They just said, `Oh, he ran away. He’ll come home when he is ready. They pretty much just blew it off until I sent them a letter…I told them I would go higher up, up to the media, whoever was higher because they wouldn’t give it any attention,” she told East County Magazine.

 

Jan Caldwell, spokesperson for Sheriff Bill Gore (photo, left), says a deputy responded “immediately” after the first call was made. “The detective has tried numerous times to speak with the parents, however his calls are never returned,” she said in an e-mail to East County Magazine. “He has even left cards with neighbors.”

 

Caldwell suggested we invite the boy’s mother to meet with us and detectives. She declined, stating she felt it would be a waste of time and that she would rather spend time searching for her son or seeking media coverage of his case. So ECM met with three Sheriff’s representatives on our own.

 

“I can tell you that the husband did not report the kid missing for several days, even though they reported the car stolen,” said Captain Don Crist. “There were several prior incidents like this one.”

 

One week earlier, detectives learned, Guidry’s stepfather reported his motorcycle stolen. Guidry had taken it joyriding on Ortega Highway in a state park in Riverside County. When it ran out of gas, he walked out and upon meeting up with a park ranger, made up a story that he’d been kidnapped, but escaped. The fib sparked a helicopter search for the kidnappers, until the teen confessed to a Riverside Sheriff’s deputy that the story was not true.

 

According to Detective Patrick Yates, “The Mom reported that had happened before that. Ours is perhaps the third or fourth time that he had taken a vehicle from the parents.” Perucca disputes that there were prior episodes, but did confirm the Riverside situation. “He was just stupid. He was afraid he would get in trouble, so he told them he’d been kidnapped. He didn’t realize it would be such a big problem and start a big search.”

 

Asked if the family got a bill for the search due to the bogus story, she replied, “They said they were going to send us the bill, but they haven’t yet.”

 

Crist said the stepfather was advised when reporting the Jeep stolen that the boy could be apprehended at gunpoint, since without a missing persons report, deputies would assume the driver to be armed and dangerous. He said it is rare for parents to follow through with a stolen vehicle report by a teen for that reason. “Three times they declined to report him missing,” he said.

 

At first, Perucca said that she and her husband believed Mickey would return home after the weekend, and assumed he was safe with friends. They had the cell phone company turn off his cell phone service as a punishment and planned to ground him when he came home.

 

But he never returned.

 

Crist defends the department’s actions. “We did take it seriously. We expended a lot of energy,” he said. “Our detective went to the house. He even left cards with neighbors. We even tried to call the father in Afghanistan on his cell phone…She [the mother] even said `Quit calling my neighbors.’”

 

But Perucca tells a different story. “They never said they wanted him to contact them,” she said of her husband. “They never once asked for his e-mail.” She said she stopped responding to the detective who came to the house because she didn’t believe he was taking the case seriously.

 

“I told him to assign the case to somebody else—he kept saying `Your son is a runaway and we’re not going to look for him. After those three weeks, I told him `Don’t call me and don’t go to my house anymore. I wanted the case to go to someone who would actually go look for my son….How do they know he didn’t get picked up by some pervert and buried in the desert?”

 

She said she had friends on dirt bikes go search the desert for her son. She contacted the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and had flyers made. Guidry is listed there as an "endangred runaway."  Mickey's mother said officials in local law enforcement tried to discourage her from putting up posters. “They said not to waste my time.”

 

 

On December 14th, Yates said he got a call from the boy's mother, who hung up when he put her on hold for “less than 30 seconds” to respond to Deputy Radicia. He says he called all of her phone numbers and the stepfather’s several times over the next three days, then knocked on neighbors’ doors.

 

He said when the boy was first reported missing, the department viewed it as a “standard runaway case.”  There are more than one million missing kids, he added.

 

Asked how many runaways return within the first 48 hours or so, he acknowledged, “99%.” Most of the rest are parental abductions, he confirmed.

 

Asked why a disabled vehicle abandoned in a remote desert location wouldn’t trigger concern that the boy may have come to harm, he replied, “People dump vehicles in the middle of nowhere all the time.”

 

Asked why the department finally issued a press release, posted quietly on its website on December 17 or 18, he replied, “Generally when there is a lot of activity in the field, the public will ask questions.”

 

As for why Search and Rescue operations were not commenced until December 17th, with a major search not held until December 20--over three weeks after the vehicle was found--Yates maintained that there was a search “immediately” with “units on the ground and in the air. He said Rangers in Anza Borrego had also done some initial searching.

 

When asked about Yates’ statement, Stampfer expressed surprise. “I do circles around for about a hundred yards and follow prints, but it’s nothing like a major search with helicopters and dogs.” He was not certain when the first air search or use of dogs occurred, but confirmed, “Nobody did a search in at least the first week.”

 

Perucca is upset that the Sheriff has refused to conduct forensic tests on the vehicle. “They never looked at the car,” she said, adding that rain would have destroyed any prints long before the Sheriff’s searches began weeks after Mickey disappeared. “My friends brought it on a flat bed truck and took it home…They never once said can we look at the car.”

 

Yates said he examined the vehicle, but didn’t say where. Crist said no forensics would be taken because “there was no evidence of a crime.” He added that there could be hundreds of prints, adding “We could bog down the system looking for prints on this and prevent a rape case from getting forensics done…We’re not going to do anything further.”

 

Told of Yates statement, Perucca responded with anger. “He only looked at the outside of the car. He never looked at the inside. I had it locked. The alarm was set. From the time we reported it missing, they had an entire week to go out to see the car in the desert and they never did….I think what they’re realizing now is they did wrong in this initial thing and they’re trying to cover their butts.”

 

Stampfer said he looked inside the vehicle and didn’t note anything obviously amiss, such as blood stains. He expressed surprise when told that the Sheriff’s office has declined to take fingerprints, though he concurred with Yates’ contention that it would be hard to find a suspect’s prints when so many other people had been in the vehicle.

 

Donald A. Parker, sergeant in charge of Search and Rescue operations for the San Diego Sheriff, says he did not find out about the missing teen until December 16th. He and Astrea helicopter pilots flew out the next day but found nothing, other than tracks in the dirt where the Jeep had been (it was removed by friends of the family), and a white blanket that may have been Guidry’s in a wash northeast of the Jeep site.

 

In coming days, more searches were done by air and on foot. Searchers used Google Earth, knowing they were likely searching for a body after so many weeks. They focused on the route from Split Mountain to the Jeep’s end location at longitude N. 33, 02, 55, W. 116, 01, 54, as well as the route Guidry may have taken on foot if he’d struck out over rugged, boulder-strewn terrain toward Highway 78, visible from a rise near where the blanket was found.

 

On December 20th, with weather down to 25 degrees, a major search was finally launched with helicopters, Parker, Yates, and about 50 trained volunteer searchers. San Diego’s Search and Rescue has a national reputation for excellence, said Parker. “They all get training. We have one academy a year and we’re always looking for volunteers.” Volunteer searchers include the CEO of Scripps Healthcare, former police, former and current military members, nurses, paramedics, software engineers, and stay-at-home grandmothers.
 

The Sheriff’s department also brought three or four teams of cadaver dogs. Even after so many weeks, a body would still have a detectable odor, said Parker, who recalled finding one body after six months. They searched Harper Flat, where a searcher reported a smell, but found nothing other than numerous footprints that may have belonged to illegal border crosses who frequent the area.

 

Searches were also conducted using motorized units, including quad units from the west to Pinon Valley, where a drop-off is so steep that four-wheel drivers must winch theselves up from the command post. Motorized vehicles searched along the route from 78 towards where the blanket was found, but could not go the final portion due to impassable terrain.

 

“We found zero—except the blanket,” Parker said.

 

The team did spot mountain tracks, and even made efforts to find where a mountain lion might have holed up. “It’s literally a needle in a haystack,” said Parker, who added that given that Guidry is 5 foot 10 and weighed 155 pounds, a mountain lion attack would be unlikely—unless he fell and was injured.

 

Parker hopes to go back with a borrowed unmanned aircraft, which is less costly than a helicopter costing $1,000 an hour. The same aircraft has been used in the search for Amber DuBois—the missing Escondido teen whose disappearance has been widely publicized, even making national TV news, in stark contrast to the case of Mickey Guidry.

 

Parker said limited resources made it impossible to search the 200 square miles of very rugged terrain. “There are boulders the size of this table,” he said of one wash where an earthquake struck not long ago.

 

“Do I think he’s out there?” he paused. “I really don’t know.”

 

Sheriff’s say four basic scenarios are possible. If Guidry tried to walk out, he may have died from exposure or injury, and simply hasn’t been found. A positive sign is that no buzzards were spotted circling in the vicinity visible from a ranger station, and all such sightings are investigated due to border crossers and off-roaders who often run into trouble in the desert.

 

The second scenario is a staged disappearance, in which the Jeep was abandoned on purpose and Guidry hooked up with friends who spirited him away. But he couldn’t have known his parents would shut off cell service, and had no way to communicate with anyone after leaving the campground.

 

Third, he could have met with foul play. Perhaps someone met him at a gas station and forced or convinced him tp go 22 miles into the middle of nowhere. Or he drove on his own, got stuck, then set off on foot or got a ride with someone who had bad intentions.  If so, he could be anywhere--killed, or held captive, like Steven Staynor or Jaycee Dugard.

 

The fourth possibility is that he hiked out (or got a ride) and left voluntarily with whoever picked him up. If he made it to Highway 78,depending in which direction he went next, he might ridden to Julian, Borrego Springs, Brawley, El Centro, the Imperial Valley or points further east. It is also possible that he returned to the San Diego area, or headed out of state.

 

 

Crist thinks Guidry may well have been able to reach Highway 78, or get a ride. “He could have gotten out of there easily. There were several options,” he asid.

 

“We’re sure he made it out,” Perucca told East county Magazine, “but what happened after that? All the things that cross your mind…He’s very impressionable. There were no troubles with drugs or alcohol,” she said, adding that she has searched his room in the past to make sure. She believes he had help to steal the motorcycle, and doesn’t believe he would plan to runaway on his own.

 

She said she has spoken with her son’s friends, who continue calling and texting her. “I have all his phone records, everyone he called.” She said she spoke with the girl and her family that Mickey camped with, and that the mother confirmed her daughter’s version of events. Mickey’s mother referred to the girl as his “girlfriend.” She confirmed that Mickey had reportedly told that family a tall tale, indicating his Dad was going to Iraq.

 

“I don’t know where he came up with this stuff—it’s totally out of the blue,” she said. “He wasn’t always like that. He wasn’t a big liar other than little stuff, like did you clean the cat box? Yeah Mom, if he was feeling lazy.” She said Mickey was slated to have a meeting with a psychiatrist, however, because of the earlier stolen motorcycle incident, but never made the appointment since he disappeared before.

 

Perucca said the family told her Mickey was wearing a white jacket, a detail she found puzzling. He didn’t own a white jacket and had no money to buy one, she noted.

 

ECM called the”girlfriend”, who declined to speak with us. We did speak with the girl’s mother, who asked that the family’s names not be published. Sheriff officials say the girl’s family was cooperative, but the girl’s mother seemed less-than-candid with ECM.

 

“He was there with us,” the woman said. Asked when he left the camp, she said she couldn’t remember the day, but noted, “As far as we know, he was going home.”

 

Asked if they had any reason to believe he would runaway, she replied, “Absolutely none, not a thing…We just met him so we had no clue what he was like, didn’t know anything.” She insisted that her daughter barely knew Mickey and that they were just school friends.

 

Yates said the family told authorities a somewhat different story. “They were snowed—led to believe by Mickey that his family was abandoning him; he told them they were splitting up and he was going to a brother in Los Angeles. There is no brother, no siblings, and according to his family he was not told to get out.”

 

Mickey showed up unannounced at the family’s campsite at the Ocotillo Wells trailer park, he said, adding that the family told authorities they gave Mickey gas money to get home. It is unknown whether or not he stopped for gas before heading out on the rugged road, which ran right by the campground, or whether he might have met up with someone – a stranger, perhaps—at a gas station or someplace else before heading out into the rugged terrain—if in fact he was still driving the vehicle at that time.

 

ECM asked the girl’s mother what date she learned that Mickey was missing. She said she didn’t recall. We asked when she was first questioned by authorities. “I don’t recall if it was a day or two later, or two weeks later,” she said. She claimed she didn’t remember if she had talked to Mickey’s Mom. “I don’t recall talking to her directly. She talked to my daughter,” she said. “I feel really bad that he hasn’t shown up. As a mother I would be going crazy,” she added.

 

She said she found it odd that there was so little media coverage, noting that an article in the Borreo Sun didn’t run until three or four weeks after Mickey disappeared. “As a Mom, I would have been on the news two or three days after my daughter was gone; after one day I would have been calling trying to find out.”

 

A Google search has turned up no other media reports on Mickey’s disappearance, other than East County Magazine’s December 22 article. Not one. (Note: Our story indicates the Sheriff announcement of Mickey being missing was made December 18. The Sheriff’s office has since removed that press release from its website. The Sheriff declined our request for written records on this case, citing a pending investigation and the fact that we requested records more than 30 days after the disappearance. )

 

Josh Watkins, a friend of Mickey’s, said he last saw Mickey shortly before Thanksgiving, about a week before he disappeared. “He’d ridden his Dad’s motorcycle to school,” he said. “I don’t know who he went camping with; normally he calls me to invite me to stuff like that.”

 

He said Mickey was a loner who didn’t have many close friends and hung out with “random” people after school.

 

Asked if there was anyone Mickey was close to, he named the girl whose family Mickey camped with the last night he was seen alive. He described her as “really close to him” and added, “She sits next to me in class. She was calm about it; she seemed worried but she wasn’t extremely freaked out.” He said the girl told him she hadn’t seen Mickey since about a week before he went missing. “I asked her if she knew anything and she said she didn’t.”

 

He said he didn’t believe Mickey was involved with drugs or gangs, and that Mickey had told him how he and his stepdad “always rode motorcycles together; it sounded like he was having fun.”

 

No one interviewed for this story expressed any knowledge of any serious problems for Mickey at home, other than the vehicle thefts. But Watkins noted, “He hung out with some trouble-makers; he just liked to get into trouble, do like dumb stuff.” Asked for an example he said, “Like making bombs out of household items just for fun,” but added he never thought Mickey would do anything threatening or “too dangerous.”

 

He said a Sheriff’s official called him about a week after Mickey’s disappearance, but he didn’t return the call. A couple of weeks later they called back and talked with him.

 

Sheriff’s officials don’t know what happened to Mickey Guidry. But they assured, “nothing lends itself to foul play involving the family, because the kid dictated his own moves.” Nor do they suspect the family that Mickey Guidry camped with on the last day he was seen alive.

 

Mickey did not yet have a driver’s license. The Jeep, registered in his stepfather’s name, was a gift for his birthday in August and was to be transferred to his name once he obtained his license.

 

“That he made it this far is amazing,” Yates said of the place where the Jeep became stranded. Strampfer concurred that it would take considerable driving skill to navigate the treacherous dirt off-road for so many miles.

 

Mickey’s mother expressed frustration that school officials at San Marcos High School have refused to give her information. “They won’t talk to me at all,” she says. “They say talk to the principal, but he won’t talk to me either.”

 

Sheriff’s officials say that teachers and school officials have been cooperative.

 

East County Magazine called the school and asked to talk with school officials, teachers, and anyone else who knew Mickey. We also asked for public records on when the school was contacted by Sheriff’s officials, or whether the school reported Mickey missing. One official returned our call, only to inform us that tersely, “I’m not going to share any information. You can speak to the parents. You can’t speak with any of the staff members here on record,” he added, citing board policy. “And I don’t want to be quoted in any publication I will take you to court if it’s public.”

 

Mickey’s mother expressed frustration, and said she’s more than willing to have records on Mickey made public if it could shed any light on his whereabouts, or anyone who might know. “At this point, to me, he doesn’t have any privacy. He needs to be in the media. Somebody has to have seen him at some point.”

 

Asked where he might have wanted to go, if he left voluntarily, she said he had wanted to go back to the family’s former home in Arkansas. But she’s notified a realtor there to keep an eye on the home, which was vacant for a couple of months, with no results. Mickey enjoyed Future Farmers of America (FFA) and ROTC courses at school, though his grades had slipped, prompting the grounding before he took off on Thanksgiving, she said. He enjoys working with small engines—lawn mowers and cars—so possibly could seek work in a repair shop if he did run away, which she believes is not likely.

 

Sheriff’s deputies recently came to the home to take DNA samples of her son and herself, also requesting dental records. Sheriff’s officials say they have searched hospitals and morgues in adjacent counties, but no match has been found.

 

They recently took Mickey’s computer and a cursory-level search found nothing. Asked when a deeper search would be completed, they would not give a date. “It’s a slow process…very bogged down, and we have to prioritize our cases,” Yates said.

 

He suggested that putting up flyers for Mickey Guidry could be counter-productive for the department. “You start putting these out with every runaway and it hurts,” he said, suggesting that the public would stop responding to posters for children believed in imminent danger if too many runaway cases are publicized.

 

He suggested that Guidry, like the fabled boy who cried wolf, may have been responsible for his own fate—and for law enforcement not considering foul play a likely motive.

 

“Mickey was the last one to have control over his life,” Yates concluded. “The last person who spoke to him told him, `Mickey, go home.’”

 

Mickey has sandy hair and blue eyes. His birthday is August 3, 1993. He may have been wearing blue or black shorts or Dickies jeans with blue high-top tennis shoes.

 

Asked what would happen to Mickey if he should return home, Yates “Probably nothing,” added that it’s unlikely the family would press chargers for the stolen vehicle, as they would merely be glad to have their son safely home.


 

Perucca, a scuba diving instructor (photo, right), says she is not working because of Mickey’s disapearance. Mickey’s stepfather asked for and received permission from the military to come home early on compassionate leave, and was slated to arrive home last night.

 

“I just can’t handle this anymore,” Mickey’s mother said, her voice breaking.

 

Detective Yates said he has “zero leads” and encourages anyone with information to call him at (760)510-5233.

 

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Name calling won't bring the boy back
Submitted by NancyMerrillSayed on Sat, 03/13/2010 - 01:21.
I can understand how such a terrible situation would bring out the worst in everyone. All the adults are trying to cover their you-know-whats, but that won't bring the boy back. Who can know where Mickey is? It will take everyone, working together, to get the best results possible. My dad always says, "Someone needs to be the grown-up here". Forget about who said what, who did what, and get out there and look for that kid.
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How can the police be so calm
Submitted by leo6955 on Fri, 02/26/2010 - 22:27.
How can the police be so calm about this , they cant predict the future how can they say it is a runaway , i cant even imagine how hard it must be for his mother . Free CSS Menu
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He was never a "runaway"~ he
Submitted by Missy on Sun, 02/28/2010 - 00:47.
He was never a "runaway"~ he did take the Jeep to the desert without permission because he wanted to go camping with friends and we had told him no.. When he left the campsite on Friday, he took a road that he was unfamiliar with to cut across the desert, not realizing how rugged the terrain was and the car became disabled (this was in the evening/night). He had no supplies, no flashlight, no map, no gps, no food/water and he was NOT familiar with this area at all~ it is VERY remote (he did go riding motorcycles in the desert with Doug, but never in this area- the ranger was mistaken about that). We went to the desert this past Friday and there was no way possible for us to get to where the Jeep got stuck (even though we have 4wd) so its amazing he was even able to make it as far as he did in that terrain. But no, it was never a runaway situation.. it was a boy who got his car stuck in the middle of nowhere, and hasn't been seen since. If it would've been possible, I would have been searching that desert day and night... but for anyone who knows what the desert is like, they understand why that just wasn't realistic.
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We've heard from some other media now who want to cover this
Submitted by miriamg on Sun, 02/28/2010 - 12:52.
story, Missy.  You're welcome to send our story to other media if you think it will help get them interested in covering Mickey's case, maybe media in Imperial County and Arizona, as well as SD, in case he got a ride and someone saw him in another area?

 

I feel for you and your family, and can only imagine how difficult is must be for you seeing the massive search now being launched for Chelsea King immediately after she went missing, when it took weeks for law enforcement to mount a similar search for your son. The desert location did of course make searching more difficult, along with other factors. 

 

I hope someone out there has some clues, and will come forward to help you find Mickey.

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Miriam, there are some
Submitted by Missy on Thu, 02/25/2010 - 23:32.
Miriam, there are some inconsistencies and misquotes in your story but I appreciate you getting his photos and the situation out in the public. We also turned his cell phone service back on Sunday (Nov.29) after he didn't come home, but the phone has had no activity since the 26th. As far as the comments of "if it was my child, I would've been out there searching 24/7"~ that is ridiculous.. I personally do not know that area, I don't have a vehicle that can withstand those driving conditions, and with no cell phone coverage out there, it would be pointless for me to go there. As I stated, we did have groups of friends who went out there and searched the area twice for us during the first week, and they found nothing. I don't know if there was foul play (as you quoted me saying)~ I have NO idea what could have happened to him. We feel that he made it out of the desert, but from there I cannot even fathom a guess as to where he could be or what could've happened.. I just hope someone somewhere knows something and reports it to the police so we can finally have a direction to go in.
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Hi Missy,
Submitted by miriamg on Fri, 02/26/2010 - 00:45.
The 24/7 quote was the girl's mother's opinion - I'm sure most readers understand how difficult it would be to search a desert without expert help, such as the Sheriff's search team could provide.

 

the "foul play" statement was a paraphrase, not a direct quote, but you definitely stated that you were concerned that some "pervert" could have "buried him in the desert" which would of course be foul play.  We said you suggested it "may" be foul play, which makes clear that there are other options.  However I've amended the phrase to clarify that you believe your son most likely made it out of the desert--and that you ask the public to report any leads and locate your missing son.  Hope that helps--and I hope that your son will  be found safely.

Our newsletter goes out Friday a.m., which is when the majority of our readers will see this story.


I did some researching on the megans law website for female sex offenders with kidnap history because the mom said "a pervert" may be responsible for his disappearance

Nilda Ruth Wery has been in violation of her sex registry agreement since 12/30/2009 http://www.meganslaw.ca.gov/cgi/prosoma.dll?searchby=offender&id=18609084M7496, this is not her first violation, she has not registered before in 2/10/2009. As of now she is nowhere to be found. Her criminal record is long and scary so I am going to have to start with her. Nilda Ruth has a history of kidnapping a teenage male with cerebral palsy in Riverside, CA during OCTOBER 6-7, 2007, this was in a riverside pd press release http://www.riversideca.gov/rpd/press/2007releases/oct06a07.pdf.  Everyone is welcome to correct this post if any information on here is wrong.
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I ran Nilda Ruth Wery through the Riverside Public Access Records system at this site http://public-access.riverside.courts.ca.gov/

Pi~  there is already a thread for Mickey Guidry here at Scared Monkeys.  I'll merge your post with that thread.  Thank you for bringing more information about him. 

Link:  http://scaredmonkeys.net/index.php?topic=7255.0

Mickey Guidry 16, Missing 11/26/2009 San Marcos, CA

LOL,  that was my mistake, I was wondering where I could find a place to post about him.. Thanks Muffy.

It's okay pi.  Sometimes we get even three threads started about the same subject and then a mod or admin will merge them.  When merging threads, everything goes back to the earliest thread posted.  It's my feeling Mickey didn't runaway.  Whether he ran away or not, he is endangered.  I hope Mickey can be found soon. 

I didn't look at his case that way, being endangered, to me he looks like he's grown up, but by his actions, taking his step-dad's motorcycle for a joyride that doesn't sound like something an adult would do, that shows how much I know about missing persons, anyway. I am wondering why he didn't call his mom for help, if he was having major car problems like a blown tire. He didn't have a drivers license so I am wondering how he got anywhere without being pulled over by a cop. I know some kids love offroading and will go to extremes, but to take your family car all the way to anza-borrego and being 16 doesn't make sense. Either somebody put that car there with all his belongings and left a blanket somewhere and kidnapped him or I don't know about the area. The cops should be looking for this lady (Nilda Wery), she is a felony sex offender, she has a jeep and she abandoned her car in a parking lot after taking a 12 year old that looks like 17, and it is almost too similar...

http://interested-participant.blogspot.com/2007/10/woman-40-and-boy-12-los-angeles.html


Thursday, October 11, 2007
       Following Entry Posted 10/11/2007 08:26:00 AM


Woman, 40, and Boy, 12

(Los Angeles, California) A 40-year-old woman, Nilda Ruth Wery,has been arrested for allegedly kidnapping and engaging in sex with a 12-year-old, cerebral palsy-afflicted boy. Wery was jailed on suspicion of kidnapping, performing a lewd act on a child under 14 and forced oral copulation.
The boy was initially reported as a runaway by his parents when he did not return home from school Friday afternoon, according to Riverside police.

But an investigation revealed an "inordinately close relationship" with the suspect, police said.

A civilian spotted Wery's red Jeep Wrangler, followed it and phoned authorities, said CHP Sgt. Miles Ingraham.

Wery pulled into an apartment complex in the 13000 block of Amar Road, south of the 10 Freeway, in Baldwin Park, where CHP officers found the Jeep and then located her hiding underneath a pickup about 2:15 a.m., Ingraham said.
I'd say that innocent people rarely hide, much less underneath pickup trucks.

Wery was booked into custody at the Robert Presley Detention Center with bail set at $50,000.

Tip: Don Morgenstern

guess the jeep wasn't abandoned..

I'm going to move this thread to the new Missing Endangered Runaway area I created up where the Missing Found Safe and Missing Found Deceased areas are.

This boy I fear met with some kind of criminal activity. Perfect example of why and how a runaway can meet up with a dangerous situation. Kids don't make good decisions and they trust too easily.   

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/event.php?eid=361243649469&index=1 Rally/Mickey Guidry Search/Hike
Start Time: Saturday, March 20, 2010 at 9:00am
End Time: Sunday, March 21, 2010 at 5:00pm
Location: Pinyon Mtn/ Harpers Flat areas of Anza Borrego

DescriptionTentative plan is to get together on Saturday and/or Sunday, or both days to do a massive sweep of the area(s) that Mickey could have possibly walked from the car. We know the area where the blanket was found, but I'd like to see the surrounding areas searched as well. Please bring lots of water, gps (if possible), metal detectors if you have one, sunscreen, good hiking shoes.
I will update this and add changes as things get arranged.
*weather permitting~ we all know how ugly the desert can get when it rains & the wind is gusting.
*UPDATE*
I've been informed that Atv's are not allowed out there~ I guess it has to be a licensed vehicle or bike.
Again--- lots of sunscreen & water. See the discussion post on http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=351259317751&topic=12292

and/or http://www.stregalicious.com/gps-stuff/gps-tracks-ca/mickey-search

PLEASE READ THE INFORMATION ON THOSE SITES!

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/san-marcos/article_022d93ca-1166-5169-9360-32493eadcf4e.html
SAN MARCOS: Volunteers search for missing teen

Search for Mickey James Guidry, 16, at Anza Borrego State Park to continue Sunday
March 20, 2010

The family of missing San Marcos teenager Mickey James Guidry harnessed a recent surge of community support this weekend to renew their search for the 16-year-old boy in the desert where he was last seen in November.

Mickey's family and friends joined about 80 volunteers Saturday to scour the Anza Borrego desert where the family's jeep was found Nov. 28, undrivable with his wallet and other belongings inside, according to a Facebook page devoted to finding Mickey. A smaller group planned to continue the search Sunday, organizers said.

Interest in the boy's disappearance surged after Moe Dubois, father of slain Escondido teenager Amber Dubois, 14, asked the public to focus its efforts on Mickey's case.

Dubois made the appeal during a March 9 court hearing for John Gardner III, a registered sex offender suspected of raping and killing Poway teen Chelsea King last month.

Amber's skeletal remains were found March 6 in a shallow grave on the Pala Indian Reservation; she disappeared Feb. 13, 2009, while walking to school. Authorities have said Gardner also is a focus of the investigation into Amber's death.

"As the media fire is now lit, maybe people will remember seeing a kid hiking on Thanksgiving weekend," said Chris Crawford, a friend of Mickey's family, adding that he hopes the coverage will generate tips in Mickey's disappearance.

Mickey took his mother's Jeep without permission Nov. 25, family members have said. He joined friends for a camping trip at Anza Borrego State Park and was last seen at the campsite heading out for a drive Nov. 27.

The Jeep was found abandoned, damaged and stuck in sand with many of Mickey's belongings inside, according to the Facebook page. A blanket that might have been Mickey's was found about two miles from the vehicle.

Deputies searched the desert with helicopters and people on the ground, said Capt. Don Crist of the San Marcos Sheriff's Station. He said thousands of man-hours have been spent on the investigation and that detectives are still working to find Mickey.

County sheriff's officials said they found no evidence of foul play in Mickey's disappearance and that he had run away from home more than once before.

The week before he disappeared, Mickey stole his father's motorcycle and took it to Riverside County where he reported to authorities that he had been kidnapped, triggering a helicopter search, San Diego County sheriff's officials said.

He later admitted to Riverside County sheriff's deputies that he stole the motorcycle and lied about the kidnapping, officials said.

Mickey was listed as a "runaway juvenile" on the California attorney general's office's state list of missing people Friday afternoon, despite a recent update to the Help Find Mickey Guidry Facebook page that says his case has been reclassified as a missing person.

Officials at the attorney general's office confirmed Friday that the information on the site is correct and that the case has not been reclassified.

San Diego County sheriff's officials said Friday they were still investigating Mickey's case as a runaway and they had not received any new leads or information that might change that classification.

Crawford said the reason for Mickey's disappearance doesn't matter ---- what matters is bringing him home.

"The only word that I’ve been trying to get out is that a kid is missing," he said. "Let’s get closure, let’s find him."
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"...what matters is bringing him home."    ::MonkeyAngel::

Well if you think about it for longer then a split second you can see a child who wants to runaway will not normally do that in the middle of the dessert, leaving behind all of his stuff in a truck. Something tells me since the blanket was found a couple of miles away, there was some kind of off road accident and he headed off on foot to look for help, not look to start a new life.
I think it does matter what the classification is. When the public hears runaway they assume a lot of things such as the kid was being rebellious and out of control, there is not the rush to help. But when a child is said to be in trouble and danger, the public wants to help.

I am glad they are now searching. I wish I was closer, I would help. Prayers they find something which can lead them to Mickey.

  There's something wrong.   I agree with you about "when the public hears runaway they assume a lot of things..."  It looks like Mickey wasn't exactly an angel before this incident where the jeep was found, but in my mind it doesn't mean there shouldn't be searches for him and they should have started looking for him right away.  I too wish I could help search.  I don't hold it against Mickey that he was in trouble before he went missing.  He may have been impulsive and he may have been angry and it may have helped become his undoing.  Still, he needs to be found, imo. 

I know muffy, le jumped to a conclusion that I think was very wrong. I don't think this one will have a happy ending, sad so say. Although I will hold out hope and pray he will be found safe and sound.

I'm going to take a shot at this.. Is it possible somebody towed the Jeep Mickey Guidry was driving, that is to the location it was found? My neighbors have a tow or some truck that can tow cars and it doesn't look like the average tow truck. I think it is possible somebody towed the vehicle up there, I dont know why, and then took Mickey Guidry, maybe there was a fight and somebody offered to help Mickey get home, Mickey used someone else's cell phone, he didn't know this person. Sometimes people offer to help someone out and then it turns out they were out they were really just not. I hope that this is not the case.

http://www.riversidesheriff.org/press/jvs10-0101.htm

Edgar Ivan Reyes Missing since December 27, 2009 from Mira Loma, California, 113 miles from Anza Borrego Desert, 79 miles from San Marcos, Ca. He reportedly has mental capacity to that of a young child.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/mar/23/no-sign-of-teen-turns-up-in-desert-search/
No sign of teen turns up in desert search
Boy was meeting friends in desert
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
(http://media.signonsandiego.com/img/photos/2010/03/22/search-weekend_t352.jpg?980751187beea6fc26a3a9e93795d379f58af1c4)
Volunteers flocked to the dessert this past weekend to search for clues to the disappearance of teenager Mickey Guidry. At a staging area, Guidry family friend Chris Crawford (gray t-shirt) goes over a map with a volunteer, as does the father of Amber Dubois, Maurice Dubois (black t-shirt). (Photo courtesy of Chris Crawford)

About 70 people, including Amber Dubois’ father, searched a remote section of the Anza-Borrego Desert over the weekend for a 16-year-old boy who has been missing since November, but they were unable to find any trace of the teen.

Mickey Guidry, a San Marcos High School student, has not been seen since Thanksgiving weekend, when he took his parents’ Jeep Cherokee without permission to meet some friends in the desert, said family friend Chris Crawford.

On Saturday, volunteers spent 10 hours scouring the rocky and rugged terrain in and around the trail where the Jeep was found. Crawford said they eliminated several areas but still have more places to look in the desolate environment.

The teen was at a campsite off Split Mountain Road in Ocotillo Wells when he left, presumably to go home. He drove off on an isolated dirt road.

The Jeep was found that weekend, broken down and abandoned on an off-road trail in Fish Creek Wash with the keys, the teen’s wallet and other belongings still inside, Crawford said. It was about eight miles from the nearest paved road.

Friends and family searched for the boy in the days after he did not return home and reported him missing to authorities, who originally classified him as a runaway. He had been in trouble the week before after taking his stepfather’s motorcycle for a joy ride, Crawford said.

The Sheriff’s Department conducted a search from land and air about three weeks later and discovered a blanket that belonged to the teen about 1½ miles northeast of the abandoned Jeep. No other sign of him was found.

Crawford said that barring foul play or injury, he thinks the teen would have been able to walk out after the Jeep broke down. Or perhaps he got a ride.

All of the teen’s friends say they have not heard from him. His cell phone has not been used and there has been no activity on MySpace or Facebook. Crawford said he thinks it’s possible but not likely that Mickey is hiding out somewhere, worried that he would get in trouble for taking the Jeep. But if that were the case, Crawford is sure they would have heard something.

“Some info would have bubbled up to the surface by now,” he said.

Crawford said the family appreciated the volunteers’ efforts, especially the help of Moe Dubois, who was instrumental in getting searchers [/b]organized. Dubois’ daughter, Amber, disappeared while walking to school Feb. 13, 2009. Her remains were found March 5 in a remote area off Pala-Temecula Road.

Guidry’s parents are assessing what their next step will be.

The family hopes that if the story is kept in the public eye, someone with information may come forward. Crawford also said that if the boy is alive, maybe he will see the coverage and come home.

“Hopefully he’ll realize that he’s loved and come forward,” Crawford said.

More information can be found at mickeyguidry.com.

Adrian David Calleros, 13 years old, missing child at risk since April 6, 2010 in Murrieta, California around 2 p.m., he recently moved to the area from Fontana. He does not live with his biological parents. He was skateboarding at a nearby park. He is not considered a runaway by the police or his guardians.  Adrian was adopted at three years old.
Link: http://www.riversidesheriff.org/press/sws10-0406.htm

PI- is there a reason you've posted this in Mickey Guidry's missing person thread? 

ok, im not posting these missing boys here, for the reason of a connection. I thought it was okay to post them here. Maybe you could do me favor and list all the things I am not supposed to do, make it easier on you, if I post something inappropriate or that I am not allowed to do something, I am aware of it. Thank you. Maybe it was wrong of me to join this forum for the reason that I am more of a nuisance to you more than any help.

ok, sorry about that, now im back to normal. Thanks I will go ahead and start a new thread.

Thank you, we appreciate that!

Thanks for your patience.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=351259317751&ref=mf
Help Find Mickey Guidry is on Facebook

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/san-marcos/article_338660f4-9811-58ee-afdc-dd7560931b01.html

SAN MARCOS: New clues guide desert search for missing teen
Mickey Guidry, 16, has been missing since Thanksgiving

By SARAH GORDON - sgordon@nctimes.com | Posted: April 27, 2010 8:06 pm | No Comments Posted | Print

Search and rescue volunteers who scoured a desolate area of Anza Borrego this weekend for a San Marcos teen missing since Thanksgiving found the first new clue in months, redirecting the hunt and causing new concern that the boy may have gotten lost in dangerous terrain.

Another volunteer search for Mickey Guidry, 16, is planned for this weekend. It is being organized by More Kids, the new group focused on finding missing children headed by Moe Dubois, father of murdered Escondido teen Amber Dubois, whose family searched more than a year before her remains were found in Pala.

"I know what it's like to feel being without your child," Dubois said Tuesday. "It's a feeling you can't explain, and I want to help them (other families) in any way they can to end that feeling."

Mickey, a San Marcos High School junior, was last seen Thanksgiving weekend, when he took his parents' Jeep Cherokee without permission and joined a school friend and her family for their holiday celebration at a trailer camp near Ocotillo Wells.

He drove away from the camp Friday, Nov. 27, and on Saturday morning hikers found the abandoned Jeep stuck in dirt with a flat tire more than 20 miles down a rocky dirt road used by off-road vehicles.

"I think he really overestimated his ability to get down that road," Mickey's mother, Missy Perucca, 38, said Tuesday.

Sheriff's Search and Rescue volunteers in December found a blanket belonging to the teen about a mile away from the Jeep and concluded Mickey had probably walked along a flat wash, perhaps making it about eight miles to Highway 78.

Subsequent small-scale sheriff's searches and a March search involving about 70 volunteers focused along the wash.

Mickey's case is classified under "runaway juvenile" on the state Attorney General's Office's list of missing people. Vista sheriff's Detective Pat Yates, heading the case, said it is not clear where Mickey went, or whether he ran away, though he believes there is a reasonable chance Mickey made it to the road and hitched a ride. Now maybe he's not coming home because he's worried his parents are angry, the detective said.

Perucca said she didn't think her son would run away, and the unexplained disappearance of her only child has been horrible.

"It's such an emotional roller coaster; one day you have hope and optimism, the next day everything seems grim," she said.

Now there are new concerns.

On Sunday, as sheriff's Search and Rescue volunteers looked for signs of Mickey in the desert, Sgt. Don Parker said he climbed a grueling, rocky mountain in the opposite direction from where the search had focused and found the Jeep's vinyl spare tire cover at the top. Parker thinks the teen used it to cover his head on the rainy night he apparently left the vehicle.

Parker said he thinks Mickey saw the lights of Borrego Springs from the ridge and headed down. But those lights wouldn't have been visible from the desert floor, and each step he took would have had to be over rocky, almost impassable terrain.

"Now our concern is he went over land, not following washes or trails, that he went completely cross-country," Parker said.

However, Mickey could have hit Highway 78 after about eight miles in that direction, too, he said.

Dubois said because the terrain is so bad, he's looking for avid hikers and people with search and rescue, law enforcement and military experience to help find Mickey in a search planned Saturday and Sunday.

For more on the search, go to www.morekids.org.

I really hope Mickey still alive out there somewhere. I am hoping somebody is taking care of him and maybe does not know that Mickey is a missing person.

http://mickeyguidry.com/

STILL NO SIGN OF MICKEY GUIDRY: TEEN VANISHED IN ANZA BORREGO DESERT ONE YEAR AGO

“If he did make it out of there, someone must have seen him or knows what happened to him, and we need them to call and tell us.” - Sgt. Don Parker, San Diego Sheriff Department

December 1, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) --The blue Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by 16-year-old Mickey James Guidry was found abandoned in the Anza Borrego desert two days after Thanksgiving. That was Thanksgiving a year ago. No one has reported seeing him since.

The disappearance of the San Marcos teen, which ECM previously reported on,  remains unsolved despite numerous searches by volunteers and the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Don Parker, emergency services division search and rescue coordinator, headed up the most recent Anza Borrego search about two months ago. Nothing was spotted, he said. It was Sgt. Parker who in April was the last to find evidence in the case. On April 25th, during one of the search and rescue efforts, he located the Grand Cherokee’s vinyl spare tire cover. He described the location as being in dangerous, rocky terrain more than a mile from where the Jeep was found.

“Even in broad daylight, you have to watch where you put every step,” Sgt. Parker said. Further describing the area in which the tire cover was found, he added, “There are rocks the size of bowling balls and some as large as Volkswagens.” He added, “Every time we’ve gone out there, our search and rescue people have come back having been stuck with cactus needles.”

The search teams have covered several square miles of Anza Borrego in areas known as Pinyon Mountain trail, Pinyon Wash, Harper Flat and Harper Canyon, but “the only thing the additional searches have done is eliminate where he hadn’t gone,” Sgt. Parker said. He said that 40 to 50 square miles of desert or more remains to be searched. “Even in areas we’ve already searched, I’m not entirely sure he’s not there…If he’s still out there, if he’s still out there in the area of Pinyon Flat or Pinyon Wash, it would be very difficult to find him.”

But Sgt. Parker added, “If he did make it out of there, someone must have seen him or knows what happened to him, and we need them to call and tell us.”

Sgt. Parker said he has four “open” cases that he’s working as the coordinator for search and rescue, but Guidry’s disappearance is the only one involving a juvenile. He further commented, “They vanish, but they’re not forgotten. People may think they’re forgotten, but they’re not.”

The investigation into Guidry’s disappearance was initially slowed by conflicting circumstances dating back a week prior when the teen erroneously reported being kidnapped to cover up damaging his father’s motorcycle. His mother, Missy Perucca, said that incident was out of character for her son and he didn’t realize the trouble he would cause by making up that story.

Maurice Dubois is one of the dozens of volunteers who participated in the desert searches for Guidry. Dubois is also the father of 14-year-old Amber Dubois of Escondido, whose body was found last March, a year after she went missing. In 2009, Dubois founded More Kids, an organization that spearheaded successful state legislation in recent months giving the community improved means for readily locating missing children. An underlying objective of that legislation is to prompt law enforcement to act more quickly and more effectively in missing juvenile cases.

Dubois said that “past case history shows that 70 to 80 percent (of missing children) are runaways” and that leads “law enforcement to believe that any teenager over the age of 13 is a runaway. We’re trying to prove them otherwise.”

But, Dubois doubts any of the legislation promoted by More Kids would have helped in the search for Guidry had they been in place at the time of his disappearance.

“Our laws would have had no effect on his situation,” Dubois said. The search for Mickey “was a very difficult situation mostly because of what happened to him weeks earlier,” he said, referring to the false kidnapping report. “When you have a child that’s cried ‘wolf’ in an attempt to cover up his own bad behavior, it absolutely, without a doubt affected how law enforcement responded.”

Dubois continued, “But, if you look at just the facts of his disappearance, where he broke down and the scenario at that time, we realize this was a 16-year-old kid that was in a lot of danger. The Anza Borrego desert is so big. It’s so dangerous out there. If you think where he broke down, 10 miles from nowhere, and try to figure out what his frame of mind was at the time, you realize the danger he faced.”

Juvenile investigations Detective Patrick Yates of the Sheriff’s San Marcos substation leads the investigation into Guidry’s disappearance. He’s been on the case since the beginning and, like Sgt. Parker, says it’s “open and active.” Just the same, though, he said, “Nothing has been learned about the possible whereabouts of Mickey Guidry. All investigative leads have been followed but none have been fruitful in helping to locate Mickey.”

In pursuit of uncovering Guidry’s whereabouts, Detective Yates said he’s in “regular contact” with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Through the national center, law enforcement agencies throughout the country are kept updated on the status of Guidry’s disappearance, he said.

“The Sheriff’s Department has no reason to believe that Mickey has been the victim of foul play. Of course, we don’t know what has become of him so all possibilities have been considered,” Detective Yates said.

Guidry’s is one of seven cases assigned to Detective Yates. But it’s not like any of the others, he said.

“All of them are runaways but none of them are at-risk. Unlike Mickey’s case, none of them have suspicious circumstances related to them. “ Detective Yates further explained, “Mickey’s case is very different than that of most other missing juvenile cases. The overwhelming number of missing juvenile cases are due to the juvenile running away or being a victim of a family abduction usually at the hands of a parent and as part of a child custody case. Those types of cases are usually resolved in short order. If not, then law enforcement usually has a general idea as to where the juvenile is and with whom they are residing. With regards to Mickey’s case, we have no strong indication as to where he may be.”

Detective Yates said anyone that has information which may help in locating Guidry should call him at the Sheriff’s San Marcos substation. His direct phone number is 760-510-5233.

Guidry’s mother, Missy Perucca, is among those involved in the case with whom he keeps in regular contact, according to Detective Yates, but there’s been very little to be said in several months.

“It’s been a long year with no closure,” Perucca said. “We don’t seem any closer to finding him than we were a year ago – there have been no clues, no leads, no tips. Nobody has heard from Mickey. But, on the flip side, nothing has been found in the desert -- no clothing, no phone, etc., -- so that gives a small glimmer of hope that he may have gotten out of the desert. ”

Perucca said, “The main thing right now is to get Mickey’s face back into the media so that people will remember his story, see his face and maybe someone will remember seeing him,” and alert authorities.

http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/node/4912

The following article is dated 11/29/10/ whereas the previous article posted by Nut is 12/03/10.  I wanted to post this one in case there is any information that hasn't been posted previously, to preserve the information/article.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/nov/29/year-has-passed-san-marcos-teen-disappeared/
Year has passed since San Marcos teen disappeared
November 29, 2010

Sixteen-year-old Mickey Guidry of San Marcos vanished a year ago deep in the Anza-Borrego Desert.

The Jeep Cherokee he had stolen from his parents on Thanksgiving Day 2009 was later found disabled on a rugged trail nearly eight miles from the nearest highway.

He remains missing today.

“It’s been a long year,” said Mickey’s mother, Missy Perucca. “Your whole world is upside down. Nothing is the same anymore. It’s one of those things that changes your life forever.”

Like so many whose children have vanished, Perucca said the worst part is not knowing what occurred.

“I’ve run through every possible scenario,” she said. “There are so many different things that could have happened. We can’t even guess.”

The case seemed clear-cut at first.

“With the history with Mickey, we initially classified it as a runaway — I think justifiably so,” said Sheriff’s Department Detective Patrick Yates. “He had done it before. He had reason to stay away. He wrecked his dad’s motorcycle, and now he’d just wrecked his dad’s Jeep.”

A week before that Thanksgiving, Mickey took his stepfather’s motorcycle without permission from the family home and went joy-riding in the mountains of Riverside County. He wrecked the bike and was walking down a road when a park ranger asked why.

Mickey made up a whopper of a story. He said he had been abducted by motorcycle thieves but had escaped. A search began right away for the abductors until one deputy figured out Mickey’s lie.

His parents grounded him and said he couldn’t go to the desert for the Thanksgiving holiday, as he planned to do with friends, because of the motorcycle incident and because he recently brought home a report card from San Marcos High School with poor grades.

On Thanksgiving 2009, Perucca went into her son’s room around 11 a.m. She thought he was sleeping in, but he wasn’t there. Then she noticed the missing Jeep.

The parents filed a stolen-car report with the Sheriff’s Department and deactivated Mickey’s cell phone as punishment. They knew he had gone to the desert, but they had no idea where.

Perucca figured her son would return by Sunday. He didn’t.

Because authorities thought Mickey was a runaway, little was done to find him in the beginning. There were some small-scale searches made by park rangers after hikers came upon the disabled Jeep on a trail designed for four-wheel drive off-roading. A bumper and side mirror had been ripped off, and one of the wheel rims was seriously bent, rendering the vehicle useless.

Inside were Mickey’s wallet and cell phone charger but not the phone, which was reactivated the following Monday but never used.

Detectives learned that Mickey had gone to a campground near Ocotillo Wells and spent Thanksgiving with a girl he liked and her family. He stayed the night, but the next day the girl’s parents told him to go home and gave him enough gasoline to get back to San Marcos.

Instead, Mickey took off south that afternoon deep into the desert.

The first orchestrated, serious search was conducted three weeks later.

Sheriff’s Search & Rescue Sgt. Don Parker said it’s possible that Mickey’s remains could be anywhere within a 40- or 50-square-mile radius. Searches are still conducted every now and then, and officials won’t give up, Parker said.

The Jeep broke down near an established hiking trail 7.8 miles south of state Route 78. About 1.5 miles north of the vehicle, searchers found a blanket that had been in the Jeep. Then they discovered a cover for the Jeep’s spare tire near the top of a hill not far from where the blanket was recovered.

Yates and others think Mickey may have made it out of the desert. Although the location is remote, a lot of hikers and off-roaders frequent the area in the winter, especially during holidays.

Mickey could have been picked up by someone who did him harm, although Yates thinks that’s the unlikeliest possibility.

“There’s absolutely no evidence of foul play,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mickey’s mother tries to get through each day.

“I want people to remember him, and if you know anything, please contact police, contact us, contact anybody,” she said.

The article below is from the year 2010, but it does have a lot of information and photos.  I wanted to note some of the comments also.

http://eastcountymagazine.org/node/2826
WHAT HAPPENED TO MICKEY GUIDRY? SAN MARCOS TEEN WENT MISSING THANKSGIVING WEEKEND NEAR OCOTILLO CAMP IN ANZA-BORREGO; WHEREABOUTS REMAIN A MYSTERY
February 25, 2010

From comments:

Update on Mickey Guidry case
On November 25th, 2011 miriamg says:

On the 3rd anniversary of Mickey's disappearance, 10 News reports that he still has not been found. However his mother, Missy, has found some happiness in life -- divorced from MIckey's stepdad, she has since married Sgt. Parker, the Sheriff Search and Rescue officer who has been a dedicated searcher still trying to find Mickey.  Here is the story: http://www.10news.com/news/29851410/detail.html

Missy Parker is Mickey Guidry's Mom.  I hope she gets the answers she needs soon. 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/351259317751/
Help Find Mickey Guidry

Missy Parker
‎3/14/12~ I'd post an update... but there's nothing to post. No news, no lab work, nothing.
March 14 at 8:14pm

Missy Parker
So.. as of 1/31/12, Imperial Co SO hasn't even SENT the bones to the lab for dna. When (and if??) they do, it'll still be 2mo-6mo waiting time for results.
January 31 at 6:29pm

Thanks Muffy------------I often wonder about this young man.

I think about him too, and look for news.  I'm glad I found the FB his Mom Missy updates and it looks like she's found a bit of happiness in her life with her marriage with Mr. Parker.  I hold hope that somehow Mickey is still alive.  I remember how heartbroken you and I were when Christopher Coan was found dead, when for so long he was thought to have run away.  Link to Christopher Robin Coan's thread for those that read here and may not be familiar with that case. http://scaredmonkeys.net/index.php?topic=2144.0

https://www.facebook.com/groups/351259317751/
Help Find Mickey Guidry

If he wondered off into the desert with no water or food, would he have gotten very far?  I mean, I don't know that much about that particular environment, but wouldn't he have eventually have had to stop just from exhaustion and thirst?  Wouldn't that alone limit the area that needed to be searched?

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/nov/29/year-has-passed-san-marcos-teen-disappeared/
Year has passed since San Marcos teen disappeared
November 29, 2010

 ::snipping2::
Sheriff’s Search & Rescue Sgt. Don Parker said it’s possible that Mickey’s remains could be anywhere within a 40- or 50-square-mile radius. Searches are still conducted every now and then, and officials won’t give up, Parker said.

The Jeep broke down near an established hiking trail 7.8 miles south of state Route 78. About 1.5 miles north of the vehicle, searchers found a blanket that had been in the Jeep. Then they discovered a cover for the Jeep’s spare tire near the top of a hill not far from where the blanket was recovered.


The Jeep broke down near an established hiking trail 7.8 miles south of state Route 78. About 1.5 miles north of the vehicle, searchers found a blanket that had been in the Jeep. Then they discovered a cover for the Jeep’s spare tire near the top of a hill not far from where the blanket was recovered.

Yates and others think Mickey may have made it out of the desert. Although the location is remote, a lot of hikers and off-roaders frequent the area in the winter, especially during holidays.

Mickey could have been picked up by someone who did him harm, although Yates thinks that’s the unlikeliest possibility.
 ::snipping2::


*************************
Sgt. Parker married Missy, Mickey's mom after she divorced Doug whom she was married to when Mickey disappeared.  (See FB entry below)

http://www.10news.com/news/29851410/detail.html
 ::snipping2::
"Did he make it out of the area? We’d like to think yes,” said sheriff’s search and rescue Sgt. Don Parker. “But we don’t know.”

Parker has been to the desert perhaps 30 times since Thanksgiving weekend 2009, looking for Mickey.

Often groups of volunteer searchers go to the remote area to train. They look for clues at the same time."
********************************
Doug was married to Missy when Mickey disappeared. 
https://www.facebook.com/groups/351259317751/

Missy Parker
I don't know Sunny.... A lot of people have asked me why Doug was/is so uninvolved, but only he can answer that. There were a lot of problems between him & Mickey, so it's hard NOT to wonder.. It eats at me to this day how he REFUSED to tell his family or work about Mickey being missing-- I was the one who had to tell them, 3 months later.. and only because I needed support from people. His embarrassment (or whatever) of Mickey being missing over-rode his desire to go public and help find my son. That ultimately led up to why I left that 'marriage'. I know that's probably tmi for this page, but sometimes the truth opens eyes as to the true nature of people.
December 15, 2011 at 2:42pm · 10

muffy,
Is there some suspicion of doug?

I've only seen the articles and FB entries posted here and  I've seen nothing that says there is suspicion of Doug.  But I can see why Missy divorced him if he did in fact not tell his family or workplace Mickey was missing.  That would probably do it for me too.  It's one thing if your son is being rebellious and troubled and another when he disappears in the desert and your spouse doesn't help you or support you in trying to find him.  It speaks volumes of a persons character imo, and possibly this could have contributed to some of Mickey's problems too, I don't know.  I only know what I can read in articles and FB.  I'm glad the Parker's haven't given up on finding Mickey  ::MonkeyAngel::

Ok.  I just wasn't sure about that posting.  I can't imagine a father not telling his own family or employer that his son was missing.  Even if it were a troubled son.  I mean, can you imagine how they felt after mom told them and they realized that dad was quiet for 3 months?  I'd be pretty concerned about his mental state to be so quiet about such. 

KittyMom, the time of year he disappeared, I read it was 25 degrees at night, which isn't unusual in the deserts southwest.  It was also stated that it was raining as he used the tire cover it seemed to shield himself.  Daytime can also stay very chilly also.

 The enviroment definitly wasn't on his side thats for sure, it sounds as though he was wandering in the wrong direction.  As rugged as that area is anything could have happened to him.

That sort of what I was getting at.  Given the situation how could he possibly have gone very far?  Why hasn't any sign of him been found?  It's almost like he left the area with someone.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2013/nov/28/mickey-guidry-desert-missing-disappeared/


4 years later, still no sign of San Marcos teen

Mickey Guidry disappeared in the desert the day after Thanksgiving
 By J. Harry Jones | 4:33 p.m. Nov. 28, 2013

There have been no new developments, his mother, Missy Parker, says.

“It’s the worst time of the year for me,” she said Wednesday. “Especially now with all of the McStay news. It just brings everything back.”

The McStay family of Fallbrook disappeared a bit more than two months after Mickey. The remains of all four members of the family were recently found buried in the desert near Victorville.
 ::snipping3:: ::snipping3:: ::snipping3::