Gustav Erick Djerf, 47 Bipolar art teacher msg 8/10/09 Rio Grande TX (Remains found)

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El Paso Times (Texas) 
August 16, 2009 Sunday 
 
Riverside High School art teacher missing

EL PASO -- An art teacher from Riverside High School disappeared Monday from a campsite in Hudspeth County near the Rio Grande.

Family members of Gustav Erick Djerf, 47, have filed a missing persons report with the El Paso Police Department and sought help from the Hudspeth County sheriff's department, the Border Patrol and the Texas Rangers.

Djerf's sister, Kristin Sanchez, said he is bipolar. She said the condition may have contributed to his disappearance.

Sanchez said her brother is not an outdoorsman and did not tell his family that he would be camping. Authorities found his camping gear, food and car but not him.

At his home, Djerf left behind his house keys, cell phone and a note telling his mother he loved her. Relatives said they did not believe he would do anything to hurt himself.

Djerf talked to his mother Sunday to tell her that he would take her to a doctor's appointment the next morning. He did not pick her up Monday morning, but was seen by Border Patrol agents setting up camp near the Rio Grande between Fort Hancock and Sierra Blanca. Nobody has seen him since.

Sanchez said the family has made fliers that it will distribute to businesses and area residents.

"We are worried. He is such a giving and wonderful person, and we just don't want to see anything happen to him," Sanchez said.

Authorities from various agencies have combed the desert looking for Djerf and hope to get tips from the public.

"We are concerned because of how the desert is out there," Ranger Gary Shaw said. "It's tough place."

Classes have not begun in the Ysleta school district, where Djerf teaches. But his family told the principal at Riverside High that he was missing.

Spokeswoman Patricia Ayala said the district hopes that he is safe and returns to school when teachers start work Tuesday.

Anyone with information about Djerf is asked to call Texas Ranger Shaw at 849-4080 or El Paso police Detective Blanca Parra at 599-5738.
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http://www2.yisd.net/education/staff/staff.php?sectionid=3241&PHPSESSID=a791abc9db7eda2d7eb0

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Texas Missing Persons Clearinghouse Online Bulletin

Name: Gustav Erick Djerf AKA: Erick
Case Number: M0908007
Case Type: Disabled - Endangered
Last Seen in: El Paso (El Paso County)
Last Seen on: 8/9/2009
Height: 5' 7 "
Weight: 145 lbs.
Age Missing: 47
Eye Color: Brown
Hair Color: Brown
Date of Birth: 2/10/1962
Race: White
Sex: Male
State Missing From: Texas
Country Missing From: USA
Circumstances: Mr. Djerf suffers from a diagnosed mental condition and may require medical attention. Mr.Djerf wears prescription glasses and may have difficult moving his jaws.
You can contact the Missing Persons Clearinghouse at :
Missing Persons Clearinghouse
Texas Department of Public Safety
P O Box 4087
Austin, Texas 78773-0422
Phone: (512) 424-5074
Helpline: (800) 346-3243
http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/mpch/mpdetails.asp?id=%27M8/17/20099:43:25AM%27

[MuffyBee]

http://www.kvia.com/Global/story.asp?S=10983476&nav=AbC0
Authorities continue to search for missing art teacher

Posted: Aug 24, 2009 07:30 PM

Updated: Aug 24, 2009 07:43 PM
by ABC-7 Reporter/Anchor Celina Avila

EL PASO, Texas -- This year the first day of school wasn't the same at El Paso's Riverside High School.

The search for 47-year-old Gustav ''Erick'' Djerf, an art teacher at Riverside, has now entered its second week.

Authorities say his car and camping gear were found in Hudspeth County.

Friends and family describe Djerf as a talented, nice guy.

"These flyers have gone out in the county, we've had people put them out in New Mexico and they've gone out into Mexico as well," said Kristin Sanchez, Djerf's brother.

She has been looking for her brother since the day he never showed to take their mother to the doctor. "And when that didn't happen that's when we went to go see, because it's so out of character for him."

Authorities say Djerf was last seen near the Rio Grande between Fort Hancock and Sierra Blanca setting up a camp site. "He wasn't an outdoorsman so that was, again, out of character for him as well, so that started to ring warning bells that possibly he was having a bi-polar episode."

She says the talented local artist and musician had recently stopped taking his medication for his bi-polar disorder. "The side effects were just too much."

Sanchez says there were other signs regarding his mental state. "When we went to his apartment, he had left things behind. He left his cell phone, he left his watch...things that he would normally always have with him."

A spokeswoman for the Ysleta ISD says school officials remain optimistic and at this time do not have any long term plans to replace Djerf.

"At this point they haven't found anything yet so, you know we have that hope that he's still here," said Sanchez.

Texas Rangers, Border Patrol and Hudspeth county sheriff's officials are continuing to investigate.

If you have any inofrmation on Djerf's whereabouts you are asked to call the Texas Park Rangers at 849-4080.
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http://www.kvia.com/Global/story.asp?S=11005612&nav=menu193_2
Authorities intensify search for missing art teacher

Posted: Aug 27, 2009 07:21 PM

Updated: Aug 27, 2009 07:21 PM
HUDSPETH COUNTY, Texas -- Texas Rangers, Border Patrol agents and Hudspeth County Sheriff's deputies combined forces Thursday in an attempt to find missing Riverside High School art teacher Gustav "Erick" Djerf.

Djerf disappeared from a camp site in Hudspeth County near the Rio Grande more than two weeks ago.

The search was suspended about 2 p.m. Thursday due to inclement weather and will resume Friday, according to Doug Mosier, a Border Patrol spokesman.

The team was not able to find any new clues in Djerf's disappearance.

Written for KVIA.com by Web Producer Annette Arrigucci

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http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/mpch/mpdetails.asp?id=%27M8/17/20099:43:25AM%27

Texas Missing Persons Clearinghouse Online Bulletin
Missing Person Details

Date Picture Updated: 8/17/2009

Name: Gustav Erick Djerf
AKA: Erick
Case Number: M0908007 Case Type: Disabled - Endangered
Last Seen in: El Paso (El Paso County)
Last Seen on: 8/9/2009
Height: 5' 7 "
Weight: 145 lbs.
Age Missing: 47
Eye Color: Brown
Hair Color: Brown
Date of Birth: 2/10/1962
Race: White
Sex: Male
State Missing From: Texas
Country Missing From: USA
Circumstances: Mr. Djerf suffers from a diagnosed mental condition and may require medical attention. Mr.Djerf wears prescription glasses and may have difficult moving his jaws.
   

Additional Pictures

Date Picture Updated: 8/17/2009


You can contact the Missing Persons Clearinghouse at :

Missing Persons Clearinghouse
Texas Department of Public Safety
P O Box 4087
Austin, Texas 78773-0422
Phone: (512) 424-5074
Helpline: (800) 346-3243

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El Paso Times (Texas)
 
September 16, 2009 Wednesday 
 
37 days missing: Family, friends hold out for art teacher's return

EL PASO -- No one has heard from Riverside High School art teacher Gustav Erick Djerf since he vanished from the desert 37 days ago.

His bank account and credit cards have not been touched. A substitute is overseeing his art classes. Investigators say they have nothing solid that would help them locate the 47-year-old teacher.

Djerf's relatives dismiss any suggestion that he may have hurt himself, but many questions remain.

Did he leave the country? Did he simply want to escape and start a new life? Did someone hurt him?

Djerf's camping gear, food and car were found at a campsite near the Rio Grande between Fort Hancock and Sierra Blanca.

He left behind the keys to his apartment, a note telling his mom he loved her and his cell phone. He also left little notes asking that certain items be given to specific people.

His sister, Kristin Sanchez, hopes every day to hear that authorities found him and that he is safe.

But there has been no word of his whereabouts since Border Patrol agents spotted him Aug. 10 setting up camp near the river. That was the same morning he was supposed to take his mother to a doctor's appointment.

Relatives have begun moving his belongings out of his East Side apartment.

They have been told that his teaching position at Riverside High can no longer be manned by a substitute. The position was advertised by the school district.

"Life goes on," Sanchez said. "That is the problem. Time is cruel. It doesn't just allow you to wait."

Authorities have without success scoured the desert with helicopters, dogs and on horseback.

They are not giving up.

The El Paso Police Department, Hudspeth County Sheriff's Office, U.S. Border Patrol and Texas Rangers said they continue to check all possibilities.

One of those is that Djerf may have wandered into Mexico because of the proximity of the border from where he disappeared. Authorities alerted the U.S. Consulate in Mexico and posters were distributed on both sides of the border.

Authorities found footprints leading to the river near the campsite, but they said they could not confirm whether they belonged to Djerf or to someone else.

Family members and some authorities do not believe that Djerf, who is bipolar, would do anything to hurt himself. A teacher for 17 years, he did not seem unhappy and had goals and plans.

El Paso police Detective Blanca Parra said that on average it takes only a few days or weeks to find missing persons, but she hopes that Djerf will return home unharmed.

"We worry a little bit more because of the time factor, but there are people that leave and show up a year later, depending on their circumstances," Parra said.

She isn't the only person anticipating Djerf's safe return.

Students, colleagues and friends at Riverside High are worried about the dedicated teacher who pushed them to get scholarships, gave up his lunch period to be a sponsor for a Youth for Christ group and frequently stayed after school to help students finish artwork before competitions.

"It's hard," said fellow art teacher Rick Boisselier. "It is hard that he is gone and there is no word of him. Hopefully, something happens and he all of a sudden shows up."

An online gallery that Djerf started called HotBebop displays some of his artwork and photographs of chiles, flowers and jazz musicians.

On the Web site, he talked about his work and thanked his mother, Peggy Djerf, for her support, love and guidance. He said she had made religion a cornerstone in his life.

He also expresses gratitude to fellow artist and friend Stephanie Conroy, former owner of the Rose and Crown Art Gallery.

The day after Conroy read in the El Paso Times that Djerf was missing, she sent an e-mail to more than 500 people with pictures of him and asked if anyone had information. "The fact that they didn't find anything out in the desert gives that glimmer of hope," she said.

Conroy said Djerf had plans to participate in various art shows and he had even talked with the manager at his apartment complex about having an art show.

"There was a lot of stuff that he was talking about doing. That is why all of this came as such a shock," Conroy said.

Ranger Gary Shaw said that investigators continue looking for information. He said they will not stop searching for Djerf. "It is one of those things, you feel for his family," Shaw said. "There is still a lot of pain there."
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Teacher's remains found; school mourns

El Paso, Texas - A skull found in Hudspeth County in November has been confirmed to be that of a missing Riverside High School teacher, according to El Paso Police officials.

Gustav Erick Djerf, 47, was reported missing on Aug. 10 after he had left his apartment and did not make contact with his family for several days.

Djerf's vehicle was found in Hudspeth County a few days after he was reported missing.

Family members said they thought he may have gone camping.

In November, a dog discovered a human skull near the area Djerf had been camping.

"It was a big shock for me," said Riverside High School student, Emmanual Esparza. "I don't even know how to explain it."

Students said the school principal made the announcement early Friday morning. The news stunned many of his former students.

""The way before I knew art, I didn't really like it as much," said Raymond Rodriguez, a sophomore at Riverside High School. "And after the way he taught me, I thought art was interesting and I'm really starting to enjoy art."

No additional remains have been found and a cause of death is not known at this time.
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