http://www.chicoer.com/news/ci_7757451Seach for family continues: Father, three children missing in high country
By GREG WELTER - Staff Writer
Article Launched: 12/19/2007 12:28:45 AM PST
INSKIP -- Search and rescue personnel marked the second day of an intensive hunt in deep snow above Inskip Tuesday, looking for a Paradise man and his three children not seen since Sunday afternoon.
Officials said Frederick Dominguez, 38, his son Chris, 18, daughter Alexis, 15, and 12-year-old son Josh, failed to return from a trip to the Philbrook area about 3 p.m. Sunday to cut down a Christmas tree.
Paradise resident Lisa Sams, 38, the mother of the children, said Dominguez and the three siblings drove up after church, already had a tree permit, and only planned to stay a short while.
Dominguez is Sams' ex-husband and the two share custody of the children.
VIDEO from the sceneMAP of the Inskip areaBROWSE photos from the sceneShe said she discovered around 6 p.m. Monday that no one had seen them, and called Paradise police to report them as missing and endangered.
Sams said she believed they all had coats on, but weren't dressed for extremely cold or wet weather. She said her son Chris is an experienced camper, and is familiar with basic survival skills.
Officials speculated the family had a tool with them to cut down a tree, but didn't know what it might be.
At about 9:50 p.m. Monday, searchers discovered the Dominguez vehicle on the Skyway, just a mile north of Inskip.
It was described as a distinctive raised, yellow Chevrolet Silverado that a lot of people around Paradise would recognize.
Officials said it was carefully parked in a turnout area, not locked, and didn't appear to be disabled.
The truck yielded no clues as to the fate of the family, however.
"Any tracks or other signs that may have given us a direction of travel had already been covered by snow," said search and rescue official Scott Steele.
The first 24 hours of searching turned up no trace of the family members.
"We just don't know what happened to them at this point," said Butte County Sheriff's Search and Rescue Capt. Mike Larish. "You could put the likely scenarios on a board, throw a dart, and anyone you hit would be as possible as the next."
Heavy snow fell throughout the night and had accumulated to about 18 inches by 10 a.m. Tuesday.
Search coordinator Matt Pearce said cabins near the Skyway between Inskip and the location of the truck were checked, but nothing was found.
On Tuesday night fresh teams of searchers hiked down a snow-and- ice-covered trail toward the West Branch of the Feather River, intent on searching additional cabins in that area.
By late Tuesday night a mutual aid callout had brought search team volunteers to Inskip from as far away as Marin, Monterey, Contra Costa and Shasta counties.
Larish said 40 people were actively searching Tuesday night, along with two K-9 teams.
"We'll keep at this all night, or until its no longer safe to continue," he said.
Larish and his crew brought mobile communications and command posts to Inskip Monday, but quickly ran out of room.
Owners of the old Inskip Inn, Norm and Beverly Jewitt, opened the now-private home to officials, as well as relatives and friends of the missing family. It bustled throughout Tuesday with computers and printers cranking out maps and search coordinates, while an endless stream of people came in and out to share information, relay consoling messages, or just take a break from the cold.
The search Tuesday concentrated in an area north of Inskip known as Gold Hill, according to Larish. He said the perimeter would expand today, if the family hadn't been found.
Teams were transported to search areas by tracked vehicles, then donned snowshoes to painstakingly walk what Pearce referred to as contour patterns about 40-feet apart, and at different elevations, until an entire hill or canyon had been searched.
Some search teams said they were prepared to be out up to three days and nights, if necessary.
Snow that pelted the Inskip area Monday night and most of Tuesday turned to freezing rain in the afternoon.
Larish said the temperature raised a bit, but the rain increased the chances of search personnel suffering hypothermia.
"This is rugged terrain, and there are a lot of potential hazards to rescuers," he said, but added that their determination to find the family increased with each passing hour.
An estimated 55 trained search volunteers traveled to Chico from as far away as Oregon Tuesday night, and will be available if needed today, Larish said.
He called the search one of the most challenging he had ever witnessed.
Frederick Dominguez' co-workers from Hunter's Pest Control in Paradise also arrived throughout Tuesday morning to assist in the search, joining several family members from the ridge and Marysville area, who gathered in Inskip seeking information about their missing loved ones.
Pearce said visibility in the area Tuesday prevented any kind of search from the air. Friday may be the first opportunity to get a helicopter over the area, but searchers weren't allowing themselves to think that far ahead.
While some of the missing carried cellular phones, Pearce said calls placed to those numbers haven't gone through.
Sams said Dominguez moved to Paradise recently from the Los Angeles area so he could be closer to his family.
Her fiancé, Brian Clarke, said he is close to the Dominguez children, and praised Frederick Dominguez as a good man who would do everything in his power to keep the children from harm.
Larish said he was allowing some friends and relatives to participate in the search, but not without fully warning them of how dangerous it could be.
Due to treacherous terrain and weather, Larish said help from the public is also being declined, and added that anyone other than trained search volunteers would be discouraged from driving up the Skyway through to Inskip until the operation concludes.
Anyone with information about the missing individuals can call the Paradise Police Department at 872-6241.
Staff writer Greg Welter can be reached at 896-7768 or
gwelter@chicoer.com.
BACKGROUND: Three members of a Paradise family who drove above Inskip Sunday afternoon to cut a Christmas tree are missing. Their vehicle was found, but it offered no clues as to their whereabouts.
THE MISSING: Frederick Dominguez, 38; Chris Dominguez, 18; Alexis Dominguez, 15;Josh Dominguez, 12.
THE SEARCH: By Tuesday afternoon 40 search and rescue personnel from throughout Northern California were actively involved in a ground search for the family. Another 55 will join them today, if needed.
