Another Overflowng Reservoir

Sue Rosenthal of the Monday Meanderers reports that Nicasio Reservoir is sending water over its spillway.  (In today's San Francisco Chronicle Tom Stienstra said that Alpine Lake is overflowing, too).

A week ago, MMWD reported that its seven reservoirs were collectively 82% full, up from the 79% average for January 24, and well above the 54% figure for last year.

UPDATE (Sunday, 9:45 pm): The Search for Silvia

Here is the latest e-mail from Bill Dreskin in case you did not receive his e-mail:

Dear Friends of Silvia,

 

Wendy and I really appreciate all your concern, support, suggestions, and encouragement.  It has meant a great deal to us.  We know that everyone is feeling this loss and our thoughts and wishes go out to all of you.   

 

The law enforcement at Point Reyes still has nothing new to report in their investigation.

However, Wendy and I have received some new information and also some clarification on a few points.  We have been in communication with many people including a close friend of Katherine Truitt, surfers who were at Point Reyes Beach North at the time of Silvia's disappearance, and Silvia's friend Janet, who had lunch with Silvia on the Friday before her disappearance.

 

This new information has led us to conclude that Silvia and Hettie were probably hit by a rogue wave.  We now feel, given this new information, that the abduction of Silvia is much less likely, despite the disappearance without a trace of Katherine Truitt of Alameda at McClure's Beach on January 8.  All things considered, we feel that the rogue wave scenario for Silvia is much more likely than some malicious criminal activity.  We know that there is information and circumstances that support either view.  We very much respect and appreciate all of your views on this very sad situation, and we appreciate that many people have leanings toward or have come to a different conclusion about Silvia's disappearance.  We are happy to continue helping anyone who wants to pursue the missing person investigation and distribute more posters.

 

It was a difficult and painful decision for Wendy and I to be involved in a poster campaign and missing person search, and we realized that by acting on that possibility, that this might cause even more pain and upset for some people.  We felt, as many people did, that if there was any reasonable chance Silvia was still alive and could be found, even a small chance, that we should pursue that.   We are very sorry if considering abduction as a possibility somehow caused some additional concern, upset, or grief for anyone. 

 

We now feel the following is a likely scenario.  Silvia arrived at the parking lot at around 12:10 PM, walked out to the beach with Hettie on her leash, leaving the other two dogs and her valuables in her locked car.  She was then within a very short time hit by a rogue wave coming up onto the beach, perhaps 100 feet or more up onto the beach compared to the regular wave sets.  Silvia drowned and Hettie managed to get out by swimming and/or by being deposited back on the beach by a subsequent normal wave. 

 

For those who want some additional details, here is an update on the information we have on Silvia's disappearance on Sunday, January 24 at Point Reyes National Seashore

 

·         Silvia bought books at the Bear Valley Visitor Center at the Seashore about 11:41 AM Sunday morning.  The driving time from Bear Valley Visitor Center to the Point Reyes Beach North parking lot is about 22 to 25 minutes.

·         Meanderers who know Silvia know that she would have stayed well clear of rought surf unless Hettie had entered it and Silvia was compelled to follow or try to rescue her dog Hettie.  Silvia often did walk Hettie separate from her other two dogs.

·         Surfers and others using the beach at about that same time were interviewed and some re-interviewed, but no one saw Silvia or anything suspicious behavior or activity.  Most surfers reported that there had been no rogue waves while they were surfing at the beach, but one surfer reported a 30 foot wave once or twice. The baseline was 8 foot waves during that time frame.  Rogue waves can occur in calm or rough or stormy seas, and can occur even in protected areas like Drakes Beach or Tomales Bay.

·         Hettie was found by Avery, a woman who works at KGO.  Hettie's leash was tangled or wedged between some rocks very near to the beach parking lot.  After observing Hettie for five to ten minutes, she was driven to Drakes Beach by Avery.  At Drakes Beach, Hettie was checked by a ranger there.   Hettie's leash was wet, and her coat was damp.  The Ranger there felt that the damp coat was from humidity and not from having been in the ocean, but we feel that it was misinterpreted and that the leash and her coat were likely damp from the sea. 

·         There was an extensive search of the area done by Rangers and teams of volunteers including using a GPS grid quadrant, teams with search dogs, helicopters, and more than 100 volunteers over a period of several days, and there has been a lot of media coverage as you know.   Silvia's route was tracked in the parking lot by the search dogs, but there was no scent or trail on the beach. 

·         The disappearance of a 37 year-old woman, Katherine Truitt, from Alameda at McClure's Beach (a few miles to the north of where Silvia was) on Friday, January 8 remains unsolved.  Her family said Truitt has been hiking the area on and off for 20 years.  Rangers from the Point Reyes National Seashore saw her Ford Ranger parked in the McClure's Beach parking lot on Friday and became suspicious when it remained in the same spot Saturday.  Her family and friends remain very concerned about the circumstances in Katherine's disappearance, especially in light of Silvia's disappearance.

·         The Rangers report that they still have had no credible leads or tips.

·         Silvia's computer and answering machine have been checked by law enforcement.  Although it was considered by the Park Rangers, they said there is nothing at this time to suggest the possibility that a patient from Silvia's past work as a psychiatric nurse was involved in her disappearance.  

 

Thanks so much for all your help and support.

 Bill and Wendy

(415) 457-3949

bdreskin@comcast.net

Alpine Lake Overflows

In the Sunday, January 31st edition of the San Francisco Chronicle, outdoor writer Tom Stienstra tells us something we should have guessed ourselves:  Water is cascading over the spillway at Alpine Dam.  Click here to read his story.

UPDATE (Friday, 5:30 pm): The Search for Silvia

In case you did not receive the latest e-mail from Wendy and Bill, here it is:

Dear Friends of Silvia,

 

Wendy and I really appreciate all your help and continued efforts to try to locate Silvia!  So far there is still no clear explanation in the disappearance and loss of a dear friend.

 

One suggestion, in addition to placing a poster on the inside of the side rear window (not rear window) of your car, is to email the Silvia missing poster, as a an attached JPEG file, to everyone in your email address book who lives in California.  You could send a brief note or explanation and request that they print out copies of the poster and post them in conspicuous places (libraries, shopping centers, etc.).  In that way, we could greatly broaden the poster coverage area.

 

At present, there are facts and circumstances supporting a rogue wave/rip current/rough seas theory, and also facts and circumstances that contradict that theory and suggest an abduction or criminal act.  Park Rangers are still actively investigating the case as of this morning.  Her missing persons case # is NPS 10-0027.  The Rangers feel that the ocean theory is more likely.   And they feel there are problems with offering a missing persons reward in terms of them fielding or following additional false leads, and also concern about other people themselves getting into trouble scuba diving out there (dangerous currents), etc. in response to a reward offer.  They also expressed concern about the possibility of habitat destruction if groups of people responded to an offer of a reward.

 

For those who want some details on the investigation, here is an update on Silvia's disappearance on Sunday, January 24 at Point Reyes National Seashore.  Not much additional information has come in or been made public.

• Silvia bought books at the Bear Valley Visitor Center at the Seashore about 11:41 AM Sunday morning.  The driving time from Bear Valley Visitor Center to the Point Reyes Beach North parking lot is about 22 to 25 minutes.
• Hettie, Silvia's youngest Yellow Lab, was seen about 12:30 pm.  Accounts vary as to whether the dog's leash at some point might have been caught in some rocks along Point Reyes Beach's north end, was tied to a rock, or whether Hettie was just running loose in the area.
• The Park Ranger who first found Silvia's dog Hettie running loose in the parking lot on Sunday, and who is a Lab owner himself, told Karen that Hettie definitely had not been in the ocean when he found her, and was only slightly damp from the weather (fog).  He said he was concerned about the nature of Silvia's disappearance.  Silvia's two other dogs and her valuables were found locked in her car.
• Presumably Silvia would have been on the beach or in the parking lot area for about 25 minutes before Hettie was discovered and Silvia went missing.
• Meanderers who know Silvia know that she would have stayed well clear of the surf unless Hettie had entered it and Silvia was compelled to follow or try to rescue the dog. 
• Surfers and others using the beach at about that same time were interviewed and some re-interviewed, but no one saw Silvia or anything suspicious behavior or activity.  They reported that there had been no rogue waves while they were surfing at the beach. One surfer reported a 30 foot wave once or twice, but the other surfers reported only 8 foot waves during that time frame and no rogue waves.
• There was an extensive search of the area done by Rangers and teams of volunteers including using a GPS grid quadrant, teams with search dogs, helicopters, and more than 100 volunteers over a period of several days, and there has been a lot of media coverage as you know. 
• The disappearance of a 37 year-old woman, Katherine Truitt, from Alameda at McClure's Beach (a few miles to the north of where Silvia was) on Friday, January 8 remains unsolved. Her family said Truitt has been hiking the area on and off for 20 years.  Rangers from the Point Reyes National Seashore saw her Ford Ranger parked in the McClure's Beach parking lot on Friday and became suspicious when it remained in the same spot Saturday.  Her family and friends remain very concerned about the circumstances in Katherine's disappearance, especially in light of Silvia's disappearance. 
• The Rangers report that they still have had no credible leads or tips.
• Silvia's computer and answering machine have been checked by law enforcement.  Although it was considered by the Park Rangers, they said there is nothing at this time to suggest the possibility that a patient from Silvia's past work as a psychiatric nurse was involved in her disappearance.  

We are still hoping for a miracle and will continue this search.

Thanks to all!

 

Bill and Wendy

(415) 457-3949

bdreskin@comcast.net