The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office continues to search for 51-year-old Redondo Beach resident Erik Lamberg, who has been missing for 13 days and is thought to have last been near his van stuck in the mud on a rural road near Fort Bragg.
He was last seen in Mendocino County on May 27 and first reported missing on May 29. The Mendocino Sheriff’s Office received a phone call from his wife, Hermosa Beach resident Samantha Lamberg, who last spoke with him after he was having car trouble around 11:30 p.m. May 26.
His wife reported that Lamberg had his vehicle, a silver 2004 Honda Odyssey, towed to Laytonville, Calif., when it broke down in Leggett. According to Mendocino Police Lt. Shannon Barney, Lamberg had the vehicle repaired and stayed two nights at a Budget Inn in Laytonville, at which time he phoned his family and said he was “fine.” Budget Inn employees reported that in the morning, both Lamberg and his van were gone as expected. He has not been seen or heard from since.
“There’s been no real progress,” Lt. Barney said on Monday about the weekend’s search. “We’re still following up on some leads and every so often we get some tips and pursue it.”
Deputies confirmed Lamberg’s vehicle was repaired by a local mechanic and that he checked out on May 28.
Barney said sheriffs received an abandoned vehicle report matching Lamberg’s van approximately 20 miles west of Willits on a Sherwood Road, a rugged rural road, on June 1. Deputies responded and it appeared that the vehicle was stuck in a ditch and abandoned. Barney said that wood and other debris were placed under the tires in what looked like an attempt to free the vehicle and a large footprint was found near the van.
“It looked like he tried to pull an incline and in the red clay mud he couldn’t make it so he started to back down and slid off the road,” Lt. Barney said in an earlier interview. “It looked like he grabbed sticks and bark and other tree debris to put under his tire to build up traction, but it didn’t work.”
Police found no recent activity on Lambert’s cell phone or credit card. His cell phone company was contacted and Barney said they attempted to ‘ping’ the phone, but were unable to locate it, adding that the phone hadn’t been used since the 27th. Clothes and other personal belongings, including a cell phone charger, were left in the car. Barney said police are processing additional evidence found in the vehicle but would not confirm what that evidence is.
His brother-in-law, John Schlegel, said that Lamberg had been diagnosed with bi-polar disorder and he was “getting away” for a little bit and didn’t have an exact itinerary.
“Occasionally the world kind of gets a little much and in this case he wasn’t trying to get away from anything [specific],” Schlegel said. “His plan was to go to Oregon, but he might have changed his plan when his car had troubles and had to get fixed.”
He added that Lamberg’s vehicle did not have a history of breaking-down.
Schlegel said that his sister, Samantha, had originally become suspicious when she didn’t hear from Lamberg, because he was good about communicating with his family.
“So it kind of sent up a red flag,” said Schlegel. “And the lack of credit card use definitely did because in this day and age you either have to use a card or get cash out of an ATM and that didn’t happen. It was pretty apparent something had gone wrong and once they found the car it was very apparent something had gone wrong.”
Lamberg is described as 6’5”, 200 pounds with sandy blond hair and blue eyes. The family told police that he may be experiencing mental health issues but has shown no violent tendencies in the past.
“According to the wife he’s not really good with directions, but in this area if he’s stuck on the road there’s only one way in and one way out – it’s not like its open country. It’s dense straight up and down forests,” Barney said, adding that an aerial search would be virtually impossible because of the dense ground cover. “It’s feasible he could have walked out, been picked up and given a ride. Or he could have, and I don’t know why, walked into the forest at any given point in probably a 30-mile long road.”
By Monday no additional theories had arisen and no additional evidence indicated one way or the other.
Since he was reported missing, the local all-volunteer Search and Rescue (SAR) team combed the area with dogs and on ATV’s. On June 5 the search team searched around the vehicle to see if he went off the road but found no signs of him. On Friday, Schlagal said that one of the SAR team members was injured in an accident while searching and suffered torn ligaments in his leg.
“But it’s very rough terrain and difficult to find tracks,” Barney said.
According to Schlagel, the search party picked up a scent on June 5. The SAR team continued to search until Friday.
“We’re still following up on some leads and every so often we get some tips and pursue it,” Barney said. “If the public hears anything, keep us informed. If you have any sightings or hear where he may be, let us know and we’ll follow up.”
Family members, including Lamberg’s brother, mother and cousins, traveled to the Willits and other towns nearby where he was last seen and posted missing posters throughout the area.
“Still no news,” Samantha said on Saturday on Facebook. “Perhaps tomorrow will bring something new. Very happy to see my daughter’s dance recital tonight. Thanks to those of you who enabled us to do that with no fuss. So glad to have a somewhat normal family outing during these surreal times.”
“Thanks for doing your best to keep it together with my kids; they are still hopeful and happy and my family, friends and I are doing our best to keep it that way.”
On Monday, Barney said that the Sheriff’s Department had received some tips from the public, but so far they have just found similar-looking people. He added that the SAR team is always available to gear up and do additional searching.
“We do have some deputies headed out that way to do some additional patrolling and as of now the case is still open and active,” said Lt. Barney.
Samantha Lamberg, on the Mendocino Sheriff’s Facebook page, asked anyone who may have had contact with Lamberg to contact the Sheriff’s department and requested that he himself be “alerted that his family is missing him.”
She and other family members are continuing the search with flyers and through media outlets in the Northern California and Oregon area.
“Because Erik said he was on the way to Oregon, to those of you with ties to Oregon, anything you can do to spread the word and get his face on flyers in public places and in the news would be wonderful,” she said.
“If the public hears anything, keep us informed,” Barney said. “…We do have deputies headed out that way to do some additional patrolling, and as of right now the case is still open and active. We’re just seeking more help from the public.”
Lamberg and his wife have two children.
The Sheriff’s Department requests anyone with information to call 707-463-4086. ER
