Hi. I am Samantha Lamberg. Many of you have heard from or talked to me before. I wanted to provide some details of the big search and rescue operation planned in Mendocino tomorrow [Wednesday] for my husband Erik Lamberg. First, a little background.
Erik and I were married back in 1992 and have been long time South Bay residents. Erik went missing in Mendocino County on May 28. He has not used his credit cards or cell phone since. Erik is bipolar, and was off his meds. We have dealt with his mental illness, and related addiction issues, since 2000. He has struggled for years to get better, so wanting to be a good husband and father. His condition became much worse after the death of his father two years ago, causing the family to be separated off and on so that I could protect our children from their father’s increasingly erratic behavior and suffering. Our kids are 10 and 15, and aware of both their dad’s diseases, and the protracted investigation for him. Erik has never been violent, and is a kind, gentle, loving and generous person when at his best.
When Erik left Los Angeles on May 23, he was insistent on driving to Oregon to go into sober living (although he had no specific destination). I heard from Erik each day as he traveled north, until May 27. When I last heard from him, he was very paranoid, and in Mendocino. Throughout the last several months, I had repeatedly urged him to see a psychiatrist and get some help. As most of you probably know, it is virtually impossible to involuntarily commit someone in California who is intermittently lucid, even assuming his psychiatrist, family, and friends all agree he needs help. This was already frustrating and frightening before he went missing.
I reported Erik missing to the Mendocino County Sheriff on May 29 when he failed to respond to my calls, texts, e-mail messages, and Facebook posts. On June 1, his van was found on Sherwood Road, which runs between Willits and Fort Bragg. The road is isolated, and very difficult to travel on. His van had gotten stuck, and he had tried to get it out using bark and floor mats under the wheels. The Sheriff told me of the van’s recovery on June 2. There was no sign of Erik when they found the van. After much imploring, I finally got Mendocino SAR [Search and Rescue] to conduct a limited ground search around the van four days later on June 5. Bloodhounds did catch a scent, which could by then have been over a week old. A SAR worker was injured on day three of the search, and the ground search was called off. Since then, I have continued to push for news coverage and to spread Erik’s face and story via social media. This seemed my only way to get answers. On July 4, local Fox 11 did a story on me, with Chris Blatchford reporting. Fox Oakland declined to pick the story up.
Our first big break came after Mendocino County public radio (thank you Paul Lambert!) featured me in a program about missing persons. Robert Pinoli of the Skunk Train called in, and Angela Harney of Fort Bragg listened in. After hearing the timeline, something clicked for Angela. On May 31 (just three days after Erik likely got stuck in that area), her boyfriend Michael Stephens, a professional owl caller, had been out in the deep forest at night, along the Skunk Train line at the Clare Mill depot station (which is not far from Sherwood Road). This is an extremely desolate area and the terrain is treacherous. After flashing a light in an out building, Michael heard a man screaming as if he were terrified. This frightened Michael. He quickly exited, and reported the incident to the Mendocino Land Trust. Although the Skunk Train was not operational due to a cave-in on the line, the Skunk Train workers took a look around at the time, and did not find anyone.
The screaming Michael heard was completely consistent with Erik in his most paranoid state before he left Los Angles. When Angela contacted me and told me the story on July 26, I literally got goose bumps. I immediately report this lead to Lt. Barney of Mendocino County SAR. Since that time, he has been working to confirm the facts. As he now puts it after investigating the lead, it is both feasible, and practical that this tip could lead us to Erik.
Based on the new intelligence (again, thank you Public Radio for letting me tell my story!), a large scale SAR operation will take place tomorrow focusing on Clare Mill and the Skunk line and related buildings. It will be a cross-county operation, with Marin SAR assisting Mendocino SAR. 5 dogs from the California Area Rescue Dog Association will be used, along with 9 handlers. I am guessing between 35 and 40 people will be involved in the search. The operation will start tomorrow morning around 9, and possibly continue until early evening. Thankfully, the Skunk Train just became operational again today, and will be able to assist in transporting the search team. During the search, the team may not be able to contact me, so I may not hear much until late tomorrow.
I thank Chris Blatchford, Paul Lambert, Liz Spear, Chelsea Sektnan, Eileen Russell, Robert Fisher, Randi Rossmann, and the other journalists who have helped keep this story alive. I also thank my friends and family, including my brother John Schlegel who has supported me so constantly, and helped keep up our website: www.facebook.com/FindErikLamberg
My children and I, Erik’s mom and brother, and our friends and family (as well as the extended Facebook community are desperately hoping for some answers tomorrow. I am also hoping our story can help other families struggling with a loved one’s mental illness or addiction. There should be no shame a reaching out. When I did, so many reached back, including my entire community, and many of you.
Thank you for continuing to follow our story, and keep Erik in the news. I am so very grateful.
Please keep your fingers and toes crossed for us tomorrow. May all the rescue workers travel safely, and be successful.
Sincerely,
Samantha Lamberg
