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Missing Automotive Journalist (C/D, Jalopnik, etc.)

7K views 48 replies 32 participants last post by  Mudbone 
#1 ·
In case you have not heard, a writer for Car and Driver, Jalopnik and other magazines has gone missing around Mokelumne Hill, CA (about an hour outside of Sacramento). Davey Johnson was doing a road trip review on a press motorcycle and never showed up home. They found the bike at a rest area and his belongings near by, but he has not been found. His last contact was around 2am Wednesday morning.


CBS News story and video






Though I never met him in person, I used to do work for C/D and other mags as well, so was somewhat connected to him through facebook via a lot of my friends and colleagues

There's currently a search and rescue team looking and a gofundme page to help support the efforts https://www.gofundme.com/help-suppo...98Vyiv6SGLYVoURqm5njHgW-YiBc1GtjBddbKB6cD90ds


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#3 ·
Yes, this morning's update was that the wallet was found with his clothes near the river.

It sounds, to me, like he stripped down to take a dip and might have passed out or lost his footing.

In any event, I am not feeling too good about the turn of events and the length of time it is taking. :(
 
#7 ·
Davey G Johnson missing

Not sure if any of you have been following, but Davey has been missing since last Wednesday. His Honda press motorcycle was found parked in Mokelumne Hill off highway 49, next to a boat launch ramp. He had ridden from Vegas to Mammoth and over the Sonora pass where he last texted a friend that he was sitting by the river. On Saturday, his backpack was found near the river along with his cell phone, laptop and clothing. His wallet was presumed missing until yesterday when they found it in his pants. So far, it's not looking good and sure seems like he might have been swept away from the unusually high current from an unusually high amount of snowpack this season. They have some 50 search and rescue personnel looking for him with boats, helicopters, etc and has been making national news. I had never met him, but we've been friends on Facebook for at least a decade and have conversed over the years on common interests of his articles, brown vehicles and lemons. Here's to hoping he'll be found and write an epic article about it. :beer: :heart:

This FB post is being updated consistently: https://www.facebook.com/abigailebassett/posts/10157427432489470

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/davey-...or-automotive-writer-sierra-nevada-mountains/

 
#8 ·
Maybe riding the goldwing flagged him to be taken to the near death star?
 
#9 ·
He was on a CB1000R

 
#12 ·
Been a week now so you'd have to assume he is dead unless he put together an elaborate plan to disappear which doesn't sound likely. Are there any large predators in that area of CA that could have grabbed him? I'd think that would have left some evidence but who knows.

In for updates.
 
#14 ·
Mountain Lions, Bobcats, Black Bears, Rattlers –*but there would be evidence.

I spent my summers in Oregon on a similar river for my teens and early 20's. Snowmelt from 40 miles as the crow flies, class 3-4 rapids. I went down it a few times solo on an air mattress and once on a Mega Lo Mart single person raft that took me 5 hours. Thinking back about how dangerous that was makes me cringe.
 
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#26 ·
Well this has gone swimmingly.

I don't know anything about this guy or what he did, but is anyone certain that this wasn't some sort of suicide? Maybe I don't know about west coast life enough to know that stopping off the side of the road while testing a motorcycle to take a swim in a river. Over here on the east coast, you don't swim in rivers because you might come out of it with a 5th limb.
 
#30 ·
Over here on the east coast, you don't swim in rivers because you might come out of it with a 5th limb.
Due to pollution? Is it like that sewer lake from Futurama?
 
#40 ·
Damn, he was about to propose, too. Terrible.

Here's an article he wrote for C&D from that link that seems very TCL, titled "Golden Brown: Four Days in a Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9 - Traversing the American Southwest in a piece of brown history."

https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a15121123/1977-mercedes-benz-450sel-69-road-trip-feature/

...


In 1977, the late David E. Davis, Jr., tested a 6.9 for this publication—back when it was the fastest sedan in the world. On his 4000-plus-mile journey, the A/C quit the team and a lower engine pulley worked itself loose. That car was a factory-fresh press vehicle. This is a 78,000-mile, 34-year-old example with a limited-production SOHC big-block, a Citroën-licensed hydropneumatic suspension system only ever used on this particular model, and a whole lot of vacuum lines in likely questionable shape. A vibration cropped up between 75 and 80 mph, likely due to the damaged left-rear wheel, limiting my top speed. A minor exhaust leak revealed itself while running alongside the K-rails of the San Bernardino Freeway on the way out of Los Angeles. The power windows and sunroof opened at a rather leisurely pace. On the bright side, it was brown. On the unrealistically optimistic side, since a brown 6.9 was good enough to spirit Jean Reno and Robert De Niro into and out of harm’s way in Ronin, this particular car would certainly handle a four-day cruise to Houston. Right?

...
 
#42 ·
Shame that he passed, I was also hoping for a different outcome.
 
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