Missing Firefighter.....Murder Or Accident?

I'm consumed with the story of the missing Arcadia, CA firefighter from Dana Point, CA. His name is Mike Herdman. He went missing on June 13, 2014, while out on a hiking trip with a fellow firefighter named Taylor Byars. This (supposedly) started out to be a hiking trip, with just the two FF and Mike's dog, Duke. They were to hike far out (12 miles) into the Los Padres National Forest and would be gone for 4 days.

This is the supposed story of what happened, according to Taylor Byars. After two days of hiking, Mike's dog ran off from camp, in the evening. The two FF's ran after him. Mike was barefoot, and only in shorts and a t-shirt. The two separated and Taylor came back to camp. He searched for Mike until morning when he decided to hike back for some help. He left Mike's backpack and some food for him in case he returned. He claims that he became lost for a day before finding his way and ran into two fishermen that called for help.

Now, they have been searching for Mike for 7 days and he has been missing for 9. Ventura County Sheriff Search and Rescue, along with multiple other S & R departments and other agencies joined in the search. On Wed. the 18th and Thu the 19th, there were sightings of his dog, Duke. Rescuers caught Duke on Thu. and as they were securing him, he got away. Today, Jun 22nd, they caught him. He was exhausted, hungry and dirty but otherwise fine. They found him 12 miles from where he ran off and back at the parking lot, from where the hike started! How on earth? Probably Mike's scent? Maybe, maybe not. Today, they have announced that they are scaling back on the search, with less rescuers on the ground.

We have been watching this on the news for a solid week. The Search and Rescue find it very odd that there have been no sightings, clues or any evidence of Mike, only footprints and his dog. Has he been injured and can't move? If so, they surely would have come across him or some clues! Nothing, not one single thing. Only his dog. What could have possibly happened?



I, myself, am very skeptical of this story, as does it seem, that everyone else on the Internet is. The S&R has held many news conferences stating that they DO NOT suspect foul play. WHY?

I suspect the friend, Taylor Byars has something to do with it. Here are a few of my thoughts.........

Is Taylor having an affair with Mike's wife? Did Mike even go hiking with Taylor? Taylor may have wanted to get Mike out of the picture. So maybe they planned a hiking trip and everyone knew where they were going. They knew how long they would be gone and packed accordingly and left. Maybe Taylor didn't go there, maybe he went somewhere else and killed Mike. Maybe he disposed of Mike's body somewhere else, like the Angeles National Forest. Somewhere that many people get dumped and no one EVER  finds them. He took Mike's backpack, his dog and his "shoes." Then he drove to the site, with Duke in the car, to where they were supposed to go hiking. He parked and took Duke hiking, 12 miles out.

He then, took Mike's shoes and made some footprints and let Duke loose. He slept that night and stayed there the next day also, when he was supposedly lost for a day. He then started his trek back to the parking lot where they started. Why did he claim that Mike left the campsite chasing Duke, with no shoes, and just a t shirt and shorts? To make it seem more likely that he couldn't survive for very long? When he reached the fishermen and the fishermen called for help, why didn't Taylor call for help? If  the fishermen got a signal, why didn't Taylor? Did Taylor not want Mike's body found because it would show the cause of death?

Why haven't they had, not one sign or clue of him being there, besides footprints? Why did Duke show up at the parking lot, 12 miles away from where he got loose? Did he follow his own scent? Or the scent of Taylor?

OR, there is always this point of view.......Did Taylor push Mike over a cliff to make it look like an accident, just in case they did find him? Wouldn't they have found him by now? Maybe something happened to Mike by accident and Taylor doesn't want to admit it, in fear that he could be charged with something?

Whatever the outcome, I feel bad for Mike's family, friends and colleagues. If Taylor is innocent and had nothing to do with it, I feel bad for him too. I just want him found. This is a very sad story all the way around.