The article describes his disappearance as “mysterious” and “mystifying.” There’s nothing mysterious, or even surprising, about the disappearance of someone who takes off alone into the desert. “Commonplace” and “expected” are the words the author was looking for.
Rest in peace.
I was sent there after boot camp for some electronics training and this was my first time out in the desert. On a Saturday morning, I woke up early and decided that I would "walk" into town as it was such a perfect morning. I figured I'd walk out there and catch the bus back. Only, instead of walking along the road, I was going to cut across the desert.
Well as those in the desert know, everything out there looks closer than it actually is. That mountain range that you think you can reach out and touch is actually 30-50 miles away!
After 2-3 hours of walking, I started realizing that the town wasn't getting any closer and now the sun was up high and temps were approaching 100 degrees. Had no canteen either. I at least had the presence of mind to know what direction the road was in so I managed to get to the road and flag down a ride before I became too disoriented and weak to carry on. The guy who picked me up happened to be a gunnery sergeant and he chewed me out big time for being so incredibly stupid.
When he dropped me off in town, I remember sitting outside a store and drinking Gatorade after Gatorade. I threw up a couple times in between. I am convinced that I would have died out there if I didn't manage to get myself back to the main road.
Apparently, his mother's funeral is today. They were very close. Micah went missing March 27. I'm not aware of any evidence pointing to grief-stricken suicide, but I think they may be wondering about the possibility.