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MOAB — The search for skydiving instructor David Brown, who has been missing for more than a week, will resume Sunday after a search aided by three men flying motorized paragliders produced no solid leads Saturday.
Wendi TeKamp, the sister of the 37-year-old missing man, said the Moab Police and volunteers from throughout the world had taken an active role in attempting to locate her brother. Brown was last seen June 29 by the Clint Mac Beth, owner of Skydive Moab, where Brown had been working for about two months. Brown had been staying in a motor home parked next to MacBeth's residence. MacBeth last saw him walking into the motor home. His cell phone, money and sun glasses had been left behind, TeKamp said.
MacBeth said that Brown's girlfriend had recently left for Sweden, although MacBeth did not believe Brown was depressed. He had also been going through a divorce, MacBeth said.
Most people considered Brown "the life of the party," MacBeth said.
"When he worked here, he was amazing with the students. He loved the sport of sky diving. He was really genuine. He loved his job. He loved the people. He's a world champion. He's had 13,000 -plus sky dives in his life," MacBeth said of Brown. The two men have been friends since 1999, he said.
Brown's disappearance "hit me hard. I feel hopeless sometimes. He was outside my house and there's not really that many places he could go. I don't have a clue where he's at," MacBeth said.
TeKamp was planning to return to Canada on Sunday after assisting the search for her brother. "It's definitely not the result we were hoping for," she said, adding that leaving Moab was "very difficult."
"There's a lot of folks that will continue to help. The police here have been unreal. They've been so supportive and helpful and trying every angle to see what they can do to find Dave," she said.
Police said there were no signs of foul play, and they have few leads.
"I'll keep going until there's nothing else to follow," Moab Police Chief Mike Navarre said. "We don't have hardly any leads in this case, but once in a while something pops up."
Story written by Marjorie Cortez with contributions from Sarah Dallof.
