Jonathan Aujay, a 38-year-old Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy, disappeared on June 11, 1998, after setting out alone for a trail run and attempted summit of Mount Baden-Powell in the Devil’s Punchbowl area of the Angeles National Forest. His vehicle was located at the trailhead, and searches with helicopters, bloodhounds and dozens of ground searchers turned up only a few footprints and no other trace.

The case has generated competing theories. Some point to an accidental injury on the rugged route; others have suggested suicide, citing private struggles including a pending divorce and reported unhappiness. Family and friends dispute that he would take his own life, noting his love for his young daughter. There have also been unproven suggestions of links to undercover work on meth traffickers in Operation Silent Thunder and rumors about corrupt deputies, but no evidence has tied those theories to the disappearance.

The disappearance remains unsolved. Anyone who hiked in the Devil’s Punchbowl or the Mount Baden-Powell area around June 11, 1998, or who has information about Jonathan Aujay, is asked to share what they know.