Melvin Mel Nadel, 61, vanished from a campsite in the Elk Mountain area of the Santa Fe National Forest near Pecos, New Mexico, on the afternoon of September 6, 2009. He had stayed near camp because of a recent knee injury while two friends went hunting; he told them he wouldn’t go far and expected to be back by nightfall. When the friends returned after dark, Mel was gone and his Jeep Cherokee was locked at camp with his backpack, cellphone, and GPS inside.

Searchers, including New Mexico State Police and search and rescue teams, scoured the area for days. Canine teams followed his scent about 50 yards down a trail before the scent trail ended. There were no signs of a struggle or discarded gear, and his bow and the revolver he habitually carried also went missing with him. Family and friends, who described him as an experienced outdoorsman and a devoted family man, say he would not have voluntarily disappeared.

Investigators found no clear evidence of foul play; the prevailing theory is he may have become lost or injured in the wilderness. Does anyone who was in the Pecos or Elk Mountain area that weekend remember seeing Mel or his Jeep?