Steven Douglas Reed, 24, was last seen June 23, 1999, in Zigzag in the Mt. Hood National Forest after buying a parking permit at the Zig Zag Ranger Station. A second-year medical student from Madison Heights, Michigan, he had been traveling to Oregon for a vacation after exams and was described as highly intelligent but not an experienced hiker.

Two days later his rented maroon Chevrolet Cavalier was found legally parked at the Salmon Butte Trailhead with trail guides for Salmon Butte and Ramona Falls inside. A five-day search led by the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office—using nearly 100 searchers, a helicopter and K9 teams—turned up no sign of him. The search began about ten days after he likely entered the wilderness, and heavy rains occurred in that interval. Reed also had hypoglycemia, which can cause disorientation if meals are missed.

Authorities’ prevailing theory is that he became lost and died in the wilderness, but some who knew him have suggested he might have chosen to disappear; there is no evidence for that. Does anyone who knew Steven or visited the Salmon Butte trailhead in late June 1999 have information that could help explain what happened?