Search Underway for Missing 84-Year-Old Whale Gulch Resident

A joint search and rescue operation is currently underway in the remote Mendocino County community of Whale Gulch, where 84-year-old David Taylor has been missing for nearly three weeks. 

Taylor, a resident of the area near the 7700 block of Usal Road, was last seen on February 6th. He was reported missing to the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office late last week, prompting a multi-agency search effort.

According to Mendocino County Sheriff’s Captain Quincy Cromer, Taylor had recently suffered a medical emergency and received assistance from the Whale Gulch Volunteer Fire Company. On February 5th, the fire department personnel drove Taylor to a hospital in Garberville and then back to his home. The next morning, they drove him to the Whitethorn post office, which was the last confirmed sighting of Taylor.

Security footage from the Shelter Cove General Store may have captured Taylor’s vehicle, described as a 1990s Nissan Pathfinder, but authorities have been unable to definitively identify the driver. Search teams from Humboldt and Mendocino counties have been combing the area, focusing on roads between Taylor’s home, the post office, and other locations he was known to frequent.

David Taylor is an 84-year-old white male, standing between 6’5″ and 6’6″ and weighing approximately 185 pounds, with white hair and brown eyes. Witnesses report that he was last seen wearing multiple layers, including jackets featuring a dark brown and maroon plaid pattern, a dark-colored beanie, blue jeans, brown boots, and reading glasses. He is also linked to a silver or tan, 1990s-era, two-door Nissan Pathfinder.

Captain Cromer emphasized that no tip is too small, urging anyone with information about Taylor’s whereabouts or the vehicle he was last seen in to contact the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office at 707-463-4086.