Disappearance of Jared Negrete

Jared Michael Negrete (born September 11, 1978) is a missing person who was last seen on July 19, 1991, during a Boy Scouts camping trip at Mount San Gorgonio in the San Bernardino Mountains of Southern California. Search personnel recovered some of his personal effects, including a camera and food wrappers, during an extensive search of the area that lasted 16 days. The camera contained the last known photo of Negrete, showing his eyes and nose, taken after his disappearance.

Disappearance On July 18, 1991, Negrete went with five fellow Boy Scouts and a troop leader on a camping trip, his first overnight backpacking trip. The next day, on the trail to the summit of Mount San Gorgonio, Negrete had trouble keeping up with the other scouts due to lack of experience with hiking.

Negrete was last seen at 6 pm by another hiker, a Santa Ana firefighter, who warned him about straying from the trail and told him to stay on marked paths. He was last seen wearing green Boy Scout pants, with a tan-colored T-shirt (possibly a Boy Scout-style T-shirt), and with black high-top tennis shoes. The scout leader conducted a search for Negrete before hiking in darkness to report his disappearance that night.

Investigation and aftermath The search for Negrete began at 7 am on July 20, 1991, with authorities using helicopters and on-foot personnel to scour the area. Authorities developed twelve snapshots from the camera. Most photographs depicted the surrounding landscape and were taken before his disappearance, but the last image was a close-up of Negrete's face taken after he disappeared; only his eyes and nose are visible in the photograph and it was possibly taken at night, as the camera flash activated. Personnel also found beef jerky and candy wrappers; authorities stated that there was evidence Negrete had the jerky when he disappeared.

On August 4, after 16 days, the search for Negrete was officially called off by authorities; he was presumed dead with the chance of survival "almost nil".

Negrete's family held a memorial service for him on September 7, 1991, in Hacienda Heights. The service was attended by 500 relatives and fellow members of the local Mormon church.