Search finds no sign of man

Searchers have found no sign of a missing Burnt Ranch man in southeast Del Norte County, where he is believed to have disappeared three months ago. 

Thomas Pickle, who would now be 63 if he is found alive, is presumed by authorities to be a possible suicide.

McNamara said the team of dogs and people found “nothing at all” during a recent 17-hour search.

“We came up with no signs or any clues of any kind,” he said.

McNamara said the investigation is not over, but no date has been set as to when the search will resume.

The Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office and Siskiyou County authorities determined that Pickle had gone missing July 23 after receiving a Siskiyou County warrant to turn himself in on suspicion of cultivating marijuana.

The only sign of Pickle was his abandoned truck, which was found in Elk Valley, 30 miles north of Little Bald Hills Road in Orick.

His wife told authorities that Pickle had a history of leaving and camping in the woods for long periods.

She also told authorities that Pickle had told her he was distraught, and was going into the woods to kill himself, according to Sheriff’s Office reports.

The wife’s report wasn’t given to authorities until September, when a federal helicopter doing flyovers in  the Elk Valley area located Pickle’s truck and authorities asked his wife why his truck was in the area, according to sheriff’s reports.