Search for missing California camper enters fourth day, family suspects foul play

A search for a woman who went missing at a campsite near the California-Nevada border enters its fourth day Monday, as authorities ramp up their rescue effort and family suspects foul play.

Sheryl Powell, 60, of Huntington Beach, California, was reported missing by her husband Friday afternoon at the Grandview Campsite near Bishop, California, according to the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office. Powell’s husband, Joe, said his wife and their dog went missing while he was moving their car, and called the police through a satellite phone after searching for her for an hour.

Police began their search, aided by aerial assistance and thermal imaging. Over the weekend, the search expanded, with help from multiple different police departments.

Authorities said the case is both an active search and rescue and an active investigation, as they look into how Powell disappeared.

"At this time we don't have like any proven suspects and we don't have evidence to point directly to criminal activity, but we're looking at all possibilities," said Sgt. Nathaniel Derr, a search and rescue coordinator with Inyo County Sheriff's Office.

Joe Powell said he was gone for no more than seven minutes to move his car when his wife went missing.

"I came back over here and she was gone," he said on Sunday. "The only plausible explanation in my opinion is she was abducted."

Joe Powell said he and his wife are experienced hikers, and that the two hike more than 24 miles a week.

Greg Powell, the couple's son, said his parents have been happily married for 42 years. " I think the last time they got in a fight I was like 9 or 10 years old," he said.

“My mom is the strongest and most incredible woman I know,” the couple's daughter, Farrah, wrote on Facebook.