Frederick Dominquez And Family Are Found

This is not a crime, but since we usually feature certain missing persons cases, I figured we may as well get this one up. Doesn’t sound like foul play, just a lost family, but still.

INSKIP, Calif. — Fredrick Dominguez, 38, had moved to Paradise from Los Angeles to be closer to his children. On Sunday, after church, him and his three children, 18-year-old Christopher Dominguez, 14-year-old Alexis Dominquez and 12-year-old Joshua Dominquez, took a trip to Northern California in order to cut down a Christmas Tree. They were to make a day of it and spend the night with their dad. They have not been seen since. Their truck was found Monday night along Skyway Road, about 2½ miles north of Inskip, Calif., with no sign of them ever returning to it. Searchers found no sign of the missing people at the vehicle and any tracks had already been covered by heavy snow. Dominguez had never cut down a tree in this territory, but his 18-year-old son had. The missing people carried cellular phones, but calls placed to those numbers haven’t gone through. Lisa Sams, the children’s mother and ex-wife reported them missing on Monday evening when she found her children had not shown up for school. Sam’s said her children and ex-husband were wearing coats, but probably weren’t prepared for extremely cold weather. She said her son, Chris, has had extensive camping experience and is familiar with basic survival skills.

Dozens of searchers faced up to 7 feet of snow during their search and Mattie Watts, with Butte County Search and Rescue, said the crews were working in steep terrain, making their efforts even more dangerous. More searchers were expected to arrive Wednesday in the Philbrook area of Butte County. Search and rescue authorities report that further would-be volunteer searchers are not needed. Weather conditions in the search area are so severe, there is a concern that volunteers would themselves become lost or stuck. The Skyway is closed above Stirling City to all but official rescue volunteers.