Diabetic Man Reported Missing in National Forest

A 44-year-old diabetic who reportedly has a history of mental problems is missing in the wilderness north of Ojai, authorities said.

Michael Stephenson of Ventura, who spent the early part of the month on a vacation camping trip near Lockwood in the Los Padres National Forest, has not been to work for more than a week, said Ventura Police Cpl. Quinn Fenwick. U.S. Forest Service employees reportedly found a truck registered to Stephenson in the Nettle Creek area of the forest, he said.

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department has been searching for Stephenson, a counselor at Ventura’s Turning Point Foundation homeless shelter, since Wednesday afternoon, according to a sheriff’s spokesman. A helicopter and a mounted posse have been involved in the search.

Stephenson left for vacation July 4, said Clyde Reynolds, the foundation’s executive director. He was supposed to return July 18, but he has not been heard from since he left, Reynolds said.

“Michael loves to hike and he loves to explore,” Reynolds said. “But not showing up for work, that’s not like Michael. He’s more responsible than that.”

Stephenson’s father, Bill, 65, and stepmother, Sandra, 60, have not heard from their son since July 2, Sandra Stephenson said. “He told us he was going to go vacationing for two weeks,” she said.

Michael Stephenson needs to take regular doses of insulin. His parents don’t know how much insulin he took on the trip or whether it was being properly refrigerated.

In a police report about Stephenson’s disappearance, Fenwick warned that he could be suicidal. To that, his stepmother said: “There is that possibility. You can never tell.”

Michael Stephenson has been “in and out of mental hospitals,” Sandra Stephenson said. He has been doing well for the last five years and has lived in his own apartment for at least 10 years, she said.

Stephenson’s parents doubt he met with foul play. “He is a real good-natured guy” who did not seem to associate with anyone who would have reason to harm him, his father said.

“I think he fell off a cliff and broke his leg,” his stepmother said. “Or he got lost.”