Officials Call Off Weeklong Search for Sheriff’s Deputy

Frustrated sheriff’s officials have called off the search for a Palmdale sheriff’s deputy, an experienced outdoorsman, who disappeared a week ago after what was expected to be a daylong hike, authorities said.

Jonathan Aujay, 38, a dog handler with the Sheriff’s Department’s Special Enforcement Bureau, has not been seen since last Thursday, when he failed to return from a hiking trip to the Devils Punchbowl.

The Sheriff’s Department ended its search for Aujay in the Devils Punchbowl, just east of Palmdale, but rescuers will search other areas if they receive information about Aujay’s whereabouts or hear reports of sightings, said Sgt. Dan Belland.

“We have physically searched the entire area and haven’t come up with anything,” he said.

Sheriff’s officials have described Aujay as an experienced hiker who knows the area well and hikes weekly in Angeles National Forest. Aujay, a 15-year department veteran, is also an ultra-marathon runner who has participated in 100-mile races and who regularly trains by running 40 miles.

Devils Punchbowl, a Los Angeles County park on the north slope of the San Gabriel Mountains, has mountain peaks as high as 6,500 feet, and borders Angeles National Forest.

Rescue crews included members of the Emergency Services Detail, Special Enforcement and Aero bureaus, as well as the Montrose and Antelope Valley search and rescue teams. Local residents also volunteered to hike the area as did a team from Edwards Air Force Base, which used special night vision equipment in its search.