Family Puzzled by Pastor’s Disappearance

Pastor Ronald Dybvig has never missed a sermon in the 10 years since he founded Emanuel Lutheran Church. On Sunday morning, parishioners sat in their pews waiting for the 55-year-old minister to take his place behind the pulpit and lead the weekly worship.

But he never arrived.

Family and friends are perplexed over the disappearance of the beloved pastor, who was last heard from at about 6:30 a.m. Sunday at his Ventura home as he prepared for church services.

Authorities said there is no evidence leading them to believe Dybvig, who has been a minister for 30 years, was forced from his home.

“There are no signs of foul play,” said Ventura Police Sgt. George Morris. “We have nothing to suggest that just yet.”

But Tuesday morning, Dybvig’s white 1998 Mercury Tracer was found parked on a turnout along Highway 79, a mountainous two-lane roadway about 65 miles east of San Diego in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. The car was in perfect condition, though blanketed by a thick coat of snow, indicating it had been there at least 24 hours, authorities said.

As of 8 p.m. Tuesday, the San Diego County sheriff’s search and rescue team was still scouring the ice-capped hills, looking for signs of Dybvig. The efforts were slowed by snowfall.

Dybvig’s wife told authorities she heard her husband getting ready for church Sunday. But when she woke up later, his suits hung in the closet untouched. His glasses and wallet were also left behind.

By the time she arrived at church with her two teenage daughters, no one had heard from her husband.