Family Launches Website To Find Missing Everglades Man
FLORIDA CITY - (CBSMiami.com) - The family of a missing man who disappeared last month has created a website in hopes of generating more leads in his search.
Roger Sawyer, 67, disappeared during a family camping trip at Everglades National Park.
The Oregon man went missing on March 5th and his family describes him as a passionate outdoorsman who often told family members, 'I know yesterday I said was the best day of my life, but today is the best day of my life.'
Now, his family is hoping the website will generate more publicity and trigger more leads to help in his search.
Sawyer, a retired Oregon butcher, was said by his family to be an experienced camper. He disappeared virtually without a trace on March 5th and remains missing, the search for him effectively over.
In an interview with CBSMiami.com earlier this week, the family broke a month-long silence to speak about the search and their concern for Sawyer.
"Roger, his wife, and I we were all in a motor home together and we took the motor home through the Keys," said Janice Williams, Roger's daughter-in-law.
The travelers brought the motor home to Everglades National Park. Williams said some family members went to the Visitors Center while Sawyer and his wife Paula remained behind. Williams said the two were in different areas of the campground, but as darkness fell and people started to return to the motor home. Roger was not among them.
Park officials were called, and along with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, a search began.
"They didn't find a shoe or a hat, and they looked in the water and along the beach and everywhere he could have possibly been," Williams said.
Initially, the National Parks Service and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue worked together on the search and provided basic information to the media. But as the search continued, that flow of information dried up. A spokesperson for Everglades National Park cited the family, saying they did not want to speak to reporters and that they were even unwilling to provide a photo.
Family members now say that was not true, a claim confirmed by a park spokesperson.
As the days-long search continued, managed solely by a US Park service "incident team", it was that team's decision to separate the media and the family, according to Everglades National Park public information officer Linda Friar.
Anyone who may have seen him is urged to contact the family through the website. Click here to view the site.
