LOVELOCK, NV – An Arkansas camper has been reported missing in northern Nevada.
The Pershing County Sheriff’s Office identifies him as Jeffrey Kirkwood, 53. Arkansas newspaper The Baxter Bulletin reports that Kirkwood is from Yellville (Marion County).
KRNV News 4, the NBC News affiliate in Reno reports that Kirkwood had been camping in the Buena Vista valley near Fencemaker, which is east of Lovelock.
The sheriff’s office said it is concerned about Kirkwood’s welfare.
“The Pershing County Sheriff’s Office began sending deputies into the area to search for Kirkwood without success,” a sheriff’s office statement said Monday. “Since that time, the area received a significant change in the weather including unusually high levels of rainfall. This change in the weather presents a new and significant challenge to campers or people lost in the area.”
Area ranchers reportedly told deputies that before May 15, Kirkwood seemed to come and go from his campsite for a few days at a time.
“Civil Air Patrol flew multiple aircraft search missions on two separate occasions, and ground units performed coordinated searches on two occasions as well as the smaller independent efforts of Pershing County deputies and Search & Rescue members,” the statement continued.
Search dogs were used in addition to specialized vehicles to assist in covering the rough terrain, the sheriff’s office said.
