Late in the day Tuesday, a hiker uncovered the first concrete clue relating to University mathematics professor Daming Xu’s disappearance: a guidebook.
The hiker found the book in a drain at French Pete Creek, about seven miles from the Olallie summit where Xu was last seen by a pair of hikers Nov. 4. The paperback book appeared to have been ripped in half and the hiker could only find the first 157 pages.
Lt. Randy Smith at the Lane County Sheriff’s Office said he is “99.9 percent sure” the book was Xu’s. On Nov. 6, when officers found Xu’s car near the trailhead, they found the back half of the same book inside.
Smith said Xu might have been so far from the trailhead because he took a wrong turn and got lost. Had Xu walked along the creek about a mile, he would have reached a paved road.
The sheriff’s office will send a team to search near the creek as soon as the drainage area is cleared.
– Jill Kimball