GUELPH -- Authorities in California have confirmed remains found in Joshua Tree National Park are that of 51-year-old Paul Miller.
His Guelph family is getting closure after Miller had been missing since the summer of 2018 while on vacation at the park.
Since then, the family had made several trips back to California to search for him.
While the family was back in Canada, volunteers at the park continued the search as well.
Now, they realized in the initial search they were only 15 feet from where Paul died.
“He still had water in his pack. He still had food in his pack. So whatever happened, happened quickly,” says Miller’s wife, Stephanie.
The family is now left to grieve again.
“It’s bittersweet. It’s almost like I lost him twice. Back in July and then now,” Stephanie says.
But without the family’s relentless efforts to find Miller and insisting on using a drone to help in the search, it is possible his body would have never been found.
Miller’s family and friends plan to make one more trip back to Joshua Tree National Park and take a walk to the Oasis.
“The last picture on his camera was of the oasis. So he made it to the Oasis and was on his way back,” says Stephanie.
Going back and saying goodbye, but always remembering Miller for the man he was.
“We’ll never forget him. He will always be in our daily lives. We can start to take the steps to move forward,” says Stephanie.
