A missing man was found dead Friday near Giant Rock in Landers after sheriff’s deputies searched for two days and asked area residents to check their properties. Friends reported the man, whose name has not yet been released by the coroner, missing from a residence where he had been staying in the 4200 block of Belfield Boulevard at 12:43 p.m. Thursday, after he disappeared Monday. The man’s friend said he found the missing man’s shoes at the end of the driveway and his bare footprints leading off into the desert. Friends calling from Orange County told deputies the victim was reported to have been “semi-homeless” and suffered from some medical issues; they say he had left without his backpack and ID. Investigators said deputies, using ground and air units, searched for the missing man, identified as being in his mid-20s, until about midnight Thursday and then started the search again about 7 a.m. Friday. Following the missing man’s footprints, searchers found his body Friday afternoon north of Giant Rock, about seven miles from where he had been staying. During the search, area residents got reverse 911 calls requesting they check out-buildings and vehicles for the man.
