A young man without a car or much money has not been seen since he left his parents home where he lived early Friday morning, January 4.
Alex Fossgreen, 23, walked out of his parents’ Scotts Valley home at approximately 4:45 a.m. on Friday without his cell phone or computer, according to his mother, Veronique Fossgreen. He did take his passport, driver’s license and the Chinese game “Go.”
“He doesn’t have a lot of money, he doesn’t work,” Veronique Fossgren said on Monday morning.
Alex Fossgreen went through a difficult break-up with his fiance in March, his mother said, but seemed to be doing fine in the days before he left. The family celebrated a birthday for another child on January 3, the day before Alex left. A neighbor said they saw Fossgreen leaving the home on foot while it was still dark on Friday morning.
“There was no note,” Veronique Fossgreen said. “We have no clue.”
The family has filed a missing person’s report with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office and friends have hiked in parts of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park.
According to friends, Fossgreen enjoys hiking an area commonly called “Narnia” in the North Eastern part of Henry Cowell, the University of California, Santa Cruz meadow area, Pogonip Park and the abandoned quarry off Mount Hermon Road. Family and friends have requested help from local hikers to search these areas. The family was notified Monday that someone believed they saw him on Empire Grade on Saturday and the Sheriff’s Office will continue searching the area on Tuesday.
“He likes to hike in Henry Cowell,” Veronique Fossgreen said. “Our first thought was that he went there and got lost. But he’s never been gone for a night.”
Fossgreen is listed as 5-feet, 8-inches tall and weighs 135 pounds. He has short brown hair and hazel eyes. He graduated from Scotts Valley High School and had attended California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Friends said he frequents the Hidden Peak Teahouse in downtown Santa Cruz.
Anyone with information may call the Sheriff’s Office, 471-1121 or the Fossgreen residence, 439-9824.
Sheriff’s Office to continue search
The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office conducted a four hour search of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park on Monday and spoke with someone who may have seen Fossgreen in the Fall Creek area. The Sheriff’s Office shifted its search to Fall Creek for several hours on Monday afternoon and will renew the search on Tuesday morning with both paid and volunteer search and rescue team members.
Sheriff’s detectives have also contacted the Department of Homeland Security and asked that they notify local law enforcement if Fossgreen crosses an international border.
This story has been updated
