But they don't think Chris Giauque, 36, of Redway, will be found alive. "Since day one, we presumed him to be dead," said his father, Bob Giauque. "He was never one not to make contact with us."

Not only would Chris never have caused his family to worry by failing to communicate, he had married two weeks before his disappearance and had a honeymoon scheduled for Maui, Bob Giauque said.

Chris Giauque was visiting acquaintances in the Spy Rock area and reportedly had left around 9 p.m.

Bob Giauque said his son had been conducting some marijuana-related business, and many people knew he had a significant quantity of cash.

"Most likely it was a robbery-homicide. He met somebody and picked up money. There's too many people who knew what was happening," Bob Giauque said.

Chris Giauque was reported missing Aug. 11. His truck - a 1994 blue Toyota four-wheel drive extra cab without a camper - was located near the Avenue of the Giants, four miles south of Meyers Flat, Aug. 13, according to his brother, Clint Giauque, who made the reward offer.

He said he's sure his brother was not the one who left it there. For one thing, the location was north of Chris' turnoff. For another, he wasn't a hiker, Clint Giauque said.

Among other things, Chris Giauque had suffered a broken back some years before and had a steel rod in his spine. He also had had two heart surgeries in his youth.

Not only was he not a hiker, "he wouldn't have been hiking at night," Clint Giauque said. He said it was about a two-hour drive from Spy Rock to Chris Giauque's home.

Chris Giauque was an outspoken medical marijuana user and advocate.

His activities included a marijuana give-away on the steps of the Humboldt County courthouse. He was arrested before he was able to do so.

That stunt was in protest of law enforcement officers seizing an ounce of his marijuana during a traffic stop in 1996. He sued and, ironically, last week a U.S. District judge ordered Humboldt County officials to return the marijuana.

In a Eureka Times-Standard article on Friday, Giauque's attorney, Bryce Kenny, hailed the decision as affirming that the Drug Enforcement Administration overstepped its bounds. But "the victory was tempered by the fact Giauque's family ... thinks he may have come to harm."

Giauque also spent nearly a year in jail after officials in 2001 raided an indoor marijuana grow in his Salmon Creek home.

Clint Giauque said marijuana was the only drug with which his brother was associated.

"It's all marijuana. He's a totally nonviolent person and generous," he said. "But he pushed the envelope with what is legally tolerated with marijuana."

The Humboldt County Sheriff's Office is in charge of the investigation, but it's being assisted by the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office because Giauque may have disappeared in the county.

"We went up and searched the property where he was last seen," said Mendocino County Sheriff's Sgt. Rick Wagner. "We're hoping for anything or anybody who wants to tell us anything."

So far, no one has had much to say, Wagner said. He noted Spy Rock area residents often are unwilling to talk to law enforcement officers.

"It's not like we're the most popular people in the world up there," he said. After all, "99 out of 100 times we go to Spy Rock, it's drug related."

Clint Giauque said people who are shy about contacting law enforcement officials can call him in Eureka at 822-4415.

Others can call Humboldt County Sheriff's Sgt. Juan Freeman at 268-3643; or Mendocino County Sheriff's Detective Kevin Cline at 463-4107 or 463-4086.

"Anybody who has potentially useful information, the family is desperate and very much wants them to come forward," said Bob Giauque.

Chris Giauque is described as white, six-feet tall, weighing 145 pounds with blue eyes, a full beard and sandy blond hair he wears in long dreadlocks. He was last seen wearing reddish-orange pants, a Hawaiian print shirt and a hat.

Source: Ukiah Daily Journal (CA)
Author: Glenda Anderson, The Daily Journal
Published: Saturday, August 30, 2003
Copyright: 2003 Ukiah Daily Journal
Contact: udj@pacific.net
Website: http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/

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