Johnson in his element. Though he took up motorcycling relatively late in the game, he embraced the two-wheeled life wholeheartedly.
After 10 days, the large-scale search for Davey G. Johnson has come to an end; the whereabouts of the missing automotive writer remain unknown.
At the time of his disappearance, Johnson was riding a Honda CB1000R on assignment for Motorcyclist; he was returning from a jaunt to Las Vegas, and his route toward his home in Sacramento took him over the difficult Sonora Pass.
Johnson’s last known contact was a selfie photo sent to a friend on the morning of June 5. The search began on June 7; his test motorcycle was soon found, key in the ignition, at the Big Bar River Access rest stop off of California Route 49, along with his helmet and riding gear. Officials say that the motorcycle was operable, with no readily apparent mechanical problems.
As his clothing, laptop and other effects were found by a creek leading to the Mokelumne River — and scent-tracking dogs lost his trail at the water’s edge — it’s possible he entered the creek, perhaps to refresh himself after his long ride, and may have been overcome by the cold, snowmelt-fed water.
Of course, this is speculation; that we may never know exactly what happened to Johnson only makes his disappearance that much more difficult to come to terms with.
According to the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office, resources marshaled in an attempt to locate Johnson included a wide range of local, regional and state agencies and hundreds of searchers — who covered over 448 miles on foot in hopes of locating him — aided by search dogs, boats, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles. The efforts were, sadly, unsuccessful.
The Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office adds: “Specially trained K9s have indicated that David Johnson’s scent traveled from the location of the photograph towards the river’s edge. Undisturbed items of value including a wallet, electronics and a camera were located in the area. All items have been identified as belonging to David Johnson.”
The sheriff’s office marine safety unit and sheriff’s detectives will continue to search for Johnson, but again, unless new information surfaces, this appears to be the end of the large-scale effort.
Davey, doing his thing.
A contributor to Car and Driver, and on assignment for Motorcyclist at the time of his disappearance, Johnson left his mark at Autoweek and Jalopnik, among other outlets. His work revealed his insatiable curiosity, his gift for exuberant and compelling writing — and a mind apparently hardwired for cultural references of varying degrees of obscurity and obliqueness.
What really mattered, even if those references sometimes soared over your head like a Cold War-era spy plane, was how Johnson got to the core of what makes this whole gearhead thing worthwhile. He could geek out about little-known European cars with the best of them, sure. But he also had a way of making you see that the machines we all love can, and indeed should, be a vantage point from which to view and understand the world around us, and a way to interact with the fascinating people in it, rather than simply mechanical ends in and of themselves.
Johnson leaves behind his girlfriend, fellow car writer Jaclyn Trop — whom he loved with characteristic depth and intensity — as well as legions of friends, colleagues and admirers-from-afar. He will be dearly remembered and his insight sorely missed.
If you have any information on Johnson, his whereabouts or the circumstances surrounding his disappearance, contact the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office at (209) 754-6500 or the investigations tip line at (209) 754-6030.
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