Officials wrapping up the search for missing hiker Arvin Nelson.

[UPDATE: 10:07am Aug. 25, 2014]

Hope of finding Arvin Nelson, the Big Sur hiker who set out for a planned week-long hike Aug. 6, is dimming by the day.

Cmdr. John Thornburg of the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office says the ground teams are no longer looking for Nelson as of today. Yesterday, about 50 search and rescue workers—including mutual aid from San Luis Obispo, Contra Costa, San Benito and Marin counties—did a final push on the ground.

Air searches by helicopter and airplane continue, Thornburg adds, though he's not sure for how much longer. "We’re starting to wrap up,” he says.

Nelson had food, water and supplies for an extended hike from the China Camp trailhead in Carmel Valley, through Sykes Hot Springs to Big Sur Station, he says.

The last people to see Nelson may have been Jack English, who lived for 13 years in an isolated cabin  in the Ventana Wilderness, and his son Dennis. Stan Russell reports on the WildBigSur listserv:

"Dennis and Jack had gone out to visit their cabin in Pine Valley on August 6. A couple hours after they arrived, Dennis was sitting inside the cabin playing guitar with his father, Jack English. He heard a voice outside asking to approach the cabin. It was Arvin, who had heard the guitar playing, and he came up and introduced himself. Dennis welcomed him in, befriended Arvin and they hung out and played music and hiked around Pine Valley for a couple days.

"Dennis and Jack were picked up by helicopter on the 8th, leaving Pine Valley. Arvin saw them off. He told Dennis he was going to be staying through Saturday, the 9th and then hike the 11 miles to Sykes on Sunday morning, the 10th."

Thornburg says the search went on for longer than usual because Nelson is an experienced hiker. “But at this point, since he hasn’t emerged and we haven’t been able to find him on the trail he planned on taking, the chances are dropping," he says. "It doesn’t look good.”

He later adds: “He may walk out tomorrow."

Some thoughts on Nelson from Weekly Executive Assistant Keely Richter, who has known him since she moved to Big Sur 10 years ago:

"He's the most open, friendly, and enthusiastic person in Big Sur. Truly.

"I had never been pulled onto more dance floors in my life before I met him. He's a terrible dancer, but goddammit it's so fun to dance with him. He will always, invited or otherwise, play the harmonica with a band, whether they're a national touring band or one of our many, many friends. I've seen him in a sarong more times than I can recall, and I've seen him dance so hard that sarong fell off.

"There are few people beyond my group of close friends (of which he is not exactly a member) that can pull me out of a funk like he can. He is just so fucking joyful. I know next to nothing about his past, but I feel so close to him. I would wager that 9 out of 10 Big Sur residents would say the same. The other 1 in the group would be lucky enough to know him better than I.

"Big Sur really tends to rally around a tragedy, and Arvin's been there through fires and mudslides, storms and deaths, making sure that everyone is coping. Not in an intrusive, or... what's the word, I'm looking for...materialistic/proactive/type-A-personality way, but in a 'Hey, let me buy you a beer' kind of way. He's vital; especially to me, as someone who takes the weight of a tragedy on and attempts to come up with concrete ways to help.

"Now the tragedy is him, and Big Sur's rallying again, around his having wandered off. People are bummed out. People are having a hard time dealing. We are all refreshing our Facebook news feeds every 3 minutes to see if there's anyone that has any new news.

"When it's a fire, there are facts, statistics, containment percentages, progress be it good or bad. When Arvin's missing, it's just a waiting game, and there's no one that is going to scream, 'OHHHH GOOD ONE' when I put a jam on the jukebox at Fernwood and pull out his harp, jam, and noodle around the middle of the bar.

"I have also heard people threaten to break his other leg when he gets back for making us worry so much. We have hope."

***

[Post 3:31pm Aug. 21, 2014]

Arvin Nelson of Big Sur is still missing.

As the Weekly reported Monday, Nelson embarked on a solo backpacking trip from the China Camp trailhead into the Los Padres National Forest on Aug. 6 and had planned to arrive at Big Sur Station by Aug. 14.

Search-and-rescue teams began looking for him Aug. 16.

Cmdr. John Thornburg of the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office says the search team is using one airplane, three helicopters and about 30 ground searchers per day, with help from California Highway Patrol, the National Guard and the Coast Guard.

A friend or relative of Nelson’s had called law enforcement Aug. 16, and said Nelson had left instructions to notify officials if he wasn't back by Aug. 14, Thronburg says.

Today marks the sixth day of the search, and officials had originally planned on five to seven. But Thornburg says the search might not be called off yet.

“That’s an area he had not hiked before," he says. “The reason the search has been going is long as it has is, he’s an experienced hiker. He took equipment with him, and he had planned to be gone for a long time.”

Nelson may have gotten lost or injured, and he may be waiting for search teams to find him, Thornburg says. He had food, water and equipment for an extended stay in the wilderness, he adds, but he was hiking in a large wilderness area with dense vegetation cover.

“We have hopes he’s still alive," he says.