_{Thumbnail: Brandyon Salazar was last seen heading to the boat ramp at the old Klamath townsite early Sunday morning. | Courtesy of the California Highway Patrol}

Yurok Tribal police are leading an investigation into the whereabouts of a 23-year-old man who was last seen heading to the boat ramp at the old Klamath townsite early Sunday morning.

Brandyon Salazar, a Pulikla Tribal member, was with a group of people at the Country Club Bar and Grill on Klamath Boulevard at about 2 a.m. when he drew the attention of law enforcement. According to YTP Chief Greg O’Rourke, Salazar had been drinking and was becoming aggressive, forcing his officer to make a determination to either arrest him for public intoxication or give him a ride home.

Before the officer could take action, however, Salazar fled on foot. O’Rourke said his officer followed Salazar, who had crossed U.S. 101 near Ehlers Avenue, before losing sight of him. Salazar’s family reported him missing later in the morning, the police chief said.

“At that point, when we learned that he had not come home and had not contacted family, we took a missing persons report and started assisting with checking the area,” O’Rourke told Redwood Voice Community News on Thursday. “The officers did check the area after they saw him fleeing, but it’s pretty dense and it’s pretty easy to hide.”

Salazar was last seen wearing a white shirt, black Nike, or jogger, pants and white shoes. He’s 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs 145 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.

The California Highway Patrol issued a Feather Alert for Salazar on behalf of the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office on Monday. According to O’Rourke, Salazar’s family and the Pulikla Tribe has spearheaded the search for the missing individual.

A challenge for law enforcement, however, is that Salazar sent a message to a family member via social media to pick him up near the boat ramp at the old Klamath Townsite, O’Rourke said.

“It did create an issue where we couldn’t pinpoint a location from where he was seen to where he sent that text,” the police chief said. “When it came to trying to call out a search and rescue team or dog teams, we just didn’t have the numbers to cover so much ground. We can definitely articulate where my officer had seen him at, but where he sent the message (from), that we do not know.”

According to Del Norte county Sheriff Garrett Scott, search and rescue leaders were initially wary about putting members on the ground because they weren’t sure if Salazar would be violent toward them if he was found.

However, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Yurok Tribal Police Department did deploy boats to help with the search. Scott said law enforcement is also trying to ping Salazar’s cell phone.

O’Rourke said Alanna Wright, an employee with the Yurok Tribal Court, who is a drone pilot, deployed both an aerial and an underwater drone to try to locate Salazar.

According to the Yurok Tribal Police Chief, it’s possible Salazar left the area on foot or received a ride. It’s also possible that Salazar entered the river — officers don’t yet know what happened, O’Rourke said.

However, while O’Rourke said that Salazar is an at-risk missing person, he is not a fugitive of any kind.

“I don’t believe he’s running or trying to elude law enforcement,” O’Rourke said. “And, as of right now, I don’t think that foul play is involved because we haven’t seen anything to indicate that. But we haven’t been able to eliminate it either.”

Anyone with information about Salazar is asked to call Yurok Tribal Police at (707) 482-8185. Anonymous tips are welcome.