A year later, man still missing

RENO -- Family members are seeking answers about the fate of a man who vanished a year ago while driving home to Reno after visiting relatives in Ohio.

Patrick Carnes' car was found abandoned April 14, 2011, at an Interstate 80 offramp about 20 miles east of Winnemucca.

Humboldt County sheriff's investigators believe the 86-year-old World War II veteran is dead and foul play is involved. His 8-year-old Akita-Labrador mix dog named Lucky also has never been found.

Carnes' son Jim told the Reno Gazette-Journal that family members are hoping that publicity over the anniversary of Carnes' disappearance will lead to new clues.

"We are all just struggling day to day," he said. "We need to find something out. I never thought it would go a year."

In a twist, the car of 62-year-old Judy Casida of Reno was found abandoned at the same I-80 Pumpernickel Valley offramp in March 2006. She also remains missing. The offramp leads to lonely desert and scattered ranches.

Humboldt County Undersheriff Curtiss Kull said the last known person to speak to Carnes was a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper who pulled him over April 13, 2011.

Carnes was accused of driving too close to the trooper while the trooper was on an I-80 traffic stop in Wells, about a three-hour drive east of where Carnes' car was found abandoned.

Carnes told the trooper he was following a tractor-trailer rig because the driver was headed to Elko. But Jim Carnes said it's possible his father was only kidding.

While the truck driver is not considered a suspect, Kull said investigators have been trying to find him to see if he can provide any leads.

Intensive ground and air searches found no trace of Carnes, and his children posted thousands of fliers about him in rural Nevada.

Despite Carnes' age, the Navy veteran was described as mentally sharp and fit.

Jim Carnes thinks someone else drove his father's car to the offramp. He said his father might have pulled over to sleep, and he was attacked. Kull said robbery could have been a motive.

A video camera mounted on the patrol vehicle's dashboard captured the conversation between Carnes and the trooper, and shows Lucky wagging his tail.