What a year this has been. It became more real during the holidays. You know, when you make all those calls to friends & family. For us this year, there was less family and more friends. We are so grateful to all of our friends, new and old and our wonderful family. We couldn’t have made it this far without you. As most of you know, we are not living in the past. We are moving forward. That doesn’t mean we don’t miss Richard. Everyday something will remind us of him and we will cry for awhile. I’ve never cried so much in my life. We also haven’t stopped looking for him in the ocean.
Realistically, we’re looking at March or April for another major search. After the big ocean search in October revealed a smooth ocean floor and no cars, there should have at least 2 (Richard’s and Rose’s), the following theories are in play. If you have another one, we’d love to hear from you.
The number 1 theory is that the cars are buried in the sand under the ocean floor. We have friends that are going to be using an underwater metal detector to see if there is any metal (car) in the sand. This is time consuming. We are searching for a magnetometer that we could borrow or rent to pull behind a boat in the area. This will cover a larger area much quicker. If you could be of help getting one of these, please let us know.
Another theory is that the cars rolled out farther to sea in the wave activity. We’ve talked to Keith of Bruce’s Legacy about perhaps using him and his ROV to search farther out.
Another theory is that the cars are headed south in the ocean currents. That’s where Richard’s AAA Card and car parts headed as well as others in the past. If we can, we may be able to search the rest of the ocean in front of Montara Beach and maybe south towards the harbor.
I don’t see us stopping the search for Richard’s remains. We realize that he could be considered at peace in the ocean, it’s just that we would have to exhaust all other options before settling on that one.
We’d like to thank the Half Moon Bay Review for their New Years article about Richard and the barrier that was put up so quickly by CalTrans. Thank you again CalTrans. We know that at least 3 vehicles have struck it so far. We don’t know if it saved their lives or not. On the other hand, I have to believe that each driver was grateful that it was there.
Going forward, we’d like to put up a plaque in the area for Richard. CalTrans won’t stand in the way, but we will need a permit. Is there anyone that can help with this? If so, please let me know. I just don’t know how the process works. Also, if any of you have thoughts on what the plaque should look like, please let me know as well. Creating isn’t my forte but I know it is for many of you. We may ask for some donations once we know the details.
We love you all and especially you Richard. God bless you all.
San Mateo County News 