Inside the Disappearance of Utah Wilderness Guide Joe Pachak

Bluff is a small town in Utah with a population of 250, where the four corners of its respective states converge. For Joe Pachak, it’s been home since 1989. That’s because those close to Pachak say that he resonates deeply with all that this southwestern pocket embodies—a culminating point of art, history, and the outdoors.

For friends and family, Pachak’s love of home and community makes his sudden vanishing all the more bewildering.

Packak was last heard from on the morning of November 18. He was supposed to meet friends at the Cow Canyon Cafe, a local coffee shop, on November 24. Three days later, Pachak was also expected to attend two Thanksgiving dinners at different locations. But he didn’t show up at any of these events, Utah law enforcement wrote in a missing person alert.

The 75-year-old wilderness guide is a well-known artist and a staple of the small desert community, making his disappearance all the more baffling to his friends and family.

Lin Ostler, Pachak’s former partner and close friend, shares a 36-year-old son, Raini, with Pachak. The 79-year-old yoga instructor told Outside that this type of behavior is uncharacteristic, calling it an “unprecedented disappearance.”

He’s also a jokester who makes a habit of his coffee, which is why Ostler said that it’s especially odd he left behind a cup of coffee with the creamer container still out.

“Morning coffee was definitely a ritual,” said Ostler. “The door was unlocked, his wallet, keys, phone, and a cup of coffee were all in place, and his trusty old truck was still in the gravel driveway.”

Utah authorities conducted an extensive search for Pachak involving a helicopter, drones, and scent dogs.

“No trace was found,” said Ostler, adding that a pond on his property had even been drained in the search.

As an avid outdoorsman, Pachak takes regular spontaneous hikes, though it’s unusual for him not to tell anyone about his plans.

“I have hiked with him recently, and he plays it safer these days than during his younger years; he wouldn’t take a huge risk, especially without letting people know about it first. He’s a very smart man and showed no signs of anything like dementia that would alter his behavior on a whim,” his son Raini told Outside.

All things point to a man who was looking forward to the future. Pachak is an avid gardener, and had purchased soil and repotted plants days before his disappearance. Living off-grid, Pachak had also just installed a water line at his home and was excited to start a new meditation practice.

“He had plants to water and wild animals he fed, that he cared about. He wouldn’t just disappear and let everyone suffer because of it. That’s not Joe,” his son Raini told Outside. “He is a great outdoorsman, even at 75, and nobody doubts his ability to survive, but it’s well below freezing at night where he lives, and those conditions are difficult to deal with.”

Given his extensive wilderness experience, Pachak’s disappearance baffles those closest to him. Ostler says that Pachak is a competent wilderness guide, serious about outdoor exploration. He’s knowledgeable about the desert conditions and taught Ostler about cryptobiotic soil, microorganisms that grow for decades to form a crust on the surface of desert soils, which people can crush in seconds with just one step.

Ostler met Pachak in 1988 in Calle Coyote Gulch, in southern Utah, during a wilderness gathering of artists, poets, and architects. While hiking, she lost some oranges she had packed away for lunch and later found out that Pachak had found and eaten the fruit, “seeds and all.” They developed a deep friendship, writing letters to one another for a time. The two would later conceive their son, Raini, on a full moon eclipse.

“Joe is a unique individual—soft spoken and deliberate in speech but intense, present, and mega-informed on details of the desert southwest,” Ostler told Outside.

San Juan County Sheriff’s Office in Utah posted an update on his disappearance on December 1, writing that after an extensive search of Bluff and the surrounding area, they have not been able to locate Pachak. At the time of their posting, they did not suspect foul play.

For Ostler, who says that she is a true “never give up person,” the search for Pachak isn’t over. She and Raini will actively look for the man until they find answers.

“He’s a very special man, and we just want him home safe,” said Raini.

The investigation into Pachak’s disappearance is still open, and anyone with information is encouraged to contact the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office.