UPDATE: Missing since Sunday, elderly DHS man, 78, found deceased in Oasis

UPDATED: Thursday, May 13, 11 a.m., With additional details from investigating agency.

Originally Published: Tuesday, May 11, 12:30 p.m.

DESERT HOT SPRINGS, Calif. — Authorities yesterday announced that an elderly Desert Hot Springs man who had been missing since Sunday was found deceased near the area of State Route 86 and 84th Avenue, in the unincorporated community of Oasis.

Officials have no idea how the 78-year-old victim, who suffered from undiagnosed dementia, managed to get from where he was last seen on Sunday to the remote location where his body was found, a distance of nearly 50 miles from the Desert Hot Springs area where he was last seen alive.

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Deputies from the Palm Desert Sheriff’s Station began searching for Michael Bourriague after he was reported missing from Desert Hot Springs around noon on Sunday.

He was described at the time as standing about five-foot-four, weighing approximately 100 pounds, with white hair and green eyes.

On May 12, department officials reported that Bourriage’s body was discovered near the area of State Route 86 and 84th Avenue, along the northwest side of the Salton Sea – a 16-hour walk from Desert Hot Springs.

While officials have said they have no idea how the elderly man managed to get so far from where he was last seen, they have also said that no foul play was suspected in the elderly man’s passing.

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The investigation into the cause of Bourriage’s death is continuing.

If you have any information regarding this ongoing investigation is encouraged to contact the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department at (760) 836-3215. Callers can remain anonymous.

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Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 49, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).

Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County-based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.