Where is Darrel Johnson?

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NAMUS)

What happened to Darrel:

On June 29th, 2024 Darrel Johnson a 67 year old black man height 6′ 00″ weight 160 was reported missing from the campground at Conchas Lake state park in New Mexico. Darrel was brought to the lake by a close friend and their family to attend a birthday celebration for an accompanying family member. He was last seen at 12:30 am asking a neighboring tent for a flashlight before he vanished. Darrel was last seen wearing a red T-shirt, blue jeans, and brown shoes.

According to the family he was with there were 30+ people in their group at the time of his disappearance. His tent was zipped up at 11:00 pm on Friday June 28th and no one in the party saw Darrrel leave his tent. A family member of the party reported Darrel missing to the Park ranger in the morning and they contacted the New Mexico State police.

Did foul play occur? Was there an accident that happened? Did he choose to walk on his own? Once darrel is recovered, these questions will be answered!

Timeline

The following timeline is provided directly from the NM State Parks Division and New Mexico State Police in responding to and supporting this incident and investigation:

• • At approximately 9:00 a.m. on 6/29/2024 Roxanna Garcia called the Conchas Lake State Park (Park) Visitor Center and spoke with Superintendent Ricarlos Glenn and reported Darrel R. Johnson Sr. as a missing person. Superintendent Glenn notified Park staff to be on the look out for Mr. Johnson and directed them to begin searching the campgrounds for him. Superintendent Glenn also contacted NMSP to report Mr. Johnson as a missing person and request their assistance.

• • Upon learning of Mr. Johnson’s disappearance, Park staff searched the Park until 5:00 p.m. The areas searched included the Central Campground, Cove Campground, Bell Point Campground, and North Area Campground. Park staff conducting the search included a total of six people comprised of full time, part-time, and volunteer staff.

• • Following the initial incident, Park staff continued searching areas within the park for two weeks. Park searches were coordinated during regular work shifts and included patrols on land and water.

• • The Division reached out to, coordinated with, and provided accommodations for Sandia Search Dogs on July 20-21, 2024. SSD is an all-volunteer organization that specializes in training and deploying dogs for human search and rescue. SSD worked the land areas from the Park visitor center to the Boy Scout Area, and the Bell Point, North, and Cove Campgrounds.

DIRECTLY FROM THE NMSP CAPTAIN:

Search and rescue went out and did a search pattern with their drones on August 5th 2024.

In November 2024, Public Record of Police Body Cam footage which includes audio and video has been obtained and viewed. There seems to be discrepancies and inconsistencies when it comes to conversations, police report and overall information.