CALAVERAS, CA. (THECOUNT) — A body found Thursday in a California river is that of a freelance automotive writer, David Gordon Johnson, who disappeared while taking a motorcycle on a road test.
According to the sheriff’s office in Calaveras County, Johnson, 44, was reported missing June 5 along with the motorcycle he was “reviewing” for Motorcyclist-Magazine. The motorcycle was discovered two days later at a river access point.
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Johnson’s body found was in the Mokelumne River near the inlet of Lake Pardee.
The medical examiner’s office is determining a cause of death.
Johnson’s fiancée, Jaclyn Trop, told CNN affiliate KCRA earlier this month that he was last heard from when he texted a friend to say he was sitting near a creek before heading home on the Honda CB1000R he was riding for Motorcyclist magazine, reports Fox5SanDiego.
The sheriff’s office said Friday its investigation led detectives to believe that Johnson had drowned accidentally.
California Highway Patrol officers found Johnson’s motorcycle parked at a rest stop near the town of Mokelumne Hill in Calaveras County. The bike, discovered just after midnight, was found with Johnson’s helmet and gloves, KCRA reported. His phone, laptop and backpack were found close to the nearby Mokelumne River, the news station reported.
Trop said she and Johnson had spent the weekend together in Los Angeles before he returned to Northern California, making stops in Las Vegas and Mammoth.
They were out of touch for 12 hours during his trip, Trop told KCRA, but he messaged her at 2 a.m. to apologize for not reaching out, saying his cellphone had died and he was navigating tricky and icy roads after the sun went down.
“I had a great time before it got dark,” Johnson texted, according to the affiliate. “That part of the Sierra is just stupidly spectacular. Anyway, I’m so sorry I worried you. Yes, I am okay and alive, but I am WIPED.”
Geo quick facts: Calaveras County, officially the County of Calaveras, is a county in the northern portion of the U.S. state, California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 40,171. The county seat is San Andreas. Angels Camp is the only incorporated city in the county – Wikipedia.