Case Summary:
Nicolas Sonderegger was last seen by his friend Austin on Saturday, September 8th, 2018. The police report gives the missing date of September 12, 2018, which is, reportedly, four days after the date Nic was last seen by Austin. Austin and Nic had been friends for about 6 years at the time of Nic's disappearance.
According to Austin, who was the last person to see Nic, that night (early morning, technically) around 2am he and Nic heard a woman screaming on the other side of town (note: the town is very small, pop. 422 in 2010). The two debated on rather they should go investigate or not. Austin fell asleep. When he woke, he discovered that Nic was gone. He immediately began searching for him and reported him missing.
The Search:
About a block away from the compound, Austin found Nic's flashlight. Across from where his flashlight was found, investigators found one of Nic's boots, his pants, and his knife sleeve.
During later searches for his friend, on 9/18/18, Austin found Nic's hat and shirt in nearby brush- in a place that had previously searched. Austin states that he left the items there and reported it to the police.
(Nic's hat)
(Nic's boots)
(Nic's flashlight, knife, and knife sleeve can be seen attached to his shorts)
Back story:
Nic and Austin were working for Nic's uncle. (Nic's uncle is Christina's dad- you will see her mentioned later).
Nic's uncle has a criminal history and has been incarcerated for second-degree assault.
Nic and Austin were living in squalor, in an old run down trailer with a tent out back.
Ghosted:
Austin was initially very helpful and forthcoming with the EWU crew. When the crew heard that Austin was getting so much support from the uncle, they thought it was only right to make sure Austin was informed of the uncles history. Austin has not responded to EWU since they sent him the information. They cannot confirm that he even read it.
EWU showed the uncle's mugshot in their video, but say they have since blurred it not to offend anyone; however, Austin has still not responded to any further inquiries.
Fast forward:
After Nic's disappearance, Nic's uncle, allegedly, bought Austin a truck (or helped him get a truck) and took him under his wing- teaching him construction.
Austin's last known whereabouts were in San Diego with Nic's uncle/family.
Nic's brother, Julian, drives Nic's truck and is now, reportedly, living on the compound where Nic was staying.
Missing items:
Vehicle keys and wallet (reported by Austin).
Claims of Discrepancy:
Christina (mentioned earlier), Nic's cousin, claims that there is misinformation presented by the EWU Crew. She claims that Nic's wallet was found and it had $38 dollars in it. Further, she states that both of Nic's boots were found- not just one. When questioned further to clear up these discrepancies, like Austin, Christina ceased all contact with the EWU Crew. Ghosted again.
To my knowledge, neither claim about the wallet has been confirmed by police. So, I leave it to the reader to decide how much weight to put behind these claims.
Austin is the only known witness. The EWU crew directly reported on Austin's first-person account of the events that occurred that night, and the events that subsequently followed. As it stands, there has been no cause to believe that Austin has been deceitful.
What we know:
Nic has been a long time resident of the area. He remembers being little and being able to swim in the Salton Sea. When asked if he would swim there now. He replies, "hell no".
Austin was homeless and living in a tent.
Nic loves music and dancing and had a band called Sun Speik. He tells the EWU crew during the exploration video that he and Austin have thrown about 5 underground rave's and they were planning on throwing the next one at the "secret compound".
Nic is a cat lover and made special trips to the store daily to get his kittens fresh water. I think this speaks for his character.
The Rumor Mill and Viewer Theories:
1. That Austin is responsible.
2. That Nic could be found in the abandoned shed behind the property where he was staying.
3. That Nic starting using Meth about 2 weeks prior to his disappearance and had been acting strange. Some think that he might havewent swimming while he was high.
Reference-
All images and research is credited to the
Explore With Us YouTube channel!
All images are for informational purposes only.
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On the mine comment, I didnt even consider that! Good thinking! I have seen that updated video- but I'm going to watch both again!
