Long-time RVtravel.com reader Alan Wolfe, of Maple Valley, WA, reached out to us on Sunday, July 10, to ask if we could help find his missing daughter, 37-year-old Melissa Wolfe, of nearby Renton.
UPDATE: August 5: Melissa has been found safe and Joshua arrested.
“She is in the company of a known fugitive (Joshua Bouchard) and driving a stolen black 2021 Ford Transit camper van,” he said. “They were last spotted July 4 traveling south on Highway 101, at the Giant Redwood RV Park in Myers Flat, California.”
Bouchard, Wolfe said, is a fugitive with 7 warrants from two states: Idaho and Arizona. One is FBI-related.
In addition to RV parks, they may also be staying in homeless areas.
The van’s Washington license plate is C14129Y and the VIN is 1FTBR2XG7MKA61742.
If you spot them, please immediately call 911. If have information that may help, contact Renton Detective Sgt. Judd at 425-430-7639 or the number below. The case number is #22-6610.
Glad to hear this great news.
Melissa was found alive in San Diego last night. We are working to get her home now.
The Van was found and towed. Joshua was arrested for his warrants.
They were found once the Van owner learned that they could remotely enable the GPS tracking through Ford. It took multiple days and forms, but that proved to be the tool used.
Thank you to everyone, Chuck, Diane, and all of the readers on this site. We are in your debt.
Yay! So happy to hear you’re getting your daughter back, Alan! Woo hoo!!! I know you’re ecstatic. Take care. 😀 –Diane
Alan, please accept my congratulations that she was found safe. Hopefully, she was not brain washed by the vile creature she was with. Also, I hope that she and your entire family, seek the counseling that I am sure you will need to get through the rest of this ordeal. Again, we are so happy for your family to be reunited again!
Lots of luck,
Ed and Robin D.
Update: First please let us thank you all for both your concern as well as helping us by keeping an eye out for our daughter, Joshua or the Van. The last confirmed sighting is still July 5th in the Redwoods of Northern California. The vehicle itself has not been located yet either. We have been following many unconfirmed and conflicting sightings and have a reached out to food banks, churches and Police in the most likely areas. After going through three Detective agencies we have found one who’s skills have been nothing short of incredible. They have many electronic systems deployed watching for activity online as well. You can imagine the terrible scenarios we are exploring.
There’s no follow up on any news site? Did this story just die? Has anyone or any vehicle been found?
I know it’s a long shot… but, keeping our eyes open in NW Montana. Praying. 🙏
Thank you.
What is going on? Nothing for weeks.
Where did they rent the vehicle from? No follow up? I am so sad as I lost a friend to someone like this.
The Camper Van was rented from a private citizen, just like you or me, and rented it through some online rental service. I have been working closely with him as well as the Police.
Update: Las Vegas focus added.
We finally got in touch with Joshua Bouchard’s Step-Father Jim. He said that Joshua who has been in Prison twice so far) would always go to Las Vegas when he was in trouble saying that “He could get lost in Vegas”. Jim does not believe that Joshua would head to Mexico, so that was probably a false lead that Joshua told folks.
We are not stopping the search in California or Mexico for any leads, but adding Las Vegas. If anyone around there could send out the Missing Persons report to anyone or places you know, it would be most helpful.
https://www.facebook.com/wheresgabby/posts/177956034630848
Alan, this is your old friend from IHS. Use to live in Roslyn and Ellensburg, WA. Now living in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Not sure how I can help but am available to help in any way I can. Maybe the admin of this newsletter will share my email with you. We are thinking of you and your family.
Thanks, M. I will email your email address to Alan right now. Thank you very much. Take care. –Diane
I’m in Vegas now, heading to AZ and then looping back to LA. I’ll be camping so I’ll keep my eye out
Thank you.
Alan – I can’t imagine what you are going through and I’m concentrating on a positive, happy ending to this story for you. RVTravel – thank you for continuing to share all this information. I agree that RVTravel is a better place to get good information on their whereabouts without them knowing. I’m in Northern California and will keep my eyes open for them. Best of luck to you. I’ll keep checking back for updates.
If they have not already, the parents should share their BOLO with three park agencies (all phone numbers easily found on the web).
Redwood National & State Park’s (RNSP) public information line is answered by a live PIO (M-F, 9-5). The PIO frequently receives calls about missing people and stolen cars and can distribute the BOLO to park law enforcement. RNSP’s park law enforcement jurisdiction reaches from Hiouchi (Del Norte County) to Trinidad (Humboldt County).
Myers Flat, to the south, is located within a separate park district called Humboldt Redwoods State Park which has its own law enforcement.
Lastly, Six Rivers National Forest manages a huge remote wilderness area just east of the parks, from the Oregon border to southern Humboldt County. SRNF should also be contacted.
I hope this info is helpful. Wishing the best outcome for everyone.
Thank you for this. We will do.
We’ll be on the lookout in SW Utah.
Thank you.
If this guy has the number of arrests and criminal history as noted, I would think there would be a poster picture of him including all known aspects like eye color. This is terrifying event for any parent to have to go thru – with hope we pray it all turns out well for your daughter Alan. You have a lot of support coming from this traveling community – every scrap of info can help and may lead to the end of this nightmare!
Thank you and to everyone here. I have hired a “Liam Neeson” type of Investigator who has unearthed a large amount of information so far.
Update: Incredibly, there have been no sightings since July 5th. The number of news agencies, reports, social media sites and Law Enforcement that have this information, but no validated sighting yet.
So sorry to hear that, Alan. We’re posting the announcement, along with your update, in our Sunday newsletter. Hopefully Melissa will be found, safe and sound, very soon. Hang in there. –Diane
I am a far distance from WA but I will keep a lookout for that van here in Maine. I hope everything works well and she is found safe.
Thank you
I was at a gas station on Hwy 199 in the town of Hiouchi Ca. There was a vehicle matching this description with out of state plates. I didn’t look too closely but it was backed up on the side of the gas station where I believe there was an air tank. The back doors were open and it seemed very full of stuff. What stood out is a tv that was new in the box half in and half out of the van. I never saw the occupants but if this was my child any possibility is a possibility you didn’t have before. My heart goes out to the family and I hope she is found. They should have cameras
Thank you, we will call them.
Update: (I hope it is ok to post these here)
Possible sighting West of Willits, CA on HWY 20, earlier today. (not confirmed). It sure is likely and logically does follow a path they would take. We have reached out to the person that reported this and are trying to ask them to call local 911.
If so, they sure could have taken a right off of HWY 101 around Leggett and taken Hwy 1 down to Ft. Bragg, then HWY 20 to Willits, CA so that they could rejoin HWY 101 heading South.
I believe they are following the Social Media Posts on Facebook, especially about the stolen Van. I do not think they know of Chuck’s RV community here!
Yes, Alan. Please post updates here. And if you have a photo of Joshua, please email it to me at diane(at)rvtravel.com and I’ll add it to our post. Thank you. Good luck! –Diane
Thank you Diane!
Of course! And in case you didn’t see my previous comments, and the one that I edited after you replied, please send a picture of Joshua to my email address diane(at)rvtravel.com and I’ll put it in our article. We want to do anything we can to help you get your daughter home safely. Hang in there, Alan. –Diane
Hoping for a good outcome.
Thank you Gary
This is Alan Wolfe again. We have remained about 1 week behind them, the entire way. Reports about Melissa are that she continues to have more bruises each time and now visible cuts?
All sighting reports have her drugged and erratic.
Oh, what a difficult place for a parent to be! Best wishes.
Thank you.
Question: Was she abducted by Bouchard, or with him voluntarily?
I don’t see where your question really applies. He is a fugitive from justice and obvious a concern for safety of all.
It was just a question. And it actually does apply. If she is an accomplice, that makes her just as dangerous as he is. So if someone were to see her in a position where they could extricate her from the situation, they would most likely not approach her. Whereas, if she is an abducted person, than she would be approached differently by anyone that knows of the abduction.
Thank you for setting him straight.. I’m a retired LEO wife and there is a good chance she will do anything to protect that P. O.S .
Thanks Rosalie.
Don’t all of a you fly off the handle for asking if it was voluntary. We don’t know the situation. Could even be a friend without knowledge of the history. Just keep your prayers and hope all is well and safe for the daughter.
Of course we all hope she is safe and comes out of this ordeal safely.
She is with him voluntarily. It is brand new behavior on her part. My reason for saying this is that our daughter is a great risk from both Violence and overdose, not to include additional dangers. He is a career criminal with over 105+ citations/arrests. 7 active Warrants, one FBI. If you asked my opinion, these types get a naïve female and keep committing crimes under their identity, so when caught, they can say it wasn’t them, it was all done by the female, under her name, which makes the girl disposable.
First goal: Find her while still alive.
Please, everyone, anyone, just call 911 if you spot them.
Alan, our hearts go out to your family and your daughter. I know that thinking that you are in love with someone will allow some to overlook the real person they are with. I agree with your assessment. I sincerely hope that your daughter is brought out of this ordeal safer and wiser, for the experience. Our prayers are with you.
Thank you Ed. We are leaving no stone unturned as we try to find and save my daughter. This RV Community that Chuck has cultivated for so many years is amazing. Since they are staying in RV parks along the way South, all we need is one of our large RV Family to spot them!
Any photo of him would be helpful because he will now kept her more in hiding. People can keep a look out for his face and he could steal a different vehicle. Hope she is found very soon!
Hi, Pat. If you go to Facebook and search for Melissa Wolfe, then scroll down the page to Photos, there’s a possible photo of Joshua on there. I’m not going to post it in the article because I’m not 100% positive that it is him. If Alan Wolfe can verify that the image posted by Melody Kay is of Joshua, I will add it to our article. Thank you for your concern. We’re all hoping for the best outcome for Melissa and her family and friends. –Diane
Thank you for this thought. We definitely have been providing his photos as well. I’m not sure how to do that here.
Hi, Alan. If you confirm that the photo that Melody Kay posted on FB is of Joshua, I can copy that and include it in our post. Or send a photo to me via email to diane(at)rvtravelcom and I’ll put it in there. Thank you. We’re so sorry about your daughter. We all hope she is found soon and safe. –Diane
Hi, Pat. Alan just sent us photos of Joshua, which we have added to our article. Thank you. –Diane
Remember that Harvest Host is another possibility. Send your announcement to them. They are free sights to stay a night and
Then move on. Membership is easy to get and inexpensive. It’s a great way to travel because it’s usually limited to just one night!
Thank you to everyone for your attention to this in advance.
If spotted, please also call the California Highway Patrol. They are aware and looking for them as well!
Alan, I met your daughter in Myers Flat. We visited and I had a sense she was lost. My husband left a message with the officer in Renton WA I believe. I would be happy to talk with about our visit. I am saying prayers for Melissa and your family.
Alan replied to your comment, Katy, with his phone number. That’s not a good idea to put a phone number out there for the whole world to see, so I’ve sent you his phone number by email. You have each other’s email addresses now, as well. Good luck! –Diane
Thank you!