As of Tuesday, Jan. 22, police investigators and private citizens still have not been able to locate Michele Schlick-Harris, 52, of Fort Bragg, who was reported missing Jan. 6. Friends and concerned citizens have been circulating and posting information, and placing ads on Bay Area and Sacramento craigslist.org sites.

Schlick-Harris is described as being 5'1" tall, weighing about 116 lbs. with blonde/gray hair and blue eyes.

Her roommate, Guy Batchelder, said Wednesday that he had no new information since filing a missing person report with Fort Bragg Police Jan. 6.

He said he last saw Schlick-Harris on the morning of Dec. 31, but only for a moment as she left the residence. He had suggested she have some breakfast or at least take a banana with her as she left. According to Batchelder, police found an uneaten banana in her car. He could not provide a clothing description, as she quickly passed through the room.

Prior to leaving, she told him she might visit people in Redding for New Year's Eve. A week later, the acquaintance in Redding called the apartment to talk to Schlick-Harris, said Batchelder.

The call prompted Batchelder to file a missing person report, as she was supposed to be with that person.

He

added that she owns a dog which is cared for by a third party. As of a week after her disappearance, she had not called to check on her dog.

Schlick-Harris' blue 1999 Volkswagen Beetle was found parked in Caspar. Fort Bragg Police officers arrived Jan. 17 to open the car and have it towed to an undisclosed location for safekeeping, said Fort Bragg Police Lt. Robert Watson. Her driver's license, issued last year, was found inside the car. Officers walked the area and nearby shoreline looking for evidence.

County Search and Rescue, along with several volunteers, searched the area and shoreline around Caspar, but found nothing. A Coast Guard helicopter was summoned from Humboldt County to assist in the search. According to USCG reports, the helicopter searched around trails leading to the ocean and along the coastline.

"Caspar is not a place she would usually go," he said, "She went to the Mendocino Headlands most often."

Although her car was located in Caspar, Fort Bragg police are handling the case because Schlick-Harris is a city resident.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Fort Bragg Police Department at 961-2800 or the dispatch center at 964-0200 after hours.

 

Former Solano resident

Schlick-Harris is well known in Solano County, where she has been an activist involved in discussions on Proposition 215, Senate Bill 420 and other marijuana-related issues. According to area newspapers, she was sentenced in December to 31 days in jail and three years probation by Judge Dwight Ely for violating a court order to stay away from Solano County officials. Solano County Chief Probation Officer Isabelle Voit said the department had not received information about the sentence. Probation terms may not have required regular check-in visits, or due to the sentence date, may not yet have been transferred to the local probation department.

Lt. Watson said a check of other county's jails showed that she is not in custody anywhere else.