On June 6, Vernon “Cody” Matthews disappeared from his parents’ vacation home in Pollock Pines. But his parents have not given up hope — and if anyone would be able to survive two months in the wilderness, it would be Cody.

Cody’s father, Vern, spent about a dozen years in Civil Air Patrol Search and Rescue and was a team leader trainee when he stepped down. He spent 20 years in fire service in Southern California, and was a captain when he left due to injury. He had extensive Red Cross and emergency medical training, often doing wilderness rescues. Before age and injury caught up, he was a wilderness survivalist, once living off of insects for two weeks in Europe. All of these skills he passed on to his five children, including, he said, Cody.

For his part, Cody grew up as part of the Fire Explorers program, becoming captain. “He is not a survivalist,” Vern said, “but he is capable and comfortable in the woods.” A student of anthropology, Cody had studied Clovis Man and American Indian traditions. He studied how they made tools and lived on the land. He is capable of using a flint and steel to start fires and making primitive tools and weapons.

Cody intended to live off the land for the summer. He arrived a few days prior to June 6 at the vacation house, ahead of his parents. Vern was going to help Cody prepare for the summer before he left. Instead, Cody disappeared.

The odd circumstances continued to pile up. The day he disappeared, Cody called his mother, Cyndi. He told her the house had been “ransacked,” Vern said, and Cody was going to secure the house.

“He was looking for a compass,” Cyndi added, as he was going to go on a hike. She guided him room by room, trying to find a compass in the house. He suddenly realized that he had switched pants earlier in the day and had a compass in one of the pockets. “I could almost see him,” she said, pantomiming him hitting his forehead.

That was the last Cyndi or Vern spoke with their son. He was supposed to call that night, but the call never came. All that remained of him was a half-eaten plate of eggs and a tea kettle on the stove when Vern and Cyndi arrived a few days later.

They also found between $13,000 and $18,000 of tools missing. A large saw, only capable of being moved by more than one person, was sitting in the driveway. A camera meant to catch wildlife, set up in the front driveway area, was missing. A security camera’s line was cut. The side door of the house had been forcibly opened, bending the locking bar and destroying the door frame. Cyndi called the burglary and Cody’s disappearance a “strange set of circumstances,” but law enforcement does not believe the two events are connected. There were no signs of foul play to the disappearance.

Though both the Matthews and law enforcement have a few theories, no one theory fits. “There too many holes to work,” Vern said. “It’s probably something so obvious; we don’t see the forest for the trees.”

Cody had requested his parents bring a gun for him for the summer, and he needed a new phone as his was dying. “There was no sense in not meeting us. He had too much to gain,” his father said. “He was absorbed into air. He was gone; that was it.”

A search effort lasted eight days, officially. His cell phone pings were followed. It was clear he had gone on a hike, with pings in and around the South Fork of the American River — pings that are accurate to within 300 feet. The pings showed him going back in the direction of the house before ending in the water. But, there is no evidence Cody is in the river or on the banks. “They polished the banks with towels,” Vern said. Footsteps were also found leading out of the river — likely Cody’s. Having been an avid kayaker, canoeist and having been a lifeguard for a few years, Cody is no stranger to water.

Friends, neighbors and law enforcement — 488 people from 15 counties — were involved in the search. Dogs of various specialities, professional man trackers, mountain guides, divers, four-wheelers, helicopters with FLIR thermal cameras and more were utilized. Part of the problem, Vern said, was that in some areas, the bushes were so thick, Cody could be incapacitated 3 feet away and no one would be able to notice him.

“We have no complaints on how hard they tried,” Vern said. “Cody just vanished.”

A lover of dinosaurs and anthropology, Cody “fancied himself as Indiana Jones,” Vern said. His son dressed the part, took part in archeological digs, studied anthropology and geology at college. An amateur rapper, his college friends called him MC Thor, as Cody’s long, blonde hair and reddish beard are similar to Chris Hemsworth’s portrayal in the Marvel movies. “Everybody liked him. We know of no enemies,” Vern added.

Now, the search consumes the Matthews’ life. Vern quit his job as he and Cyndi moved into the vacation house. They spend their days on social media, reaching out for anyone with information, or putting up posters in areas where Cody may be or seen. Some of the official searchers, in their off time, continue the unofficial search. The Matthews hold out hope, as other people his age have disappeared and returned weeks, months and even more than a decade later from the wilderness.

“With his skills and knowledge of the backcountry,” Vern said, “the chance of him not being able to thrive is slim.”

Cody Matthews is described as 23 years old; 6 feet 3 inches tall; 220 pounds; blonde hair past his shoulder blades but often tied back; a reddish beard; light eyes; a slender, muscular build; possibly wearing “barefoot” shoes. Anyone with information regarding Cody’s whereabouts is asked to call El Dorado County Dispatch at 530-621-6600.