Terrell LaMont Knight

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Siskiyou County Sheriffs Department (CA)

Missing From:

McCloud, CA

Summary:

Terrell "Terry" Knight, 66, left his McCloud home on his mountain bike on the morning of June 22, 2022 to cut trails in the forest and never returned. Surveillance video showed him riding north on Broadway Avenue at 9:12 a.m. On June 25 searchers found his bike, helmet and some clothing near Mud Creek, northeast of the McCloud Mill. A multi-county search of more than 100 square miles found nothing more. He has never been found.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Disappearance:

Terrell LaMont Knight, known as Terry, was a 66-year-old McCloud resident who loved mountain biking in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest around town and regularly went out to cut and maintain trails. On the morning of Wednesday, June 22, 2022, he left his home off McCloud Avenue at about 9:00 a.m. on his mountain bike to do trail cutting. His wife last saw him at the house. Surveillance footage, which his wife identified, shows him riding north on Broadway Avenue in McCloud at 9:12 a.m. That is his last confirmed location. He was expected home that evening and did not return. He did not have a cellular phone or a GPS device with him. His wife reported him missing to the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office the same day, and Siskiyou County Search and Rescue began combing the trails until dark. Officials were especially concerned because he has a heart condition and did not have his medication. He was riding a blue Giant mountain bike with large gravel tires and orange accents, and was wearing a light camouflage long-sleeve shirt and yellow-and-black cycling shoes. The search grew quickly. McCloud High School became the incident command center, housing more than 70 volunteers from 13 county search-and-rescue teams, with the California National Guard and the California Highway Patrol flying helicopters from the school's baseball field. Ground crews, K9 teams, mountain bike and ATV teams, drones and aircraft took part, coordinated with the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services. Heavy tree cover limited the usefulness of infrared technology from the air. Within three days, teams from Oregon, California and Nevada had covered more than 100 square miles of heavily wooded terrain. On Saturday, June 25, 2022, searchers found Mr. Knight's mountain bike, helmet and some items of clothing near Mud Creek, northeast of the McCloud Mill (the sheriff's Unsolved Siskiyou page describes the spot as south of the mill). A CHP helicopter and grid-search teams concentrated on that area and expanded the perimeter to more than a mile around it, and multiple K9 teams searched on June 27. The sheriff's office said it was normal for him to leave some gear and clothing behind when he worked on trails, because he typically carried tools and a change of clothes. He is believed to have still had his backpack with extra food, clothing and water, which gave his family hope. By June 29 and 30, 2022, search teams from 15 to 20 counties across California and southern Oregon, including the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office and its search and rescue team, had assisted, but investigators reported no meaningful leads and no new evidence for several days. Officials described the terrain as rugged and heavily forested, with downed timber and vegetation limiting visibility from the ground and the air, and said the search was being stretched by limited resources. The large-scale search was wound down soon after. No other indication of Mr. Knight's whereabouts has been found. He is listed in NamUs and the California Department of Justice missing persons database, and the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office carries his case on its Unsolved Siskiyou list. The case remains open.

Additional Details:

Anyone with information is asked to call the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office at (530) 841-2900. During the 2022 search the sheriff's office used a public information line at (530) 598-9375.

Case Last Updated:

Oct 23, 2026