Ojai Valley News Blog

By Nancy Gross
It cannot be easy when someone you love dearly disappears, seemingly, into thin air. Jenny Newell, Niles Dohrn and wife Tara, Jennel Dohrn and Walt Dohrn Jr. hope that a fund-raising event held at the restaurant named in honor of their mother, Bonnie Dohrn, can help them continue efforts to find their father, Walter Dohrn, who has been missing since July 5.

“He was always so nice to me. He uplifted my day every time I saw him. He made my heart light. He always had a smile on his face,” says longtime Ojai resident Joy Kilpatrick.

Someone named Michael left the following comment on the Ojai Valley News Blog on July 20: “I grew up with Walt Jr. So I spent a lot of time at Bonnie and Walt’s house. I loved it there; it always felt like home. As Walt Jr. and I got older, we went our ways in life. But every time I saw Big Walt he would stop and we would catch up on the family and his cars. (I just loved his ‘57 Nomad). When I saw that Walt was missing, I was shocked. Come on home, Walt, we all miss ya.”

Dohrn had been visiting close friends in Cherry Valley, which is a remote part of Riverside County, and began to behave in a confused manner that was uncharacteristic of him. He questioned the friends about visiting him, when he was in fact visiting them, and then expressed a desire to leave. His friends’ neighbor saw Dohrn pacing outside, and next time anyone checked, he was gone without his car. The only other possible sighting of him was on July 7, about five miles away from where he had left.

Newell says her father was “always friendly, and loves his family.” July 7 is mother Bonnie’s birthday, and the relatives always celebrate: “We usually go out to dinner. We watch her old ‘The Price Is Right’ show.” Bonnie was a contestant on the game show in the 1970s. When her father didn’t come back from his trip to participate in these usual festivities, Newell felt something was off.

She says, “It’s one day at a time. You have to keep going. It’s just haunting. He lives right behind me and I keep looking for him.” Birthed by the care and concern of friends, the benefit concert at Bonnie Lu’s restaurant is an opportunity for the family to soak up the warmth of the community, and to raise money to continue to pay some of Dohrn’s bills and keep his house going. In addition, “My brother goes down once a week on his days off, and this could help pay for gas, hotels, the printing of fliers.” If possible, the family would like to hire a private detective.

For the evening at Bonnie Lu’s on Saturday from 6 to 9 p.m. Jonathan McEuen will perform, a chili and cornbread dinner will be served, and a silent auction will aid with efforts to raise money. Tickets are $12 if purchased in advance at Bonnie Lu’s, and $15 at the door, with no charge for children under 10.

Another post on the OVN blog, put there by “A friend” on Aug. 8, is a poem which begins as follows: “Out of our presence, but not our hearts.” And hearts aren’t ready to give up yet.

ORIGINAL REPORT