The discovery of wreckage from an old car crash in Kern County may help solve the mystery behind a missing Lompoc man’s disappearance more than two years ago.
Zacharey Taylor Wilks, 27, left Lompoc late on May 24, 2017, while driving a black 1994 Honda Civic to Las Vegas on a route that included Highway 166.
Since then, family and friends have sought answers to Wilks’ whereabouts, wondering how he seemed to have fallen off the face of the Earth.
On Monday, the Lompoc Police Department announced on its app that detectives learned Friday about the discovery of old wreckage involving a vehicle that matched the description of the one belonging to a Lompoc man who disappeared in May 2017.
Police have since confirmed to Noozhawk that the vehicle belonged to Wilks.
‘The vehicle was involved in a traffic collision causing major damage, and ended up in the dense brush off the side of the roadway,” Lompoc police said.
They did not find any remains in the vehicle.
“We’re continuing to investigate that aspect of it,” said Capt. Kevin Martin.
The vehicle landed upside down in a culvert that fills with water during rainy seasons and the significant damage makes authorities believe the vehicle crashed while it was in motion.
A Lompoc detective reportedly traveled to the scene over the weekend.
In 2017, police said a ping on his cellphone revealed Wilks was on Highway 166 at a time consistent with leaving Lompoc and traveling to Las Vegas.
Authorities had not received any reports of Wilks sightings or been notified of a crash in another jurisdiction since issuing the missing-person alert.
Wilks was a handyman in Lompoc, and was headed to work on his uncle’s houseboat on Lake Powell.
He expected to arrive early, and planned to stop at a casino before meeting up with his aunt and uncle.
By May 26, 2017, Wilks’ brother, Andrew, had filed a missing-person report, and friends began spreading news of his disappearance on social media, including creating a Facebook page, Find Zacharey Wilks.
As time went on, the family hired a private contractor to search areas off Highway 166 using a camera-equipped drone due to the cell-phone alert involving a tower on McPherson Peak.
That means the phone was within a 10,000 meter radius, or within six miles. It also could have been a drive-by hit on the tower.
The missing’s man’s phone received a text at 12:13 a.m., but reportedly went dead at 12:25 a.m., his mom said.
In July, The Vanished Podcast Episode 182 focused on Wilks’ story, including his need for lifesaving medication after being diagnosed as HIV positive.
“This is truly my worst nightmare. It is and will forever be the darkest period of my life,” his mother, Elizabeth Wilks, posted on Facebook in response to questions asked by those who watched the podcast. “It pales in comparison to anything that Zacharey is going through. He is loved and missed deeply.”
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.