NMSP News: - The Office of the Medical Investigator has confirmed and positively identified the body recovered in the below search and rescue mission as that of Paris Shane Wallace.
On the evening of Wednesday, June 14, 2017, New Mexico State Police officers were contacted by Mitzi Wallace of Clifton, Colorado, who wanted to report her husband was missing. Mrs. Wallace stated her husband, Paris Shane Wallace, 52, had gone hiking in the Espanola/Taos, NM area. Her last contact with him was the day prior, June 13, 2017, around 11:30 a.m. Mrs. Wallace stated she expected Mr. Wallace to be home on June 14, 2017.
Mrs. Wallace stated Mr. Wallace had checked into The Roadway Inn in Espanola, NM. Mrs. Wallace had called the hotel asking if they could check his room to see if there was any sign of him. Hotel personnel checked Mr. Wallace’s room where they found all of his personal belongings still in the room. Hotel personnel also informed Mrs. Wallace her husband and his vehicle were not there either. Mrs. Wallace stated Mr. Wallace had planned the trip to search for “Fenn’s treasure” and she believed he had adequate food and clothing.
Mrs. Wallace provided New Mexico State Police with coordinates from Mr. Wallace’s cell phone from her last contact with him. From those coordinates, officers determined the location to be in the vicinity of Taos County Road 110 near NM State Road 68.
State Police officers coordinated with New Mexico Game and Fish officers and searched throughout the night and following day for any signs of Mr. Wallace or his vehicle. Officers searched the forest roads and county roads and popular hiking trails but found no sign of the vehicle, a Chevrolet Tahoe.
Also that evening, New Mexico State Police officers went to the Roadway Inn in Espanola and obtained permission to enter the room Mr. Wallace had occupied in search of any sign of him. Officers located a laptop and were able to obtain additional GPS coordinates of possible locations where Mr. Wallace may have been. The coordinates obtained from Mr. Wallace’s laptop lead to the same general area officers were searching. The terrain in the area in which officers were searching is rugged with steep inclines, rocky ledges, and dense vegetation.
On Thursday, June 15, 2017, officers continued searching for any sign of Mr. Wallace’s vehicle. Around 3:00 p.m., a call came to dispatch stating a silver Tahoe had been spotted parked on a dirt road off of SR 570 around mile marker six, near the Taos Junction Bridge. Officers went to that location and were able to confirm the vehicle was Mr. Wallace’s. The Search and Rescue (SAR) coordinator was contacted and a SAR mission was initiated.
Officers then traveled to the nearest hiking trail by Mr. Wallace’s vehicle and proceeded down to the edge of the Rio Grande River. Along the river, officers observed two red ropes tied together and also tied against a large rock. Officers obtained permission to open Mr. Wallace’s vehicle and observed inside the vehicle was a receipt for two ropes and other items. The items had been purchased on June 13, 2017 at 3:16 p.m. This receipt led officers to believe the ropes likely had belonged to and were used by Mr. Wallace. Shortly thereafter, SAR members arrived and began searching along the river and the immediate area until dark, at which time the mission was suspended until the following morning.
On June 16, 2017, the SAR mission continued at dawn. The mission continued for two days until June 18, 2017 when, around 1:00 p.m., two rafters located a body in the Rio Grande River. The body, believed to be Paris Wallace, was located approximately two miles south of Pilar, NM, near NM State Road 68 around mile marker 27, approximately seven miles from where Mr. Wallace was last believed to have been.
During the course of the Search and Rescue mission, the New Mexico State Police utilized extensive resources including NMSP air support, the NMSP Dive Team, numerous officers, canine teams, and numerous volunteer SAR personnel.
