Friend is still hopeful man can be found

The close friend of a missing Davis Creek man said Friday he still holds out hope Steven Waldron will be found, but notes that the unknowns of the 51-year-old widower's disappearance are unbearable.

"I can't put into words how it feels. It's like a perpetual nightmare, and you can't wake up," said Tom Kruse of Carson City.

Waldron, 51, a caretaker at an isolated Davis Creek estate in Washoe Valley and an employee of Thunder Canyon Golf Course, was last seen Nov. 25 when he went home about 4 p.m. after riding quads with a friend in the mountains above his home.

Kruse said he last spoke to Waldron on that Saturday night about 7 p.m. The two agreed to meet up Sunday morning so Waldron could help Kruse move some furniture and barbecue.

On Sunday morning, Kruse called Waldron at 11 a.m. and got no answer. Kruse said that when he drove by at 3 p.m., Waldron was still not there, though his truck was in the garage. About 7 p.m. Kruse and another friend went inside Waldron's home through an unlocked sliding-glass door and found the scene "suspicious."

"His cell phone was plugged in next to his bed, his pants were hung up on his chair with his wallet and keys in them. His hat and shoes were in their normal position like he was just getting ready to go to bed. The truck was in the garage and the last report for a transaction from his bank was when he got gas for his quad and truck (on Saturday)," Kruse said.

He said the television and stereo were both on, and the garage and front doors were locked, like Waldron would normally have them. There were no signs of forced entry into the home.

"Everything was extremely normal. It's like he just disappeared out of the house."

The only thing Kruse noted that was missing was a handgun.

Kruse said Waldron is not a drinker, nor does he gamble and he has no mental illnesses or known medical conditions.

"He's very straight-laced, very reliable. He basically had a pretty good life. Everything was going good, his kids were OK." Kruse said. Waldron's adult children live in California. He lost his wife four years ago to complications from Multiple Sclerosis. "Steve didn't mention anything about being depressed, or having problems. If he did, I would have been the one he talked to. He sounded really happy. Everything was status quo."

Washoe County search and rescue canvassed the hills surrounding Waldron's home for four days.

Washoe County Sheriff's Detective Stephanie Moen, in charge of the Waldron investigation, referred questions to the department's public information officer. The department's spokeswoman could not be reached for comment.

Kruse hopes if he keeps his friend's story alive, someone will remember seeing something.

In the interim, he said, he goes over again and again in his mind every scenario he can fathom which would explain Waldron's disappearance.

"Maybe he had some kind of stroke and he walked down his driveway and someone took him somewhere," he said. "Or, he has monitors everywhere that tell him when someone's at the bottom of the driveway. Maybe someone came up thinking that was the way to the park, and he went out to meet them. And maybe they weren't very nice people."Waldron is described as a 6-foot, 1-inch tall, white male, weighing 195 pounds. He lost his right eye in a traffic accident several years ago. He is known to always wear his glasses.

• Contact reporter F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.