Detectives are continuing the search for Portola Valley resident Marc Bajet, who’s been missing since the evening of Wednesday, Oct. 31.
Bajet, 55, is considered a “voluntarily missing person,” according to Detective Rosemerry Blankswade of the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office. “It could be that he is just out backpacking and wanted to be off the grid for a while,” she said. “That’s certainly a possibility that we’re looking into.”
His wife Lael Bajet said that as of Monday morning, Nov. 5, she had nothing new to report. On Sunday, she told The Almanac that several people reported seeing a man matching her husband’s description walking down Alpine Road toward Interstate 280 the morning after he went missing. The man was reportedly carrying a large backpack and a bedroll.
Marc Bajet left his personal belongings, including his car and cellphones, behind and was last seen near Corte Madera School on Alpine Road in Portola Valley around 11:30 p.m. Oct. 31, according to Lael Bajet. “He left everything here: wallet, cellphones, computers, all his belongings,” she said, adding that her husband didn’t tell anyone where he was going when he left Wednesday.
Lael Bajet said she believes her husband could be headed for Yosemite or Sequoia National Park. He has survival skills, she said, adding that he was an Eagle Scout as a youth in France. “He’s one of these people (who) doesn’t ever forget” such skills, she said, and he loves Yosemite.
Law enforcement officials around the Bay Area are on the lookout, as are officials at Yosemite, Blankswade said.
Volunteers organized a search party in Portola Valley on Sunday, Nov. 4. The search covered the areas on the south and north sides of Alpine Road near Interstate 280, including Webb Ranch, the tree farm south of Webb Ranch and the freeway underpass. Volunteers looked for signs of camping and pieces of clothing, but found nothing, Lael Bajet said.
The Sheriff’s Office searched a wide area around the family home using officers on foot, on horseback and with dogs, Blankswade said. The searches turned up nothing useful, she said. “At this point in time we haven’t narrowed down a location to continue a physical search,” she said. “We’re absolutely doing everything we can and working very closely with this family to try and find some answers.”
“We don’t suspect any foul play, but it is suspicious he would leave all his personal belongings at home as well as his car,” Blankswade said. “He did have a recent change in behavior and lifestyle,” she said. “He started tying up loose ends more or less within the last two weeks. That type of behavior leads us to be more concerned with his welfare.”
Lael Bajet said that her husband had recently quit his jobs and made a trip to Goodwill to donate some belongings before he went missing. “He has two kids and loves them tremendously,” she said. “It’s highly unusual for him to leave like that.”
Detectives are examining his bank statements and speaking with friends and his former employers “to see if he made any statements that would lead us to his location,” Blankswade said. Detectives have not checked for credit card transactions since this is not a criminal investigation and they would need permission for that kind of access, she said.
Marc Bajet is 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighs approximately 220 pounds. He is French and speaks English with a heavy accent.
Anyone with information is asked to call Detective John Carroll at 650-363-4067.
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