A Turlock church is helping mount a search effort for a parishioner who went missing on a solo camping trip.
Chris Dellis, 32, of Modesto was last seen in La Grange shortly before 5 p.m. Saturday. Dellis was headed to the Coulterville area for an overnight camping trip. He was expected home Sunday morning, but has not been seen or heard from since.
Dellis and his wife Veronnica are members of the Northside Assembly of God Church in Turlock. On Tuesday about 10 to 15 concerned parishioners made their way up to Coulterville to join in the search efforts.
Mariposa County Sheriff's Department Undersheriff Joel Bibby said his department was originally contacted by the Modesto Police Department about Dellis' absence. A search effort was mounted and Tuesday afternoon Dellis' car was spotted along a rugged road known as Old Yosemite Road.
Searchers were making their way to the vehicle, which was in a fairly remote area, Tuesday evening. However, Bibby said there were no indications that Dellis was still in the vehicle.
Dellis' family told the sheriff's department that he wasn't very familiar with the terrain and had last been camping about nine years before, Bibby said.
The weather has been overcast the last few days, but no rain or snow has fallen, which is aiding in the search efforts. The overnight temperatures have been in the mid 30s, Bibby said.
Dellis' wife Veronnica had been updating her Facebook page regularly Tuesday with updates on the search efforts.
"We are still in search of Chris," she wrote earlier Tuesday. "Please pray. I know it sounds easy and maybe not needed. But my God is controlling everything. We need our Chris home."