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Jane

Beach Fanatic
May 14, 2007
831
98
Santa Rosa Beach FL
I'm not even sure how to help. Such a tragedy for the family.

Family members are organizing a new search for a missing 36-year-old Marine Corps veteran from Wisconsin who disappeared nearly two months ago in Point Washington State Forest.

Bret Valona, an Iraq War veteran and avid outdoorsman, was last seen March 1 when family members dropped him off at the Eastern Lake Trailhead. He has not been in contact with anyone since the morning of March 2, and his phone has not worked since that time.

Valona was reported missing to the Walton County Sheriff’s Office by his sister after he failed to check in at an expected time.

The Walton County Sheriff’s Office, along with the Walton Correctional K-9 Team, conducted a search operation on March 30 in the area of the Eastern Lake Trailhead.

Valona is known as a “primitive outdoorsman” who uses minimal equipment to camp and can survive off the land for up to three weeks at a time. Deputies say they don’t believe he has a communication device with him.

A new search effort is scheduled to begin April 24 at 10 a.m. at the Eastern Lake Trailhead in Santa Rosa Beach. Family members, who reside in Wisconsin, are organizing to travel to Florida to conduct the search.

The family has established a Facebook group called “Search Efforts for Bret Valona” to coordinate their efforts and share information.

Valona is described as 6 feet 1 inch tall, weighing 190 pounds, with brown hair, blue eyes, and a brown goatee. He was last seen wearing a flannel shirt, khaki pants, and a yellow rain jacket.
 

bob bob

Beach Fanatic
Mar 29, 2017
840
463
SRB
RIP Marine!

The Walton County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Wednesday that human remains found in Point Washington State Forest belong to Bret Valona, a 36-year-old Marine Corps veteran from Wisconsin who had been missing since March.

Valona, an Iraq War veteran and experienced outdoorsman, was last seen March 1 when family members dropped him off at the Eastern Lake Trailhead. He had not been in contact with anyone since the morning of March 2, and his phone stopped working around that time.

His sister reported him missing to the Walton County Sheriff’s Office after he failed to check in at an expected time. Family members later learned Valona had been experiencing suicidal thoughts and feared he may have harmed himself.

The remains and a campsite were discovered on September 14 by a father and son hiking in the forest, according to the report. The District 1 Medical Examiner confirmed the identification this week. The sheriff’s office said it did not make public notification of the discovery at the request of Valona’s parents until positive identification could be made.
 
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