A day after the fugitive suspect in two North Coast killings appeared briefly, only to flee back into the dense forest east of Fort Bragg, the lead investigator issued a call for him to surrender peacefully.
Fort Bragg native Aaron Bassler, 35, remained a fugitive Monday as law enforcement patrols kept a close watch around the outskirts of town during the annual Labor Day parade that wound through quaint downtown streets, punctuated with tributes to slain City Councilman Jere Melo.
Mendocino County Sheriff's Capt. Kurt Smallcomb on Monday said that if family and acquaintances "have any contact with Bassler, please contact authorities."
"We're not going to waiver from our stance, but we don't want any more unneeded violence," he said.
Officials have said they believe Sunday was the first time Bassler had emerged from the forest since the Aug. 27 shooting death of Melo, a popular former mayor and longtime forester. Bassler was identified as the shooter by Melo's companion, who returned fire and escaped.
Friends and family of Bassler haven't reported contact with the fugitive, Smallcomb said.
"I can't substantiate that they've had any contact with him, but at this point I hope they do, and that they do get the message to him," he said.
A thick, cold fog settled over town as the search entered its 10th day and parade staff placed street barriers mark the parade route and people lined the streets. A long row of fire engines, sirens blaring, were decked out in wreaths and signs that read "Thank you Jere."
City Councilwoman Meg Courtney waved at people from the back of a classic pickup until she caught the eye of a woman sitting in a camp chair at the curb next to a tall U.S. flag.
Both women put their hands on their hearts, a moment of reflection on the shooting death of Melo and the continued search for his killer.
"They brought all the fire engines out for Jere," said Dorothy Hefner, 66, who held her hand to her heart and choked back tears as the city council truck passed. "He was a part of everybody here."
Youth members of the 4H Club carried chickens and rabbits and coaxed reluctant lambs along the parade route. Women wearing traditional Japanese yukata waved and carried a banner for Fort Bragg's sister city of Otsuchi, Japan. The crowd erupted in giggles and guffaws when a man dressed as a pigeon squatted and left behind a splat of a white substance.
Martha Naal, 35, and her family watched a Cubs youth football team in purple uniforms run drills on the parade route.
Naal, who has lived in Fort Bragg about 15 years and works at Headlands Coffeehouse, said the crowd was smaller than previous years, which she said could be a result of the drizzly, cold weather, or the fugitive who remains at large, she said.
"It's sad, and it feels unsafe," she said.
On the northern outskirts of town, patrols changed shift at the spot where a residential road turns to dirt and meets the entrance of private logging land. The dense woods that meet Pudding Creek Road haven't been clear-cut or thinned by wildfires in decades, said Lt. Dennis McKiver, a game warden who runs the state Department of Fish and Game's North Coast district.
McKiver and his staff are among the scores of law enforcement agents from surrounding agencies assisting the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office in the search for Bassler.
McKiver, who has worked in the district for 15 years, said the forest provides incredible shelter for animals -- and people. A person could pass through unnoticed 10 yards away, he said. Dense tree cover can block heat-sensing equipment. Such equipment also picks up bear, deer, rodents and other warm-bodied creatures, he said.
"Mendocino County has the highest number of bears in our woods in the state, but how many do you see when you're out in the woods?" McKiver said. "A person can easily hide."
And a person who knows the forest, as Bassler apparently does, could survive for quite a while this time of year when the forest offers "lots of food," he said.
Huckleberries, blackberries and bugs are plentiful, as are deer, rabbit and other game. The apple, pear and other fruit trees from orchards established when logging communities settled deep in the canyons a century ago still bear fruit, he said.
Bassler was known to the game wardens, who would recognize his Toyota 4Runner along rural roads up and down the coast and would often talk with him, McKiver said. Bassler was known to venture into the woods just shy of Rockport where conservation land manager Matthew Coleman was found on Aug. 11 dead of gunshot wounds.
Bassler Friday was charged with both killings. However sheriff's officials have declined to explain what evidence has led them to connect Bassler with Coleman's death.
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