Southern California man reported missing found dead in creek near Fort Bragg

A Southern California man reported missing a month ago was found dead in a Redwood Creek tributary east of Fort Bragg, the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office said Sunday.

John Baker's body was discovered about nine miles east of Highway 1 Friday after a weeklong search, the Sheriff's Office said in a statement. Aerial, ground and trained K9 search and rescue teams were called in to comb the steep and wooded terrain after the 81-year-old Lake Hughes man's Lincoln MKZ was spotted on a logging road on land owned by the Lyme Timber Company. The car was stuck in a ditch with the keys still inside, the Sheriff's Office said. The tributary where the man was found was about 900 feet below.

Baker, who suffered from early stages of Alzheimer's disease, was reported missing Aug. 9 after he failed to return from a Southern Oregon trip, the Sheriff's Office said. His family had spoken to him a day earlier, and he indicated he had traveled down Highway 101 and was in Fort Bragg trying to find a road back to Interstate 5 so he could return to Southern California, sheriff's officials said.

His death remains under investigation, although a sheriff's official said they don't suspect foul play. An autopsy is scheduled Tuesday.