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# Missing hiker’s friends have hope
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/missing-hikers-friends-have-hope/
- Published: 2008-06-13T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T19:54:01.000Z
- Author: Melody Hanatani
- Tags: Sports, Ocean Park, #archive-import

*Friends of missing hiker conducting their own search, rescue mission*

OCEAN PARK As the disappearance of local surfer Kevin Gale hits the 17-day mark, friends of the Santa Monica resident say they have a renewed sense of hope and don’t plan on giving up their search until the case reaches a conclusion.

Gale, a former flight attendant from Hawaii who for years has frequented the waves off Bay Street, was reported missing to the Santa Monica Police Department on June 4, last spotted en route to a hike in the Santa Monica Mountains on May 27.

A group of Gale’s friends embarked on their own search and rescue effort on Wednesday, covering an area where Gale’s cell phone signal was detected over the weekend, breaking off into two teams of three. They eventually covered about one-square-mile before suspending the search.

“We still have hope,” Jennifer Argenti, a Santa Monica resident who went surfing with Gale every morning, said. “I can’t emphasize how much we want to find him, no matter what the outcome is.”

Close friends reported the 49-year-old resident missing after numerous unreturned phone calls during the week following Memorial Day, reaching full voice mailboxes which some said was uncharacteristic of Gale.

The police department launched a search effort in conjunction with the L.A. County Sheriff’s Lost Hills Station and the Malibu Search and Rescue Team on June 5, covering roughly a 10-square mile radius in the Santa Monica Mountains.

The team was able to narrow the search area after detecting the cell phone signal, but their efforts were derailed after the signal was subsequently lost, attributed to a drained battery.

The search was called off on Saturday. Investigators say they have no new information on the case.

“At this point we’ve exhausted all the leads that were known to us at the time he was reported missing,” Lt. Darrell Lowe, who heads the investigation unit at SMPD, said. “If and when new information becomes available, we will then follow up on that.

“There are no other avenues to explore.” Alden Cusick, who has been friends with Gale for more than two decades, led the informal search group on Wednesday to the area in which investigators detected the cell signal, though he wasn’t able to participate for long. Cusick had previously hiked the area for three consecutive days to no avail.

“It’s difficult because there is so much area, even if you have a close description of that area,” Cusick said.

Several of Gale’s friends are planning a hike to a dam where they believe the outdoor enthusiast might have reached.

“A lot of us are feeling we really want to check out that dam,” Argenti said.

Argenti said that several hikers had a resurgence of hope during the search on Wednesday.

“We’ve had three people express to us that they got certain feelings in certain areas and they didn’t know each other,” she said. “Call it coincidental, but it just kind of reinspired us.”

Those closest to Gale said they have no explanation behind the well-liked surfer’s disappearance. Police said they do not suspect foul play was involved.

In the days following his disappearance, Gale’s car, an early 1990s model Honda Civic, was discovered in the parking lot next to the Malibu Inn.

“I now feel like if Kevin is there and is still alive, we need to get to him,” Argenti said. “We don’t have time to waste.”

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 13, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/061308.pdf?ref=smdp.com)