James "Kiwi" Oroc is a paraglider pilot missing in Nevada. Last tracker point was seen on Saturday 22 August, at 2:14pm southwest of Eureka, Nevada.

We need YOUR help NOW to help with resources to find Kiwi and bring him home!

Please GIVE money, SHARE this with your communities and help us bring Kiwi home!!

If you don't know Kiwi you've probably read his pieces in Cross country magazine and free flight. He's been a friendly big personality in paragliding for 30 years. Originally from New Zealand, he lived in Jackson Hole and more recently New Orleans in between flying adventures. He assisted search efforts when Xavier Murillo went missing in Peru.

Please help cover the fuel costs for this search. He had an Inreach running but its last track point was at 6000' agl.

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TEAM FUNDRAISER
Austin Samuel and 5 others are organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Jeremy Wilstein.
Created August 24, 2020
Medical, Illness & Healing
James "Kiwi" Oroc is a paraglider pilot missing in Nevada. Last tracker point was seen on Saturday 22 August, at 2:14pm southwest of Eureka, Nevada.

We need YOUR help NOW to help with resources to find Kiwi and bring him home!

Please GIVE money, SHARE this with your communities and help us bring Kiwi home!!

If you don't know Kiwi you've probably read his pieces in Cross country magazine and free flight. He's been a friendly big personality in paragliding for 30 years. Originally from New Zealand, he lived in Jackson Hole and more recently New Orleans in between flying adventures. He assisted search efforts when Xavier Murillo went missing in Peru.

Please help cover the fuel costs for this search. He had an Inreach running but its last track point was at 6000' agl.

Multiple paraglider/GA/commercial pilots are coming with planes and potentially helicopters. The military and civil air patrol are in the loop. Time is of the essence with storms expected later today.

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Comms
Reavis 8:45AM Mon 24 August 2020
His last trackpoint was at 2:14pm on Saturday at 14500'. The strange thing is that it shows a speed of 2.4mph, probably too slow for thermalling or reserve drift. The leading theory is that he may have been separated from the device and it sent that last point in freefall. If that is what happened, he could have continued flying XC, thrown his reserve, or cascaded to the ground.

Benny and I searched roads along his likely courseline yesterday and SAR started scouring the area of the last trackpoint. They didn't find anything last night. We should know their strategy for today in an hour or two.

SAR is on the ground in Ely to refuel and will be searching soon.

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Updates (23)
SEPTEMBER 8, 2020
by Amanda Jane, Team Member
Beloveds, an update on the Next Phase of Kiwi's Private SAR:

Each day has been met with extremely challenging decisions and terrain. In the absence of remaining resources, and with challenging weather upon us, we cannot maintain our current SAR coordination centre and take responsibility for searchers going forward at this time. Our current grounds coordination center will be dissolved today (8th September).

This being said, the search for our brother James is not over. (Please continue reading to understand what this looks like...)

We are not telling anyone who is capable and self-sufficient to stand down from searching. We have just run out of resources, and a good strategy to proceed. The amazing team searching for James has driven full force over the past 16 days, having saturated the area surrounding his last known point. All the logical options for where he may have landed have been explored by air and ground.

This next phase is an extremely challenging decision to make, and no one is giving up. There are still people all over the world scanning satellite images (& we encourage you to please continue doing so). We will be following up on these generated leads and points of interest.

The $10,000 reward for finding James stands. Rewards posters have been posted throughout surrounding areas. It is currently hunting season here, and we have been actively notifying every local organization and anyone we can think of who is here or near. A facebook page is also live to help us link with local organizations, share updates with this community, and receive incoming leads; https://www.facebook.com/FindThatKiwi/. (You can help expand our outreach by continuing to share our page.)

We will continue to broadcast that he is missing far and wide, to keep those who are out in the area aware and looking for him and any unusual signs. We will provide maps and directives toward POI for those who connect with us through our email. Any leads should notify us via findthatkiwi@gmail.com and/or taken to the Eureka or Nye County Sheriff’s Department.

Our sincerest gratitude to all who have searched for him thus far. Our family cannot express how deeply appreciative we are of you. We will never give up hope that our brother James is found!

Sincerely, 
Kim & Kelly Johnston

Please note: Anybody searching for him will need to be experienced in the area and its harsh environment, carry their own tracking device, and be confident they can independently stay safe, as no tracking or responsibility by our coordinated SAR crew will be taken from here on.

If you wish to donate to our gofundme, funds will go towards completing the satellite searches, and following up with leads with ground/air support as they come.

From Find that kiwi page. Beloveds of Gregory James “Oroc” Johnston aka Kiwi,
It is with great relief and deep sorrow that we share that James has been found, departed peacefully at rest under a tree. At this time these are the only details we have about the particular circumstances that led James to his untimely departure while flying in Nevada. As veteran pilot of 30 years in the worldwide paragliding community, Kiwi connected with an incredible network of pilots who rallied from all reaches of the globe to find him. We cannot thank you enough for your ingenious efforts, the combined intellect and mastery of the team behind the search who formulated possibilities against all odds, was extraordinary. The number of people who showed up who never met James, or knew someone that knew James, and the extended community that was affected by his life in some way was powerful to witness. The terrain was unforgiving and we are also eternally grateful to every person who showed up on site, during a pandemic and mass wildfires to search for our beloved. To the 500+ virtual image scanners-we can’t wait to show you the statistics on the feat of work you all accomplished-THANK YOU. To the local authorities who gave all of their resources and beyond-THANK YOU.
As we move forward we will share more on how James Oroc’s life will be celebrated through this account as well as Find that Kiwi - Missing Paraglider Pilot James Oroc 'Roc' Johnston. As the story of his journey and descent continue to develop please look to our friends at Cross Country Magazine for coverage.
If you have any questions please continue to direct them to findthatkiwi@gmail.com at this time.
From Tryptamine Palace-
“I can now state with unshakeable “faith”—a word that used to make my skin crawl—that I believe in the existence of the transcendent, formless Godhead and in the individual human ability to realize that transcendent ideal. I also now believe in the continued existence of my Soul (or consciousness if you prefer) after my physical body passes away—two newly acquired “leap-of-faith beliefs” that have provided me with an enormous sense of peace and well-being, as well as a complete lack of fear of dying. The words of the great Russian novelist Vladimir Nabokov express my newfound perspective on the possibilities of the afterlife perfectly when he writes. “Life is a great surprise. I do not see why death should not be an even greater one.”