Sonoma Coast Search Halted For Missing Attorney

SONOMA COAST - The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office is no longer actively searching for a civil attorney who went missing on the Sonoma Coast Saturday, a sheriff’s sergeant said Tuesday.

Steven Mitchell was reported missing by his wife around 8 p.m. Saturday and was last seen around 9 a.m. Saturday in Santa Rosa, sheriff’s officials said.

Also on Patch: Santa Rosa Attorney Disappears, Car Found

Mitchell, 56, of Santa Rosa, is a member of the law firm Geary, Shea, O’Donnell, Grattan & Mitchell of Santa Rosa.

He represents Sonoma County in the civil rights violation lawsuit filed by the parents of Andy Lopez who was fatally shot by sheriff’s Deputy Erick Gelhaus on Oct. 22, 2013.

Also on Patch: FBI and DOJ: Deputy Who Fatally Shot Andy Lopez Should Not Be Prosecuted

Mitchell’s wife called the sheriff’s office again around 7:10 a.m. Sunday to report her husband’s cellphone was last used in the Bodega Bay area, the sheriff’s office said.

A sheriff’s deputy stationed on the Sonoma Coast and State Parks rangers began a search and Mitchell’s car was found parked and unoccupied on Carlevaro Way in Bodega Bay around 8 p.m. Sunday. There was nothing suspicious about the scene where the vehicle was found and foul play is not suspected in his disappearance, the sheriff’s office said.

The missing person’s case was turned over to the Violent Crimes Investigation unit as part of standard protocol.

The sheriff’s deputy on the Sonoma Coast searched again Monday, but an active search has been suspended, Sgt. Cecile Focha said Tuesday.

-Bay City News Service, generic image of Bodega Bay by Wikiwatcher1, and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.