Ashley Flowers

Just one clue that might suggest he never left at all.

This is the story of Daryl Bubba Johnson Sr.

It's Saturday, June 29th, 2024, just after noon, when New Mexico State Police Officer Jonathan Gonzalez arrives at Conjas Lake State Park.

It's windy out in the desert where he's meeting a crew of campers who just reported a friend of theirs missing.

Are you the one that called?

Did you call?

He's talking to a small group of campers that appears to include Alejandra Diaz, who goes by Allie, her daughters Vanessa and Roxanne, and Roxanne's husband, George.

It was Roxanne who made the report about their missing friend.

And in it, she mentions 30-plus people in their camping party.

But according to the report, when Gonzalez arrives, these are the only four from their group that he notes speaking with.

Now, we spoke to a couple of these same people, like Allie, and she said that everyone else, including her boyfriend, who was with them, Ernie, was out searching for Bubba.

Now, the story that these four give starts shaping everything.

They tell the officer that the missing man's a family friend, 67-year-old Daryl Johnson Sr., known as Bubba.

He made the nine-hour drive from Phoenix, Arizona, where he lives, to New Mexico with Vanessa, arriving the day before on Friday to celebrate Roxanne's birthday.

Now, this was a big family-friendly event.

I mean, Roxanne says most of the party were kids under the age of 18.

And everyone was having a great time all day Friday.

And somewhere between 11 p.m.

and midnight, Ali says that she checked on Bubba in his tent before he went to sleep.

He said he was all good.