Betsy Shepard

It's a detail the sheriff's department registers as a potential clue.

But searchers do spot some footprints on the mountain where Ajay told people he was going.

So Ajay's captain, Mike Bauer, takes to the skies to see where they lead.

Bighorn is a mine on top of the mountain, left over from the gold rush days.

Its entrance has been welded shut to keep out hikers.

And when the helicopter lands 90s action movie style, Bauer's crew finds no signs of a break-in.

Ajay's reported missing late Thursday night.

By the end of the day Sunday, the Sheriff's Department kicks things into high gear.

They call in the U.S.

Army and Air Force, along with the LASD heavy hitters.

It's a specialized squad called Emergency Services Detail, or ESD.

They do search and rescue, underwater search and recovery, and they support the special weapons team with medical skills.

Dave Rathbun was one of the ESD members sent out to search for Ajay.

And the adrenaline that you get from ESD is different from any other adrenaline.

ESD deputies are equipped to handle all types of emergency scenarios.

But it wasn't just the rocky ledges and wild animals they had to worry about here.

The area was full of all kinds of criminal activity.

One of the things they told our search teams on day one was, John may have stumbled into a meth lab by accident.

So that was told to us when we were out searching.

And the reason they told us is they recommended we take weapons.