Betsy Shepard

So at six days, you cancel a search for somebody who can run 50 or 100 miles in the wilderness, really knows the wilderness as good or better than anybody in ESD.

Shut it down.

Why are you shutting it down?

Well, they say that they decided he committed suicide.

Internal LASD reports claim that Ajay was distraught over his failing marriage and took his own life in the punch bowl.

That gunshot the area resident heard, that could have been the sound of Ajay just putting an end to it all.

But the sheriff's department makes that determination without a body.

They don't find any remains, blood, bullets, or a suicide note.

Nothing.

The only thing they think they may have found of Ajay's was an energy bar wrapper left on one of the trails.

From what we can tell, there's not a lot pointing to suicide.

So we reach out to Ajay's colleagues and friends to get their thoughts.

Sergeant Vince Burton is still on the fence.

On the one hand, Ajay did appear torn up over his marital problems.

On the other, he seemed to be coping.

Would you be telling me about your ultra marathon if you were just going to end it all?

Would you even be planning to go run at the punch bowl, which is an ugly area anyway?

For fact-checking purposes, we want to make clear, the punch bowl is not ugly.

But go on, Vince.

For Ajay's running buddy, Randy Meggardly, there's no question.