UPPER LAKE, Calif. – A man reported missing from the North Coast earlier this week was the victim of a fatal crash near Upper Lake, officials said Thursday.

The body of Richard Mark Paz Jr., 27, was found along with his pickup off Highway 20 down a steep ravine on Wednesday evening, according to the California Highway Patrol.

According to posts on social media, friends of Paz had been searching for him after he left the Fort Bragg area – which his Facebook page says is where he lives – on Sunday for Chico, which the CHP listed as his city of residence.

CHP officers and Northshore Fire Protection District personnel responded to the area of Highway 20 just west of Witter Springs Road shortly before 6:30 p.m. Wednesday after an overturned pickup was discovered off the highway and over the embankment, according to radio reports.

Firefighters arriving on scene found Paz deceased at the crash site, reports from the scene indicated.

The CHP said Paz had been driving his 1998 Dodge 1500 pickup eastbound at a high rate of speed on Highway 20 on Monday. Investigators did not know the time of the crash.

For reasons that are yet to be determined, Paz's pickup veered off the right side of the road, hitting multiple trees on the highway's shoulder, the CHP said.

The pickup overturned, rolling multiple times, the CHP said. As the pickup was rolling, Paz – who was not wearing a seat belt – was ejected and sustained fatal injuries.

The CHP said Thursday that it wasn't known if alcohol or drugs were contributing factors to the crash.

Due to the dense vegetation at the crash site and the vehicle's point of rest down the ravine, the CHP said the pickup couldn't been seen from the highway.

It was on Wednesday that a passerby spotted the pickup and called 911, the CHP said.

The discovery of Paz's fatal crash came about 12 hours after the Toyota 4Runner belonging to Hidden Valley Lake veterinarian Dr. Helen Sharp – missing since June 10 – was found in a remote area near Middletown, as Lake County News has reported.

Inside the Toyota deputies found a woman's body that is presumed to be Sharp's but which the sheriff's office said has not been positively identified pending an autopsy.

Paz's crash remains under investigation, the CHP said.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.