Family members and rescue workers say they believe a 23-year-old Bend man missing since late July may have hitched a ride and could be living in another state.

No one has heard from Mike Robinson, an Army veteran who suffered from depression, since July. His wife reported him missing in early August, less than a week after he left town with his black Labrador, Charlie. Robinson left notes in his apartment imploring loved ones not to come looking for him and to let him “rest in peace.”

The Harney County Sheriff’s Department found Robinson’s abandoned pickup truck Aug. 5 on U.S. Highway 20 near Riley, out of gas. In a note left in the truck, Robinson wrote he was happy now and promised to contact loved ones in the future, said his mother, Becky Deem of Mariposa, California.

Deem said she’s not sure whether Robinson was referring to contact from beyond the grave or from across the country. He has friends and relatives in other states he might have gone to see, she said.

“It’s kind of hard to interpret what he was actually getting at there,” she said. “If he actually decided to commit suicide or if he decided to just disappear and become a homeless person. We really don’t know what to think about it.”

Ryan DeLange, the president of Harney County Search & Rescue, said generally in missing person cases, hunters come across a body when the season begins in fall. Since no one found any trace of Robinson, he said Robinson may have caught a ride out of town.

Rescuers suspended the search for Robinson months ago. They physically searched the rural county — which spans more than 10,000 square miles — for a few days followed by a month of phone calls and public notices.

The search produced no leads, and DeLange said rescuers had no idea where to look or which direction Robinson might have gone.

“It’s like he disappeared off the face of the Earth,” he said.

Robinson’s military service included a nine-month deployment to Kuwait. In the months before he disappeared, he had struggled with depression and anxiety and had complained about not being able to see a counselor through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Two or three days before he disappeared, he told Deem he couldn’t get in to see a therapist until September.

On July 25, he wrote a message on his Facebook page to the VA, “I do have f—ing problems and I appreciate you not giving a f— about me, someone who was willing to sacrifice their life for this country.”

Deem said she’s not sure whether her son had post-traumatic stress disorder, a mental illness common among veterans. She said she had offered to cover the cost of a private therapist, which Robinson seemed interested in.

A video Robinson posted to his Facebook page July 29 shows him driving in the dark singing to country songs and talking to his dog, who is sitting in the passenger seat. Deem said her son sounds intoxicated in the video. Robinson pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of intoxicants in Deschutes County in March and entered a diversion program.

In the video, Robinson sings a country song that includes the lyrics: “I’ll be a happy man when I go, and I can’t wait another day.”

“It was bothersome,” Deem said of the video.

Robinson and his wife moved to Bend in fall 2014 so he could train to fly helicopters, which Deem said he soon realized he didn’t want to do. The relationship soured, however, and his wife moved back to Mariposa — where the two are from — in January. She returned to Bend on Aug. 4 to finalize moving out of their apartment and learned Robinson had left.

Deem said he did not take any of his camping gear, including fishing poles, or warm clothing.

Deem said Robinson had planned to temporarily move back to Mariposa until he decided what to do next.

Robinson is 6 feet fall, weighs 160 pounds and has blue eyes and blonde hair. He was last seen wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans. Charlie was wearing a maroon collar and an American flag bandana.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Harney County Sheriff’s Office at 541-573-6028 or the Bend Police Department at 541-322-2960.

— Reporter: 541-383-0304,

tbannow@bendbulletin.com