Motorcycle Forum / General / Sportbikes / September 2005

This sad story may have an unexpected tragic twist.  

From
http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050929/NEWS/509290320
/1033/NEWS01

Missing biker drove off cliff by Fort Ross
Police say Santa Rosa woman's death an apparent suicide

Thursday, September 29, 2005

By DEREK J. MOORE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

The search for a missing Santa Rosa motorcyclist came to a sad
conclusion Wednesday with the discovery of Melinda Moore's body in a
crevice on an 800-foot cliff near Fort Ross.

Authorities said the 40-year-old Moore had placed her helmet and riding
gloves on a rock as a marker before gunning her red Aprilia Tuono
motorcycle over the cliff's edge.

Halfway down, her body caught on a bushy outcropping. The motorcycle
sailed on, smashing on the rocky beach.

"We're looking at this as an apparent suicide," Santa Rosa Police Sgt.
Steve Bair said.

The discovery brought an abrupt end to a weeklong search that included
hundreds of motorcyclists from across the Bay Area, private pilots,
off-duty search and rescue personnel and a private investigator.

"Melinda's body and bike have been found. Our hearts and thoughts are
with Melinda's family and friends," read the message on
www.findbigred.com, a Web site created by her friends to share
information and organize searchers.

Late Wednesday afternoon, a Santa Rosa police detective, a patrol
officer and a chaplain arrived at Moore's Saddlehorn Court home to
deliver the grim news to her fiance and about a dozen friends.

Mark Hindman, a motorcycle parts entrepreneur, had offered a $5,000
reward for information leading to Moore's whereabouts. He sobbed loudly
when told his fiancee's body had been found.

Adam Wade, a friend from San Mateo, said, "To some extent it's a relief
to know what happened. But it's obviously not the news anybody wanted to
hear."

Moore, who had worked as a saleswoman at a Santa Rosa BMW dealership and
was taking marketing classes at Santa Rosa Junior College, left the
house last Monday, ostensibly bound for class.

Friends said she was depressed for a variety of reasons, including
health issues and struggles at school. She also was absorbed in a
lawsuit stemming from a motorcycle crash that broke both of her arms.

But that sadness seemed to be offset by a rich sense of humor. Moore was
a member of the Bay Area Menstrual Cycle Club, an all-female riding
group. A photo in her living room shows her wearing a T-shirt that
reads, "Does my bike make my butt look fast?"

"Melinda was this huge Amazon woman, a bundle of energy," Wade said of
the 5-foot-10 Moore, who was known as "Big Red" for her vibrant red
locks.

Friends said Moore was there for other people in need and had counseled
others out of taking their own lives. Nobody saw her final act coming.

Bair said an abalone diver stopped to pick up Moore's helmet and gloves
after spotting them on a turnout of Highway 1 on Sept. 19, the same day
she rode away from her home in Santa Rosa.

The Sebastopol man contacted authorities Wednesday after reading news
reports of her disappearance. He led detectives to the site later in the
day.

Bair said the spot where Moore died is known as "High Point" because the
cliffs there are among the highest on the Sonoma County coast.

The area is about three miles south of Fort Ross on the twisty and
scenic road, just the kind Moore liked to ride to clear her head. Bair
said the cliff where she went over is on a turnout about 50 feet from
the highway.

He said detectives spotted the body and motorcycle, which couldn't be
seen from the road, after they hiked down a steep trail to the beach and
looked back at the cliff.

The sheriff's helicopter was used to remove Moore's body using a long
line and a litter. She was taken by van to the coroner's office in Santa
Rosa.

She was still clad in her leather riding gear, Bair said.