Forest Rangers start search today for missing young adult

By Regina Clarkin

September 5, 2023

Three weeks after Jason Sacasari Martinez, 22, left his home on Oakwood Drive and didn’t return, New York State Forest Rangers are conducting a search for him in the woods at Depew Park and Blue Mountain Reservation.

Some seven New York State Forest Rangers with another 23 volunteers, law enforcement officers and K9 units are covering nearly 1,000 acres between 800 acres in Blue Mountain Reservation and 200 acres in Depew Park, said New York State Forest Ranger Joe Pries.

Martinez was last seen Tuesday, August 15 on Oregon Road near the roundabout. Posters with pictures and a description of him have been displayed around Peekskill in delis and other locations.

This is the flyer that has been circulating in Peekskill for the past three weeks.

“He was known to frequent this area,” said Pries, which is why Peekskill police requested assistance in looking for him.

The primary mission of the New York State Forest Rangers is to look for people in the woods. They set up a command center near the Veteran’s Memorial Pool and began searching this morning and will stay until sundown said Pries.

A close up image of Jason from the Peekskill Police Department’s Facebook page.

This is the first time this year the New York State Forest Rangers, based out of New Paltz, have come to Peekskill to assist in a search. In addition to K-9 and cell phones, they have new software and devices that allows them to track movements of rangers as they comb through the woods. In 2021, the Forest Rangers assisted in the search for Shevon Thompson, 23, who was found dead on Jan. 4 after being missing since Dec. 16.

This story was updated on Sept. 6 with information provided by the DEC.

About the Contributor

Regina Clarkin, Editor and Publisher

When the Peekskill Herald weekly newspaper ceased publishing in August 2000 it was the first time in the history of the city that there wasn’t a local newspaper. The award-winning weekly was often referred to as the ‘glue’ of the community. Founded on January 9, 1986 by Regina Clarkin, Kathy Daley and Rich Zahradnik with a $7,000 credit card line, the paper filled the void created when the daily Evening Star was sold to Gannett and moved out of town. Founding publisher Regina Clarkin continued to live in the Peekskill Cortlandt area and turned her attention to other life endeavors. Through the ensuing 19 years, Clarkin was frequently stopped in town and asked when she would start up the Herald again. In January 2019, Clarkin decided it was less labor intensive to deliver a weekly blog than a print newspaper so she began posting one story a week about life in Peekskill. After a successful crowd funding campaign in 2020, the Herald was incorporated as a non-profit corporation in July of 2021. Peekskill Herald is a digital relative of the former print edition, featuring many of the favorite aspects of the beloved Peekskill Herald such as old pictures, personality profiles and well written stories about newsworthy events. Regina Clarkin is the editor and publisher of the site. Photo by Joe Squillante