A search continues in and around Death Valley, California, for Kaiyu Qian, a 29-year-old employee at Google’s Mountain View, California office, who has been missing since the early hours of December 26, 2025. Friends and family say he was last in contact at about 2:00 a.m. Pacific Time that day, and has not been heard from since.
Authorities located Qian’s 2022 silver/gray Toyota Camry parked off a remote dirt road near a dry lakebed in Inyo County, outside Death Valley National Park, but he was not in or around the vehicle when it was found. The exact location where the car was discovered has not been publicly confirmed by law enforcement.
Local police departments in Sunnyvale and Monterey where the missing person reports were filed due to Qian’s residence and workplace are coordinating with the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office and search and rescue teams to locate him. Searches in the desert terrain, which can be vast and difficult to navigate, are ongoing but have not yet yielded results.
The conditions in and around Death Valley can be extremely challenging for search efforts. The region is known for its harsh, rugged environment and can present hazards even outside of the extreme summer heat the park is famous for factors that can complicate both survival and search operations.
Friends, colleagues, and loved ones are appealing for anyone with information particularly from visitors or residents near Death Valley around the time of his disappearance to contact local law enforcement. The community’s hope remains that Qian will be found safe as search efforts continue.