An Arcata man is now considered a suspect in the disappearance of Michelle Ashlee Dickson of Crescent City, after trace evidence of blood was found inside his truck.

It’s unknown if the blood belongs to Dickson, as the California Department of Justice lab in Eureka is still processing the evidence, but 27-year-old Josiah M. Miller “is our suspect,” Del Norte County Sheriff’s Commander Bill Steven said.

“If you’ve got a pickup you’re known to take good care of, and all of a sudden you’re cleaning it real hard, both the bed and inside the morning this gal came up missing, to include removing chunks out of the seat, that tells a lot, doesn’t it?” he said.

Miller, who previously lived in Del Norte County and has been living in Arcata, frequently visited the Crescent City area, Del Norte Detective Sgt. Steve Morris said.

He hadn’t been arrested as of Wednesday, but detectives found upholstery had been cut from his truck seat and parts of the vehicle had recently been cleaned when a search warrant was served at his home last week. His computer, clothing and truck were seized as evidence.

Miller allegedly met with Dickson the night of July 15 for a pot deal at a beach picnic area just south of Crescent City. She allegedly sold Miller three ounces of marijuana worth about $1,000.

Dickson’s burning Honda Civic was found off U.S. Highway 101 across Sand Mine Road around 5:30 a.m. on July 16. She was nowhere to be found. It’s unclear whether the alleged drug deal had anything to do with Dickson’s disappearance.

Law enforcement has spoken with Miller, and while his story is based in fact, Morris said,“the timelines don’t add up.”

“What we’re trying to do now is appeal to the soft part of him and have him tell us the truth, really for the purpose of getting him to tell us what happened to the young girl for the sake of her family,” he said.

Dickson’s family has been agonizing for more than a week about her whereabouts, Morris said. “Her family is unbelievably suffering,” he said. “And if something happened, they need closure, they need to take care of their daughter’s remains … that’s just eating the family up.”

Miller told authorities he drove back to Arcata after buying pot from Dickson at about 10:30 p.m. He said he threw the marijuana in the river because he was afraid of getting in trouble, Morris said. “That doesn’t make any sense,” he said. “His story is kind of breaking apart little by little, and that’s the idea. If we can get him broken down far enough, we can get him to crack.”

Two people have said they saw Miller in Crescent City after 10:30 p.m. the night of July 15, but officials on Wednesday were still waiting to hear from the witnesses, Morris said. “If those (leads) pan out, if someone saw him here after 10:30, that would be interesting and something we look into.”

It may take days of weeks before lab results from the DOJ are complete, but officials are testing DNA from the trace blood evidence against samples of Dickson’s hair taken from her home. The blood sample may not be viable enough, Steven said, but the attempt is being made.

Because Miller hasn’t been arrested, he’s free to leave the area. Del Norte detectives were in contact with him Tuesday, Steven said.

Dickson had worked as a waitress at two restaurants — Bistro Gardens in Crescent City and Ship Ashore Restaurant in Smith River — and was attending the College of the Redwoods Del Norte campus. She’s been described as responsible, punctual and a hard worker.

“She was a pretty harmless person,” Morris said. “She was respected and looked up to by a lot of people, even though she moved a bit of weed — she had a lot going for her. She was pretty, she was personable and people liked her a lot.”

(Karen Wilkinson can be reached at kwilkinson@eurekareporter.com, or at 707-269-7441.)