Adam Davies wrote (on Monday, November 14, 2011, at 1:44 AM ET) with this breaking news: “I have just heard that Sahar Dimus* passed away an hour ago. He has been a friend for years, and was an amazing tracker. I am totally stunned by the news, and have just sent messages of support to his family.”

Dimus died suddenly in his native Sumatra, at the foot of Mount Tuju**, on November 14, 2011.

Sahar Dimus was an individual who actually saw the Orang Pendek. He assisted Adam Davies on five of his expeditions, and due to Davies introducing him to others, helped three of the CFZ expeditions.

Also, Pat Spain, the cryptozoologist host of NatGeo’s Beast Hunter, had used Sadar as his guide and considered him a friend. Spain writes: “Anyone who knew him, liked him. He was such a gentle and kind man. He also really knew the forest and lived in balance with it. He will definitely be missed.”

In the above photograph, the first individual to the left is tracker/ranger Sahar Dimus (also below), then Chris Clark, David Archer, Adam Davies, Richard Freeman, and local guide Donny. Photos: A. Davies.

Here’s is Davies’ new reflective thoughts on his friend:

Sahar Dimus* Passed Away Today.
Mon, Nov 14 2011
Sahar was a great friend of mine, and accompanied me on 5 of my 6 expeditions to Sumatra. In 2001, he was with me when we found the hairs and cast, which were subsequently analysed as being from an “unkown primate”, and of course was there in 2009, when we obtained the hairs which generated a similar result. I last saw him just two months ago, when he and his brother John found what we think is a handprint of the Orang-Pendek, as well as new hair samples, which are currently undergoing testing.
Sahar has featured in several documentaries, firstly with me, in the National Geographic “Is It Real” series, then also with MonsterQuest, and most recently as part of a documentary we filmed in September, with the B.B.C. He also featured in “Beast Hunter” [with Pat Spain ~ LC] and the Destination Truth episodes [with Josh Gates ~ LC].

I first met Sahar in 2001, when he was part of Debbie Martyr’s Tiger protection team. On that occasion I was enormously impressed by his tracking skills – he was I think, the best in the world for years (and I have plenty of experience with international trackers). He had a great affinity with nature, and was keen to protect the forests he so loved. Since then Sahar has always led the Sumatran contingent of my expeditions, and I found him to be a highly organised and jovial guy.

Adam Davies

Our Cryptomundo condolences to the family and friends of Sahar Dimus. Appreciation to Adam Davies for first sharing this sad news with the world.

Adam Davies and the 2001 cast of an Orang Pendek footprint.

*Sahar had spelled his name “Didmus” and “Dimus,” in various exchanges, but recently took to only using “Dimus” in his emails, writes Davies, so we have standardized to that usage overall here.

**Mount Tujuh (Indonesian: Gunung Tujuh) is a caldera volcano in the Barisan Mountains of Sumatra. It has seven (tujuh) peaks, of which only three have been climbed. Mount Tujuh has a large caldera lake at its center, Lake Gunung Tujuh. It is located within Kerinci Seblat National Park (the site of most of the good Orang Pendek activity and sightings). The mountain supports one of only three known wild populations of the tropical pitcher plant Nepenthes aristolochioides.

(More info.)