WY WY - Austin King, 22, Yellowstone National Park, Eagle Peak, 17 Sept 2024

[Tower]

RSBM
Hope is very powerful. And to your heartfelt point, there are numerous creeks to the north, east, and south of Eagle Peak, at the lower elevation. So if AK got lost but found a creek, he could have parked there to keep himself hydrated.

I now wonder if SAR are walking those creeks as part of their search for AK.

View attachment 534814

I sure hope so. At lower elevation, the tree cover would make it harder to find him from the air and the massive wilderness would make searching all the water sources so difficult, in my estimation.

 

[Tower]

I really wish that Austin had had an emergency location device like this person this week:

Missing Canadian hiker found dead on Mount Baker - My Bellingham Now

The outcome wasn't great, but at least family didn't have to wait too long to find out what happened and searchers didn't spend weeks searching.
Of course Austin was young and fit, but, as we see, anything can happen to anyone.
I hope we hear some news soon. His poor family.

I do think satellite messengers are fantastic, but they are really tricky in many situations. If you are incapacitated, you must have someone watching you from home (with cell or internet connection) to be able to log in and locate you and your device. SAR is currently unable to do this, on all devices I’m familiar with. I do hope this changes soon with improved technology. Plus, in canyons and other areas, it is very hard to locate the device even if your family is logged into your account.

If you are conscious, you can send an SOS call from pretty much anywhere and it works for that.

Hike with other people. Technology does not come close to the safety of hiking with a buddy.

The mountaineer who passed away in your link could have roped up to friends and likely not perished in the crevasse if only he weren’t alone. Instead, he may have been emboldened by his Garmin InReach and felt he was safe enough to go solo? I don’t know, I can only speculate. His family must have logged in to give his location, as it seems he did not survive the fall, although the article doesn’t say.

Satellite messengers are a tool, but as you said, they don’t ensure a safe outcome. Hiking with others is so much safer. I am not judging any solo hikers, as the draw of the mountain is strong and it can be hard to find others available to go with you. I’m just hoping others stay safe.
Moo

 

[justtrish]

So sad for his family !
I'd imagine he may still be alive but injured and is hoping for rescue.
Have they been using drones ?
That can help to look in difficult or inaccessible areas.
Omo.

If he happened to get lost, I would imagine he would see helicopters and know that they were looking for him. At this point I think the best case is he passed away immediately and has not suffered for all these days injured somewhere.. I can't imagine dying a slow death like that and not being able to do anything about it.

I have always kept in my mind if you get lost, stay put. This was drilled into my head when I was a girl scout.. if you keep moving and rescuers are looking for you, then you could be moving back into areas they already searched and miss you. I also recall learning to make yourself known.. get in a location that would be visiable from the air.. I know if he was hurt that might not be possible, but if he was just lost, I sure would think getting to an area with an open view of the sky and staying there could help. I know when panic sets it we don't always do what we know to do though.

It's just sad that he could be out there and just not found.

 

[Tower]

I agree. There are basic keychain sized tags called RECCO Reflectors that are relatively cheap, don't require batteries or a paid-subscription and would have been highly effective in this case. Teton Country SAR has the technology on their helicopter.

The NPS Backcountry offices could rent them with a deposit, much like how you can rent a Bear Can at the Yosemite backcountry office. I carry my RECCO reflector backcountry and also when traveling internationally.

View attachment 534961

These are very cool, but are still probably a tool of the future for most areas. There are handheld RECCO detectors around the country, which can be used on the ground by SAT. But I believe there are no more than 5 RECCO helicopter detectors in North America. This came up in the thread on the actor Julian Sands who perished at Mt. Baldy in Southern California. At great expense, they flew a helicopter from the Reno-Tahoe Area that was RECCO-enabled long after that mission had turned to recovery. The helicopter was not successful in finding him. He probably did NOT have a RECCO tag, but the technology can also locate cell phones and other tech.

Found Deceased Thread 'CA - British actor Julian Sands, 65, missing in Mount Baldy area, San Gabriel Mountains, last seen 13 Jan 2023'

Jan 18, 2023

• Julian Sands, 65, has been missing since Friday evening in the Mount Baldy area
• He is one of two hikers being searched for in Southern California's mountains
• Sands is known for his roles in several films including 1985 'A Room with a View'

British actor and 'A Room with a View' star Julian Sands has been named as one of two missing hikers in California's San Gabriel Mountains.

Sands, 65, was last seen in the Mount Baldy area on Friday evening and his family have heard from him since.

According to the San...

• MsMiniSleuth
• Replies: 153
• Forum: Located Persons Discussion

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I am personally a huge proponent of using this technology in the early stages of rescue, but in most cases it’s far too expensive for every rescue. I hope it can be used more in the future.

I’m guessing it was used during this search for AK because Teton County was involved and that RECCO helicopter was so close? But I haven’t seen any reports about it.

Jmo

 

[mlhenn]

11 days and no 'definitive clues' | Search for Minnesota man in Yellowstone now recovery mission

Austin King-Henke went missing in Yellowstone National Park. After 11 days of searching, the rescue mission has changed to a recovery effort.

www.kare11.com

For the past 11 days, more than 100 personnel have been looking for King-Henke, utilizing helicopters, dog teams, and drones. According to the National Park Service, more than 3,225 miles by air and ground at elevations ranging from 11,350 feet to 8,400 feet have been searched.

Officials said "unfortunately, they have not found any definitive clues as to King’s current whereabouts."

 

[Tomgetty]

A few things which are not making sense to me on this case:

1. The NPS Missing Persons flyer states that AK stopped at the Howell Fork Patrol cabin, but says that was not on his planned route. So does NPS consider that AK stopping off trail to see the old Patrol Cabin was not part of his route and he somehow 'deviated'? There is only 1 trail out-into this valley, out of the Thorofare area, and NPS would never support or suggest someone traveling off-trail to get out to Eagle Pass/Peak. So this statement on the flyer "Not on his planned route" I find quite odd, like an early PR statement to indicate that AK "deviated" from his backcountry reservations by simply taking a 700ft side-trail segment to see the Patrol Cabin. Was AK's backcountry campsite reservation for the night of 9/16 suppose to be at 6D7/6D6/6D5? The Backcountry ranger wouldn't have really known who or what nights were booked at the sites, so perhaps the Ranger just thought it was normal. But AK stopping to see the Patrol Cabin while doing the Mountain Creek trail would be a planned stop and see, one of the minor-highlights. As a Yellowstone backpacker myself I always make a point to stop and see the old Patrol Cabins. Add'l: link for more YNP Patrol Cabin photos. Unfortunately since this Patrol cabin is so remote, neither photo collection above has a pic of the Howell Fork/Creek cabin but references indicate it was built in 1974.

2. The 6D8 Campsite: If AK successfully descended the mountain to his campsite late on 9/17, one would assume he was completely exhausted, cold and went right to bed. The following morning if AK wanted to sleep more, could he have just left his tent with his sleeping bag to go find a warm rock in the sunshine? Or was it the opposite- that the mid morning sun was heating up the tent too much for comfort and AK left camp to go snooze somewhere. I really wish we knew more about how SAR found the campsite, how many dinners were eaten vs remaining, along with if AK's bear bag was still hung or if his bear spray was found there in-camp. All that was reported was his survival gear was still in camp but his sleeping bag was gone.

 

[RedHaus]

I really wish we knew more about how SAR found the campsite, how many dinners were eaten vs remaining, along with if AK's bear bag was still hung or if his bear spray was found there in-camp.

RSBM
I do too. I also wish we knew more about SAR findings from cell phone forensics.

FWIW, below is what I believe to be AK's campsite at 6D8 (see my post #216 for source and description). With my limited techology, I can't make out a tent or bear bag in the trees, nor what the searcher / ranger is kneeling and looking at.

To add to your idea as to why AK's sleeping bag is 'missing' but not other survival supplies as that retired ranger opined ^^, what if after Eagle Peak AK went for a day hike / 'easy' accent somewhere, and took the bag for extra warmth, but never returned? As an OP noticed in the new spaghetti SAR map, they have been searching other peaks.

So does NPS consider that AK stopping off trail to see the old Patrol Cabin was not part of his route and he somehow 'deviated'? There is only 1 trail out-into this valley, out of the Thorofare area, and NPS would never support or suggest someone traveling off-trail to get out to Eagle Pass/Peak

RSBM
I have found this one of the oddest reported details because, as you say, if AK's goal was to summit Eagle Peak, there was only one way from where he was dropped on the shore of the Lake.

Is this just a fluke reporting error like the early info of 'AK's white truck being unaccounted for'? If not, why did these have any significance at all early on?

ETA: Recall the YT video that @Snoopster posted of the 2 ranchers who summitted Eagle Peak?

They described 2 routes to Eagle Pass. One from the southwest via Yellowstone Lake (as AK did) and one from the northeast. What if AK's original plan had been the latter, but he 'deviated' from his plan when he asked Trekking Adventure (see their post about AK on FB) to drop him off at the lake.

If true, that deviation might also explain why AK's white truck wasn't initially accounted for - because it wasn't parked at the northeast trailhead, if that had been his original plan? But that doesn't make complete sense because, IMO, Trekking Adventure likely reported AK missing on 9/20 and they would likely have known where AK parked his truck.
Map from video

 

[Tomgetty]

RSBM
I do too. I also wish we knew more about SAR findings from cell phone forensics.

FWIW, below is what I believe to be AK's campsite at 6D8 (see my post #216 for source and description). With my limited techology, I can't make out a tent or bear bag in the trees, nor what the searcher / ranger is kneeling and looking at.

To add to your idea as to why AK's sleeping bag is 'missing' but not other survival supplies as that retired ranger opined ^^, what if after Eagle Peak AK went for a day hike / 'easy' accent somewhere, and took the bag for extra warmth, but never returned? As an OP noticed in the new spaghetti SAR map, they have been searching other peaks.

View attachment 534997

RSBM
I have found this one of the oddest reported details because, as you say, if AK's goal was to summit Eagle Peak, there was only one way from where he was dropped on the shore of the Lake.

Is this just a fluke reporting error like the early info of 'AK's white truck being unaccounted for'? If not, why did these have any significance at all early on?

Most likely the cooking area and bear pole are under the tree canopy. YNP takes a log and then uses two chains and bolts to secure it to the vertical trees.

One thing I also noted in this photo was no tent. YNP Backcountry regulations and bear safety state you should place your tent 50-100 yards away from the cooking and bear pole area, ideally up-wind. I've attached a pic from one of my YNP backcountry campsites this summer, to give example of the bear pole setup. This is Firehole Springs, OA3 looking south.

If AK's backcountry Permit indicated his route would be from outside the park (like in the video), that would explain it the confusion along with the "Not on his planned route." Backcountry permits include your entry and exit trailheads, how you are traveling (foot, horse, boat) your vehicle details+plate, each night and the assigned backcountry site, along with how many people and their full names.