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Hi Saturday afternoon a group of three started down from the summit and only two returned to Outpost .John Likely 60 years old from New Jersey failed to return and is overdue.John is 5'10" 170 lbs and has white hair .Also may be wearing a SF 49'er ball cap Please if you have any information or may have talked or hiked with him on Whitney call 760 878 0383 Thanks Doug
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When I was descending yesterday morning (Sunday 6/15) I talked to a Ranger just below Trail Camp. The Ranger was investigating John's disappearance and asking hikers for clues. Apparently John was last seen descending in the early evening Saturday below the Cables and heading to his group's camp at Outpost.
Hopefully, John will be OK.
Jim
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From the Sierra WaveInyo, Mono SAR look for missing hikerJune 16, 2014  The Inyo County Sheriff’s Office was notified yesterday afternoon that 60-year-old John Likely from Dumont, NJ had been separated from his hiking group and hadn’t been seen since June 14th. According to information received, a group of three friends who have hiked together regularly throughout the years, summited Mt. Whitney on June 14th. During the decent down the trail, Likely was hiking at a slower pace than the other two members of the group; according to the reporting party it was not uncommon to go on ahead of Likely. The two members of the hiking group continued their decent at a faster pace, and waited for Likely at Trail Camp. They could see Likely continuing down the switchbacks with their binoculars and decided they would continue on to Outpost Camp where they were to spend the night. Likely never made it to Outpost Camp. The two-person group searched for their friend the night of June 14th, and the morning of the 15th. The Sheriff’s Office was contacted and immediately responded with Inyo County Search and Rescue ground crews. Additional ground support is currently being provided by Mono County Search and Rescue, as well as China Lake Mountain Rescue Group. CHP helicopter H-80 is also assisting in the search. The Sheriff’s Office is asking for any information from hikers who may have seen John Likely over the weekend. Likely is reported to be wearing a red San Francisco 49ers ball cap, a black jacket, dark colored shorts and a small backpack, he has gray hair and no facial hair. Please call Sheriff’s Dispatch at 760-878-0383 if you have any information that could assist in this search.
The body betrays and the weather conspires, hopefully, not on the same day.
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Is there any new information on John Likely?
Thanks, Jack
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Hi No news as of tonight Thanks Doug
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More search parties today with air support but missing hiker not located
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More searching today , Hiker not found Air support and teams with dogs Search will continue.
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Very sad news. Prayers for his friends and family.
Many thanks to the tireless efforts of SAR, and the various police agencies who have been investigating and searching over dangerous terrain.
Thank you Doug for your evening updates. Many of the Eastern Sierra online community have been tracking events with concern and prayer over the past days.
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This is not the news we wanted to read. I believe all of us that hike Whitney are part of a large family, and it always hurts to hear such sad news.
Thoughts and prayers to John's family and friends.
A big thank you to all that worked so hard this week.
Crazy Jack
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Summited 1978 and 9-11-04
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Am I allowed to say how pissed I am about this?
You don't abandon your climbing companions!
Condolences to the family.
I'll refrain from posting comments concerning the "friends."
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Richard, you are right on both accounts.
1)You NEVER abandon your climbing partners.EVER.
2)It is better that you keep the your thoughts about the "friends"
to yourself. I, and most likely plenty of others here,probably share those same thoughts as you do.
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Chances are his friends of 30 years are doing more to themselves right now than any anger or finger-pointing from others could inflict. An old friend died on their watch. But the others have a right to vent, and absorbing their anguish is part of the price of negligence. I'm 61 and think I have at least one more Whitney excursion in me, but this tragedy underlines the idea that us older guys need to stick together on steep trails.
But, jeeze, he'd almost made it back to Outpost.
"The lonliness of great men is part of their ability to create. Character, like a photograph,
develops in darkness." - Yousef Karsh
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So sad. My heartfelt condolences to his family. Am I allowed to say how pissed I am about this?
You don't abandon your climbing companions! (hey Richard....pbbbbbbt)
Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.
Helen Keller
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Thoughts and prayers for family and friends.
My 2 cents
By no means is hiking down the WT alone or separated from friends abandonment, unless illness or injury is involved prior to separation.
Last edited by Ridgeline; 06/21/14 02:38 PM.
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...My 2 cents
By no means is hiking down the WT alone or separated from friends abandonment, unless illness or injury is involved prior to separation.
Would tend to agree with you. About all we know at this point is that his body was found at the bottom of a chute, and guessing that he slipped and fell. When this kind of fall occurs, it's nearly impossible for someone else to prevent it, whether they're 10' or 1,000' away. Before anyone castigates his friends, let's wait for hard facts to emerge.
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Am I allowed to say how pissed I am about this?
You don't abandon your climbing companions! This kinda reminds me of day-hiking Arrow peak when I was 62. I waited for my partners for 20 minutes on the summit. I waited for them again for 30 minutes in a cloud of mosquitoes when they insisted on taking the long way down the mountain. Then I waited again while one of them took a bunch of pictures on the way out. When we got to Taboose Pass, they ditched me and just ran down the trail. They wanted to get to McDonalds before they closed.
Last edited by bobpickering; 06/21/14 06:03 PM.
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...My 2 cents
By no means is hiking down the WT alone or separated from friends abandonment, unless illness or injury is involved prior to separation.
Would tend to agree with you. About all we know at this point is that his body was found at the bottom of a chute, and guessing that he slipped and fell. When this kind of fall occurs, it's nearly impossible for someone else to prevent it, whether they're 10' or 1,000' away. Before anyone castigates his friends, let's wait for hard facts to emerge. It took five days to locate where (you guess) he slipped and fell. That's a pretty hard fact. Its not "nearly impossible" to help your friend stay on the trail. That's another pretty hard fact.
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If this were ever to happen to me, I would not want people to publicly speculate about either my, or my friends', motives and judgment. We just don't know. We cannot know.
I wonder if this thread might be put to rest. I am not sure, at this time, it is helpful to, or respectful of, the family.
If folks want to continue to discuss mountain decisionmaking, judgment, and groupthink, maybe a new thread could be dedicated to that topic?
Switching gears, I see the Likely family wrote a wonderful thank you to the Inyo SAR folks. Grace under difficult circumstances.
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