Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Possible missing hiker: Twin Lakes, Sequoia Park

Campers:

I'm currently (12/02/2008) working a search in Sequoia National Park in the Twin Lakes area -- bounded by Lodgepole and Silliman Pass. We're looking for information from anyone who's been hiking in that area since around October 31st -- or maybe even a few days before that big storm then.

Some hikers noticed a tent that apparently had no one around it for a few days and reported it to rangers. After checking, it looked like it'd been there for awhile, maybe as long as late October. Kind of a strange mix of gear: brand new camping equipment, but food and some other stuff you wouldn't expect from an experienced hiker.

So, it it would hugely helpful for ANYONE who was hiking in that area -- whether you remember seeing anyone or not (negative information helps too), to call the number below. Also, if you were in the Roaring River or Rowell Meadow areas, we'd like to hear from you as well.

This will likely be a long-running investigation, so even if you see this post weeks later, we still want to hear from you!

Many thanks!

George Durkee
Park Ranger, Sequoia Kings National Parks

Here's the press release with details:

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks News Release
December 1, 2008
For Immediate Release
Alexandra Picavet 1-559-565-3131

Sequoia National Park Requests Public Assistance in Search Effort

Sequoia National Park is asking for assistance from the public in obtaining information about an abandoned campsite near Twin Lakes in Sequoia National Park. The campsite seems to have much of the gear and food supplies still in it. No identification from the person who set up the camp has been found.

The park received a report yesterday from two hikers who noticed the campsite had not been occupied in more than 24 hours. This report follows a sketchy report from a hiker approximately a week ago, but he did not have much information for rangers to go on. At this time there are no unresolved reports of overdue hikers, no abandoned vehicles, and no Wilderness Permits that are associated with this situation.

A hasty search by two rangers and a helicopter located the abandoned camp but did not find an associated person. The investigation is ongoing. The National Park Service is currently asking for any person who was in the Twin Lakes area including hiking between Lodgepole and Silliman Pass since October 31, 2008 to contact rangers with any information that will aid in this investigation. “We are looking for information about when this camp was setup, so even if someone did not see the camp, that would provide information to our investigation,” Incident
Commander Kyle Nelson said.

The parks dispatch office can be reached at 1-559-565-3341 extension 0, 24 hours a day.

Media representatives should call 1-559-679-2866 (cell) or email Alexandra_Picavet@nps.gov for information.
NPS

George,
Give me a call. We did a training around that area in late October that jogs my memory.
559-786-1089

Daniel

Daniel, I hope you will call the Park Service numbers above rather than waiting for George to check back.

Very strange. I was hiking the Lakes trail up there last Saturday. Lots of hikers and a few campers. Hope this story has a happy ending.

Snaps, I'm sure that George does not regularly monitor this board, you should give a call to the number.

Blooty, when I read this, I thought of your journey north, and wondered what you'd gotten into!

This has a funny feel to it. I wonder if this was some sort of staging area for one of the pot farms that have been exploding over the front range?

I called up yesterday and talked with the Park Service SAR commander. Looks like the gentleman I was thinking of moved on around 4 days prior to when they suspect the tent was set up.
Sounds like a lot of brand new gear and the like. Hopefully it is just another person who got in over their heads and bailed when a storm came, leaving someone else to pack out thier gear.
I let them know if they needed help we had a team that would be happy to do a few days searching in the area. (callouts have been a little scarce for us this year, I guess that's a good thing)

Ken, you're right about having to be on the lookout for pot farmers in the national parks. I have heard they have semi and full automatic weapons! In any event, a mystery for sure that we can speculate over for now.
They closed the Watchtower trail due to ice. After reading the sad post about the climbing fatality at Mt. Shasta, I can't blame them.

Daniel:

Thanks much for following up on that. Others are right, I wasn't checking in regularly -- only just got back home. There was one clue of a person seeing a guy camped out in the restroom at Lodgpole on Nov. 8. The guy said he bailed from Twin Lakes because it was "too cold." The reporting person said he was under the impression the guy was going back in. When he got to Twin Lakes, there was no sign of him, though he did discover an apparently abandoned tent -- no tracks in the snow; no sign of any errant track in fresh snow on way out.

Still a mystery, but the hope is it's abandoned property -- though very expensive property... . Still, if you know of anyone in that area in early November, we'd appreciate a call.

Thanks again!

George