PORT ANGELES — An extensive search Saturday turned up no sign of a hiker who has been missing for over a week in Olympic National Park.
The search will continue today for Duane Miles, 78, of Beaver, who was last seen on Oct. 19 at the Graves Creek trailhead.
Searches on Friday and Saturday involved more than 30 personnel from a wide array of organizations and included ground searchers, dog teams and aircraft from Hillsboro Aviation.
"We came away empty-handed," said Lee Taylor, park spokesperson, Saturday afternoon.
Miles is a fit and very skilled hiker who often travels alone off-trail looking for shed elk antlers, Taylor has said.
His vehicle is parked at the Graves Creek Campground and the search was focused in that area, circling out from there.
The terrain in this area is thick with vegetation and has very wet, uneven ground, Taylor said.
"The dense understory and tall trees make both ground and air searching challenging, especially when looking for someone off trail," she said.
National Park Service staff from four area parks were joined Saturday by searchers from volunteer search and rescue organizations from across the region: Olympic Mountain Rescue, Portland Mountain Rescue, Hood River SAR, Bellingham Mountain Rescue, Clark County SAR, Tacoma Mountain Rescue, and Skagit County Ground SAR.
The Washington State Search and Rescue Planning Unit has also been providing valuable assistance developing search strategy.
Anyone who has visited the Graves Creek area since Oct. 19 or who has information regarding the whereabouts of Duane Miles is asked to call 888-653-0009.
Jason @BeardedOverland www.beardedadv.blogspot.com
A MOTHER is searching for her son who has gone missing in the same park where Gabby Petito's body was found last month.
Cian McLaughlin, 27, has been missing since June 8. He was last seen in the park going out for a hike, NewsNationNow reports
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Cian McLaughlin has gone missing in Grand Teton National Park just weeks after Gabby Petito's body was foundCredit: Facebook
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Grand Teton National Park has received national attention in recent weeks after Gabby Petito's body was found thereCredit: Getty Images - Getty
He was first reported missing by his mother, Grainne McLaughlin, who is visiting from Ireland to help in search efforts.
"At this phase we have absolutely no idea," she told NewsNation.
"We are trying to understand what may have happened."
Originally from Ireland, Cian McLaughlin was living in Jackson, Wyoming, working as a snowboard instructor and bartender.
According to his mother, he also has a very thick Irish accent that would make him easily identifiable.
On the day McLaughlin reportedly went missing, he was hiking on the Lupine Meadows trail. A witness saw him around 3.45pm in the afternoon.
McLaughlin was an experienced outdoorsman, but the conditions on the trails were particularly dangerous in early June as there was melting snow and ice.
Grand Teton National Park is the same park that the body of Gabby Petito's body was found in early this year.
Gabby Petito was a 22-year-old who went on a cross-country road trip with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, and never returned home.
She was last seen on August 24, 2021, in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Her body was found on September 19 in Grand Teton National Park, and the cause of death was revealed to be strangulation.
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Gabby Petito's body was found in Grand Petito National Park after going missing during a cross-county road trip with her fiance, Brian LaundrieCredit: Social Media - Refer to source
Jason @BeardedOverland www.beardedadv.blogspot.com
Man dies after vehicle goes over Grand Canyon's western rim
PEACH SPRINGS, Ariz. - A man is dead after driving a vehicle over the western rim of the Grand Canyon in an apparent suicide, authorities said Wednesday.
Details were sparse. The name, age and hometown of the man weren't immediately available.
Lea Cooper, the marketing director for the Grand Canyon Resort Corp. said the incident Wednesday afternoon involved a male who appeared to intentionally drive into the canyon. No one else was in the vehicle, Cooper said.
"This is still an active investigation and we will provide updates as they become available," Cooper said.
The corporation oversees Grand Canyon West, a popular tourist attraction on the Hualapai reservation outside the boundaries of Grand Canyon National Park. The attraction is best known for the Skywalk, a horseshoe-shaped glass bridge that juts out 70 feet from the canyon walls and gives visitors a view of the Colorado River 4,000 feet (1.2 kilometers) below. "The Hualapai people consider the canyon a place of sacred beauty and healing, and we are devastated by this tragedy," Ruby Steele, the corporation's interim chief executive and a Hualapai member, said in a statement.
Officials with Grand Canyon West said they are fully cooperating with authorities who are investigating the incident, and on the recovery of the body and vehicle.
Jason @BeardedOverland www.beardedadv.blogspot.com
Oct. 29—New Mexico State Police are searching for Albuquerque resident Kevin Michael Caress, who has been missing for a week after leaving on a hiking trip to Lake Katherine on Oct. 21.
He has not been seen since, according to authorities.
Caress, 27, was believed to be setting out to hike the Winsor Trail en route to the lake in the Santa Fe National Forest and was expected to return Sunday, according to a state police news release.
Caress' vehicle — a gray Nissan Rogue SUV with a Florida license plate — also has not been spotted. He was last seen wearing a white and green plaid long-sleeve shirt, dark pants, hiking boots and a backpack.
Caress was reported missing by his father this week, and state police consider him in danger in part because he depends on "life or health-sustaining" medication. State police have not launched search-and-rescue efforts because it's unclear if Caress ended up going to the forest, said spokesman Dusty Francisco.
Until last week, Caress faced domestic violence charges in Bernalillo County for an early September incident that resulted in his arrest by Albuquerque police, according to court documents.
The 2nd Judicial District Attorney's Office dropped those charges Oct. 20, citing a failure to gather enough evidence by a deadline.
The District Attorney's Office in Albuquerque may consider refiling the case if more evidence is collected, spokeswoman Lauren Rodriguez said Monday.
Jason @BeardedOverland www.beardedadv.blogspot.com
A HIKER was reported missing on Mount Elbert in Colorado on October 18.
The individual entered the trail from the South Trailhead and the Lake County Search and Rescue was deployed at 8pm when they did not return.
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Missing hiker ignored search and rescue calls because they didn't recognize the numberCredit: Getty
How did the Colorado hiker go missing?
The hiker set out on the South Elbert Trail on Mount Elbert at 9am on October 18, but by 8pm they had not returned to their lodge.
The Colorado hiker's name has not been released at this time.
When the sun started to set, the hiker told Lake County Search and Rescue (LCSAR) they had stumbled off the trail and couldn't find their way back in the dark.
They said they had searched for the trail through the night and finally found their way back in the early hours of the morning.
Mount Elbert is the highest peak in Colorado and the second highest in the lower 48 states.
The South Elbert Trail is the easier of the two trails, according to the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service.
However, the Forest Service reminds hikers that the 10.4-mile trail still has an elevation gain of 4,800 feet.
How was the hiker found?
The hiker was reported missing at 8pm and LCSAR set out immediately with a search party. Five LCSAR members looked in the areas where hikers typically go missing and called the hiker repeatedly.
Despite the LCSAR's best efforts, the hiker did not answer the phone calls because they "didn't recognize the number," LCSAR said in a Facebook post.
Search and rescue said they did attempt texting and leaving voicemails for the hiker, but they didn't receive a response.
They called off the search at 3am, but at 7am three members were once again sent out to search for the hiker.
According to LCSAR's Facebook post on October 21, they received a call at 9:30am on October 19 from the party that reported the hiker missing.
They said the hiker had returned to their car about 24 hours after beginning the hike and had returned to their lodging.
LCSAR said the hiker did not know they had been searching for them as they didn't pick up the calls.
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Mount Elbert is the second highest peak in the lower 48 states
What is the Lake County Search and Rescue request to other hikers?
LCSAR pleaded with Mount Elbert hikers in their Facebook post to pick up their phones for any incoming numbers, especially if they are out past the time they were scheduled to be on the trails.
The post said, "One notable take-away is that the subject ignored repeated phone calls from us because they didn't recognize the number.
"If you're overdue according to your itinerary, and you start getting repeated calls from an unknown number, please answer the phone; it may be a SAR team trying to confirm you're safe!"
Jason @BeardedOverland www.beardedadv.blogspot.com
Hiker lost for 24 hours after ignoring calls from search and rescue in Colorado
A winter view of Mount Elbert. Photo Credit: RobertWaltman (iStock).
Lake County Search and Rescue reports that an overdue hiker was able to self-rescue after spending 24 hours on Mount Elbert. A team was called out to find the hiker, but was unable to connect as the hiker ignored calls from the search crew.
At roughly 8 PM on October 18, Lake County Search and Rescue was called out on a mission to find an overdue hiker that had left the South Trailhead of Mount Elbert at about 9 AM that morning. After multiple attempts to reach the party were unsuccessful, a crew entered the field and searched until 3 AM, unable to locate the subject. A team started a new search at 7 AM the following morning, but by 9:30 AM, news was received that the lost hiker had made it back to their place of lodging.
According to the hiker, they lost the trail as night fell and spent the night searching for the trail. Once they found the trail, they bounced around between trails as they tried to find the trailhead they came from. They finally reached their car in the morning and had no clue that search and rescue teams had been looking for them.
Search and rescue teams had been attempting to call the subject, but they ignored the calls because they did not recognize the number.
Lake County Search and Rescue used this incident to point out the importance of answering phone calls when overdue on a hike. They also noted that the trails on Mount Elbert may be difficult to follow due to snow in the area, especially when wind covers prior tracks.
If you're headed into the mountains, especially in snowy conditions, bringing along a GPS communication device along is never a bad idea. Though expensive, a Garmin inReach is a great option that is reliable and often used by search and rescue crews.
MOOSE, Wyoming — Search teams are looking for a Texas man who disappeared in Grand Teton National Park Thursday.
Grand Teton National Park rangers say 26-year-old Jared Hembree was last seen around Game Warden Point near Moran, Wyoming. National park law enforcement got a call with concerns about Hembree's wellbeing after someone interacted with him outside of the park, according to a park news release.
Hembree's vehicle was later found unattended at the Game Warden Point parking area in the eastern part of Grand Teton National Park.
Grand Teton National Park law enforcement rangers, Teton County Sherriff's Office deputies, and Teton County Search and Rescue are all searching for Hembree. The Civil Air Patrol has also helped with an air search. A helicopter from Teton County Search and Rescue is also being used.
Hembree is 5'9" tall and 170 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a green t-shirt with black pants and is believed to be carrying a black backpack.
Rangers are looking for anyone who has been in the area since Thursday who may have seen Hembree. Anyone with information about Hembree's whereabouts is asked to contact Teton Interagency Dispatch at (307) 739-3301.
Jason @BeardedOverland www.beardedadv.blogspot.com
Snapchat engineer and family found dead on hiking trail killed by dehydration
By Harriet Alexander For Dailymail.com , updated
A sheriff has revealed a British engineer, his wife and daughter died of hyperthermia and probable dehydration while on a hike - ending a mystery that had puzzled people for months.
Mariposa County Sheriff Jeremy Briese held a news conference on Thursday to discuss the mysterious deaths of John Gerrish, 45; his wife, Ellen Chung, 30; their 1-year-old daughter, Miju, and their dog.
The Northern California family went hiking on a remote trail close to the Merced River in the Sierra National Forest, where they were found dead August 17 after a family friend reported them missing.
The family were found 1.6 miles from their vehicle in temperatures of up to 103 degrees Fahrenheit.
There was one 85 ounce Camelbak bladder for water with them, which was empty. There were no other water containers with them, Briese said.
'The loss of the family is pain beyond words,' said the family in a statement.
'When that pain is compacted by lack of knowledge about their death, the questions of where, why, when and how fill the void, day and night.'
They thanked the sheriff's office for having 'truly gone the extra mile' in trying to find answers.
'Some questions have been answered, and we will use this to help us come to terms with this.
'They will remain with us wherever we go, or whatever we do.
'In the future when we sit beneath the trees, hearing the wind soar beneath the branches, we will think of them and we will remember.'
Jeremy Briese of Mariposa County Sheriff's Office held a press conference on Thursday to reveal the cause of death of the family, after months of speculation
California family cause of death revealed to be hyperthermia
Briese showed footage (right) of the 'rugged terrain' where the family were found
The Northern California family went hiking on a remote trail close to the Merced River in the Sierra National Forest, where they were found dead August 17
The bodies of the family of three and their pet were found on the Savage Lundy Trail, 1.6 miles from their parked truck
Family releases statement after Gerrishs' cause of death announced
Briese said that dehydration can cause dizziness and ultimately death.
Hyperthermia is abnormally high body temperature caused by the failure of heat-regulating mechanisms.
The cause of death of the family's dog was undetermined, but i is believed the dog was also suffering from heat-related issues.
'Our message to the hiking community is please take into account aquifers as well as geographics,' he said.
Gerrish and Chung's death has mystified investigators for months
He said they did not have water filtration equipment with them.
'Prepare appropriately. The community is resilient, the community is safe, but this is an unfortunate and tragic event due to the weather.'
The couple were described by friends as experienced hikers, but as relative newcomers to the area.
Briese suggested they may not have been aware how quickly temperatures could rise in the terrain.
When they began hiking, he said, the temperature was in the mid-70s; when they had gone barely two miles, it was already above 90.
Mariposa County Sheriff's investigators have worked with toxicologists, environmental specialists, the FBI and other experts.
They had already already ruled out the causes being related to a gun or any other weapon, a lightning strike, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, cyanide exposure, illegal drugs, alcohol or suicide.
Briese said there were 'no apparent causes of death' when the family was found.
He said the area was known to have mines, and police were concerned about possible environmental hazards.
An initial theory was that they could have been poisoned by toxic material in the water.
Toxic algae blooms were discovered around 12 miles downstream from where Gerrish and his family were discovered dead, prompting the Bureau of Land Management earlier this month to close hiking trails and campgrounds along a stretch of the Merced River to the public.
After water samples from the river tested positive for toxic algae, authorities closed 28 miles of the waterway between the towns of Briceburg and Bagby.
Briese said on Thursday that they used six separate laboratories to test the water.
'The water was confirmed positive for Anatoxin-A', said Briese.
Anatoxin-A isa naturally occurring toxin from blue-green algae, also known as Very Fast Death Factor (VFDF).
'There was no evidence that the family ingested the toxin,' he said.
John Gerrish, 45, and his wife, Ellen Chung, 30, were said to be experienced hikers, but new to the area
The bodies of the family of three and their pet were found on the Savage Lundy Trail, 1.6 miles from their parked truck
The Sierra National Forest in California closed more than a dozen trails, campgrounds and picnic areas, citing 'unknown hazards'
At around 7.45am on August 15, a witness saw Gerrish and Chung heading to the Savage Lundy Trail in their truck.
Two days later, the parents, their one-year-old daughter and their dog, Oski, were discovered by on the trail by search and rescue teams.
Investigators previously revealed that Gerrish was researching the Hites Cove hike on a phone app the day before the family set off on their doomed journey.
Detectives believe they managed most of a challenging 8.5-mile loop, which included five miles along a steep slope with little shade as temperatures reached 109 degrees, before they died on the hiking trail, about 1.6 miles away from their truck, which was parked at the Hites Cove trailhead.
A missing person's report was made at 11pm on August 16 and a Mariposa County sheriff's deputy discovered their truck at the end of Hites Cove Road at the trailhead around three hours later.
Search teams were deployed on the steep trails and the family were found along the switchbacks leading back to their trucks at 11am on August 17.
Gerrish was a software developer for Snapchat and had previously worked for Google. He graduated from Newcastle University
His American wife, Ellen Chung, was studying psychology and the couple were very active
There were few clues for detectives at the scene and no signs of foul play, such as trauma, the police said.
No significant evidence was found in searches of the family home and vehicles, the sheriff's office said.
Gerrish was a software developer for Snapchat and had previously worked for Google. He graduated from Newcastle University.
His American wife was studying psychology and the couple were very active and often spent time outdoors or traveling.
Jason @BeardedOverland www.beardedadv.blogspot.com
