Joel Thomazin, a U.S. Army reservist and Denair, Calif. resident, was declared missing in Yosemite National Park on Sept. 11, 2021. Family scheduled a Dec. 4 memorial service for him in Turlock. Courtesy of Kelly Schwartz
Two months since Yosemite National Park declared Denair resident Joel Thomazin missing, his father continues to search for him off hiking trails while rangers also look out for the 31-year-old Army reservist.
Steven Thomazin believes his son is alive, but said he plans to attend a Turlock memorial service scheduled by his daughter-in-law.
"I still have some hope and I keep going out even if there isn't because I need to find his body so that she can have closure," Thomazin said Thursday. "We are people of faith and we believe that God is in control. Until God lets us know some way or another he is no longer alive, we will believe there is some chance."
Thomazin, 58, said he and his wife living in Sonora are trying to respect how their daughter-in-law needs to proceed with her life. Since Yosemite National Park declared her husband missing on Sept. 11, two days after he was due to complete a solo hike, Amanda Thomazin has declined to speak to The Bee. Eleven agencies from as far as Butte County helped with the search, which included efforts by boat and off-road vehicle.
In October, Yosemite reduced search efforts to limited continuous mode, meaning rangers still look for him, but with fewer resources, park spokesman Scott Gediman said in an email Thursday.
Because of how long Thomazin has been missing, many people believe he died, Danielle Marty wrote on a GoFundMe page. Marty, Amanda Thomazin's sister, added the family cannot collect life insurance because he is still a missing person.
"The goal of this fundraiser is to alleviate the financial stress placed on Amanda by raising enough to cover monthly expenses (bills, small necessities, groceries) for a year," Marty wrote. "Any amount is helpful because it all adds up. Financial support means Amanda can focus on healing and raising their two-year-old son, Titus."
A memorial service is set for Dec. 4 at Monte Vista Chapel in Turlock, Steven Thomazin said. Even so, he searched for his son as recently as Wednesday, when he hiked 11 miles with a group to Gravel Pit Lake. Thomazin has lost count of how many days he has personally searched, but said he has made more than 16 trips in the past two months.
Father shares Yosemite search details
The park service has thoroughly searched Yosemite, but Thomazin said the limited efforts now focus on trails. His son probably went off trail because of his military background and familiarity with the area. Yosemite is like his and his son's backyard, Thomazin said, adding it is not odd for people from the area to hike solo.
Yosemite Search and Rescue has tried contacting everyone who had a permit for the northern area of the park in early September, Thomazin said. He has also posted flyers about his son along Highways 108 and 395.
Thomazin last spoke to his son by phone less than a week before the park declared him missing. His son's best friend recently died from a heart attack, but Thomazin said Joel was in a good mental state. When another close friend died 10 years ago in a fishing accident, Thomazin said Joel also went backpacking to clear his head.
"He was looking forward to going out to go seek God and talk to God (in Yosemite)," Thomazin said. "From his history of doing that before when one of his friends passed away, it wasn't odd. It wasn't out of character and it wasn't out of depression."
Joel Thomazin planned to hike from Hetch Hetchy on Sept. 6, fish in the Lake Eleanor area, and return on Sept. 9, the park said in a Facebook post. The park described him as 5 feet, 10 inches, with buzz-cut brown hair. He had a Kelty brand yellow and gray backpack, a green sleeping bag, a blue/green hammock, tan or blue zip-off pants and a bright red inflatable kayak.
Anyone who finds one of these items in the area can contact Yosemite Search and Rescue at yosemite.search.rescue@gmail.com or 209-238-7046.
This story was originally published November 23, 2021 5:00 AM.
Kristin Lam is an accountability reporter for The Modesto Bee covering Turlock, Patterson and Ceres. She previously worked for USA TODAY as a breaking news reporter and graduated with a journalism degree from San Jose State.
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