Search for lost Yellowstone hiker scaled back to recovery mission

EBS STAFF

Austin King, a 22-year-old employee of Xanterra Parks and Resorts which operates within Yellowstone National Park, has been missing for nearly two weeks after he failed to return on Sept. 20 from a planned seven-day solo expedition to climb Eagle Peak. King was last heard from on Tuesday, Sept. 17, when he called friends and family from the mountain’s summit.

On Oct. 2, officials announced the park will scale back search efforts and transition to a recovery mission. The announcement comes after 11 days of intensive search operations involving more than 100 personnel.

The search effort has included search dog teams, ground teams trackers, a drone and two helicopters scouring 3,225 miles by air and the ground area at elevations from 8,400 to 11,350 feet, according to an Oct. 2 press release from YNP. 

Searchers reported accumulations of snow and ice and six-foot drifts on Eagle Peak, according to a Sept. 24 release.

“Unfortunately, they have not found any definitive clues as to King’s current whereabouts,” the release stated. 

“Despite significant search efforts over the past week and a half, we have not been able to locate Austin,” Park Superintendent Cam Sholly stated in the release. 

“Although we will continue to hope for the best, I want to extend my deepest sympathies to Austin’s family, friends and colleagues. I also want to thank the teams from Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, and Park and Teton counties, Wyoming, who have all worked tirelessly to find Austin in some of the most difficult and remote terrain in Yellowstone.”

The park does not expect to provide further updates unless a notable change occurs.