EBS STAFF
A 22-year-old male Yellowstone National Park concessions employee is missing in the park’s remote southeast area in Wyoming. On the afternoon of Friday, Sept. 20, Austin King was meant to pick up his boat near Yellowstone Lake’s southeast arm after a seven-day backcountry trip to summit Eagle Peak. When he failed to show, he was reported overdue to the Yellowstone Interagency Communications Center, according to a Sept. 22 press release from the park.
At first light on Saturday, search and rescue teams conducted aerial reconnaissance and ground searches of the high mountain areas of Eagle Peak as well as Yellowstone Lake and surrounding areas. King’s personal belongings and camp were found in the upper Howell Creek area on Saturday evening, according to the release. On Sept. 22, more than 20 ground searchers, two helicopters, unmanned air systems, and a search dog team focused their efforts near Eagle Peak.
King was last heard from when he made a phone call to family at the summit of Eagle Peak on Tuesday, Sept. 17. According to the release, King is white, six ft tall, weighs 160 lb., with brown hair, hazel eyes, glasses, a black sweatshirt and gray pants. King described fog, rain, hail, sleet and windy conditions when he was on Eagle Peak’s summit.
Anyone in the backcountry near Eagle Peak starting Sept. 14 may have seen King. Those with information regarding his whereabouts are encouraged to reach out to the Yellowstone Interagency Communications Center, 307-344-2643.
Ongoing search areas include Eagle Peak, Eagle Pass Mountain Creek Trail and Eagle Creek Trailhead in the Shoshone National Forest.
