YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK — Search efforts to locate 22-year-old Yellowstone National Park (YNP) concessions employee Austin King will wind down and transition from a rescue mission to a recovery mission as of Wednesday, Oct. 2, according to an announcement by YNP.
Searchers have worked for 11 days to locate King, who did not return from a solo backcountry trek to Eagle Peak in the park. He was last heard from on Sept. 17, when he contacted family from the summit of the mountain. King was employed by Xanterra Parks and Resorts, which operates hotels, restaurants and gift shops within Yellowstone.
“To date, more than 100 personnel including two helicopters, search dog teams, ground teams with spotting scopes, trackers and a drone have searched more than 3,225 miles by air and ground at elevations ranging from 11,350 feet to 8,400 feet,” YNP’s announcement said. “Unfortunately, they have not found any definitive clues as to King’s current whereabouts.”
YNP said that limited search efforts would continue for the foreseeable future, dependent upon weather.
“Despite significant search efforts over the past week and a half, we have not been able to locate Austin,” YNP Superintendent Cam Sholly said in a statement. “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.”
In its initial report of King’s disappearance, YNP shared that his camp and personal effects had been discovered in the upper Howell Creek area. YNP noted that it does not expect to provide further updates in this case “unless a notable change occurs.”
