Yellowstone National Park asks for help searching for lost hiker in remote area

A searcher looks for signs of a lost hiker during the 2024 Eagle Peak Search & Rescue. (Provided by Yellowstone National Park)

Yellowstone National Park said Wednesday it is continuing its search for lost hiker Austin King, a 22-year-old male last heard from on Tuesday, Sept. 17, when he called friends and family from the summit of Eagle Peak.

Searchers board a helicopter to look for a lost hiker in the 2024 Eagle Peak Search & Rescue. (Provided by Yellowstone National Park)

King is 6 feet tall and weighs 160 pounds, the park said in a news release. He has brown hair and hazel eyes, wears glasses, and was wearing a black sweatshirt and gray pants.

The park is seeking assistance in the search for King, a concession employee working in Yellowstone. King was reported overdue to the Yellowstone Interagency Communications Center when he failed to arrive for his boat pickup near Yellowstone Lake’s Southeast Arm on Friday afternoon after his planned seven-day backcountry trip to summit Eagle Peak, according to Yellowstone.

While on the summit, King described fog, rain, sleet, hail and windy conditions, the park said.

A search and rescue effort began at first light Saturday, Sept. 21, according to a news release from the park on Sunday. That involved an aerial reconnaissance and ground search in the high mountain areas of Eagle Peak and surrounding areas including Yellowstone Lake.

Rescuers discovered King’s camp and personal effects Saturday evening in the upper Howell Creek area, the park said.

Since Saturday, 85 personnel, two helicopters, a search dog team, and an uncrewed aircraft have focused efforts on the high-elevation, expansive and hazardous area.

The searchers report accumulations of snow and ice and 6-foot drifts on Eagle Peak, but they will continue to search for the next several days as conditions continue to improve, the park said in an update Wednesday. Weather forecasts are favorable, according to Yellowstone.

A map of the 2024 Eagle Peak Search & Rescue. (Provided by Yellowstone National Park)

The park said anyone traveling in the backcountry near Eagle Peak since Sept. 14 may have seen King.

The search is underway with assistance from Grand Teton National Park, Park County, Wyoming, and Teton County, Wyoming, according to Yellowstone. It’s taking place in the park’s remote southeast corner.