YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyoming, Sept. 22, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Yellowstone National Park is asking for the public’s assistance in locating Austin King, a 22-year-old man last heard from on Tuesday when he called a family member from the summit of Eagle Peak in the park’s remote southeast corner.
Yellowstone and Grand Teton National parks, Park County, Wyoming, and Teton County, Wyoming search and rescue teams are actively looking for King, a park concessions employee, in the vicinity of Eagle Peak, Eagle Pass Mountain Creek Trail and Eagle Creek Trailhead in Shoshone National Forest, a National Park news release says.
King is 6 feet tall and weighs 160 pounds. He has brown hair, hazel eyes, wears glasses, and was last seen in a black sweatshirt and gray pants.
King was reported overdue on Friday, when he failed to arrive for his boat pickup near Yellowstone Lake’s southeast arm on Friday afternoon after his planned seven-day backgrountry trip to summit Eagle Peak.
Search and rescue efforts began Saturday morning, and involve ground searches and aerial reconnaissance, the NPS news release says.
Rescuers discovered King’s camp and personal belongings Saturday evening. On Sunday, more than 20 ground searchers, two helicopters, unmanned air systems, and a search dog team are focusing efforts near Eagle Peak.
Park officials would like to hear from anyone traveling the backcountry near Eagle Peak since Sept. 14 who may have seen King. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call the Yellowstone Interagency Communications Center at 307-344-2643.
