Overdue Hiker - Do You Have Any Info?

[ERIC]

From the above release:

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, CA – Efforts to locate missing hiker Larry Conn have been suspended after an intense search revealed no clues. The search of likely areas lasted for eight days utilizing 56 personnel from multiple agencies, with 10 ground search teams, three dog teams, and five helicopters. Conn began a four-day trip in the rugged wilderness of Kings Canyon National Park starting at Taboose Pass on October 19, when he was seen by an outbound hiker. A winter storm arrived in the area on the evening of October 20 and deposited up to 12 inches of snow. Conn was reported overdue to the Inyo County Sheriff’s Department on the evening of October 23, and the Sheriff’s Department confirmed his vehicle was still at the trailhead. On October 24, the Inyo County Sheriff’s Department notified the National Park Service of the missing hiker. Search operations began in Kings Canyon National Park on October 24 and continued through October 31. Environmental conditions were challenging in the search area – a total of 48 square miles of mountainous terrain. Elevations ranged from 8,000 to 14,000 feet. Nighttime temperatures dropped to as low as 15 degrees Fahrenheit. Snowdrifts made travel by foot difficult. Two searchers were evacuated by helicopter due to medical concerns related to environmental conditions.

The Incident Management Team, with the assistance of the State Search and Rescue Coordinator, reviewed operations and decided to suspend the active search. According to Incident Commander Dave Fox,

“The National Park Service and our partners have searched for Larry Conn in challenging conditions in a vast area of wilderness. We have followed up on all potential clues. There is little information left to direct search operations. We will continue to actively search for Larry Conn, if new information is revealed through investigation or tips.”

Words cannot express.

[sparky]

I have been confused by the report of 12" snow falling on Oct. 20th.

clearly shows when snow began to fall. Of course the sensors could be malfunctioning.....but they seem to be working fine now?

[norcalhiker]

I'm sad to see that this is quentinc

[DoyleWDonehoo]

I have been confused by the report of 12" snow falling on Oct. 20th.

Me too. I think they must mean the 22nd. From the beginning I heard the storm came in Monday, not Saturday.

[Mike M.]

Doyle wrote:

The fact that no trace, no fire, no snow-stamped messages, no shouts, no sightings, no trace can be found further suggest that whatever happened, happened away from his tent.

Or that whatever happened, happened with his pack on his back, including his tent.

Mike

[SSSdave]

Sparky where did you get information stating snow started at that time?

page 22
sparky >>>"Snow didn't start falling until 10:30 am at the earliest....looks to be more like 11am. "
page 23
DoyleWDonehoo >>>"The fact that snow did not fall until 10:30 Monday or later is disturbing."

On my page 5 post has this CDEC link that shows this link of the remote Bishop Pass station gauge recording the first snow at 5am:

http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/quer ... an=12hours" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Bishop Pass is just 10 aerial miles from Taboose Pass so snow would have started there shortly after. That is very significant as I noted on my page 5 post because it means quentinc could have probably escaped over the pass had he not been injured and if his clothing was adequate.

[sparky]

I went to

scroll down a bit, click to animate whatever day you want or the past two weeks. It will only show <1". Again this info may not be correct, but even 5am monday conflicts with 12" on the evening of the 20th.

going over that link....the numbers seems a little odd? not more than an inch?

[QS 15]

Hi all,
I'm completely new to this site but I've been following this story closely, hoping that Mr. Conn will be found.. I was further south at Matlock Lakes the same weekend and it began snowing intermittently after 1am on Monday, Oct 22nd. By 8am, snowfall was steady and there was ~4" of fresh snow on the ground with trails obscured.

[frediver]

After looking at he maps again I agree that The Red Lake area looks suspect and has a exit trail. However both branches at the head of Goodale creek look equally suspect, I think it depends on which way he turned when he got over the pass.
I know maps are different than on the ground perspective but the Goodale drainage's look enticing using Bing Maps Bird view. This route I think would connect better with the Taboose parking area.
Finally the Search Map does not show that either areas have really been checked.
I doubt he would backtrack on the normal Taboose Trail, that direction would be an additional 5-6mi to the junction and then 9mi. out unless he thought he had time to beat the weather, I don't think he did. IF the weather turned to crap and he was on a reg. trail I also don't think he would stray far due to conditions. Bad weather might put him on a trail for safety reasons IF a trail was near to hand.
How far do you think Larry would try to go with only 2 days to play with, a 9 mi. slog in/out using Taboose pass really cuts into his time.
Larry likely has all his kit with him, none has been found nor any camp. The odds are he was not trying to top a Mountain when he went missing, if he had a base camp would likely have been found.
West and well as the normal trails in that direction have been covered, East has not.
Larry was forced into taking a shortcut due to weather OR he originally planned to make a loop due to time and distance constraints. IF he originally considered a loop then Red Lake gets the nod, if not then
his direction at the pass/junction determined the route/loop for him.

Damn !

[Jimr]

Eric Wrote:
"Words cannot express."

But tears can. I can't help but shed them.