Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Resuming Search: Larry Conn remains recovered

Inyo and Sierra Madre SAR went up this past weekend and found
Larry's shoe at the top of the pass not to far from the trail.
SEKI is looking now, hopefully there will be closure soon for
all involved.

That is the size, color, and make of his shoe. I use the same shoe
but different color.

Remains recovered in Sequoia National Park - Might be hiker missing since October

Published on Jun 18, 2013 - 7:01:59 AM

By: Cpt. Terry Waterbury, Inyo County Sheriff Office, SAR Coordinator

June 17, 2013 - Search efforts have continued for 53 year old, Lawrence Conn from Pacific Palisades who went missing last October during one of winter's first snow storms. Conn failed to return from his solo hiking/camping trip into Sequoia National Park. After friends reported him overdue, Conn's vehicle was located at Taboose Pass trailhead in Inyo County. A joint search effort was conducted between Inyo County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue and Sequoia National Park.· Due to the accumulation of snow and no signs of Conn, search efforts were suspended.

On 06-09-2013, Search teams from the National Park Service, Inyo County SAR, and Sierra Madre Mountain Rescue Team conducted joint efforts to locate Conn. A hiking shoe similar to what Conn may have been wearing was located a short distance inside the Park off the main trail near the pass. The discovery of the shoe redirected the search teams from the approximate 100 square miles of search area to the Taboose Pass area.

On 06-15-2013, in the early afternoon search teams located a windblown tent and several other items off the Taboose Pass trail in Inyo County at about 11,500 foot level. The tent matched what Conn was reported to have used. Concentrating efforts in that area, search teams discovered a cell phone which was determined to be Conn's and possible human remains.

The remains have been turned over to the Inyo County Coroner's Office for positive identification.

It was about noon when Larry made it to the top of Taboose Pass, why didn’t he continue down to the safety of lower elevations? Were conditions so bad, visibility wise, that he felt it to be to dangerous to continue? Temps were in the 20s, hypothermia could have been an issue (made a point to re-reading all medical information related to hypothermia), especially with the intense hiking over the fresh snowy terrain would have caused him to get wet from sweat allowing the heat to radiate from his body over time. With temp in the 20s he would have been breathing in cold air further lowering his core temp, then add in the high wind increasing the chill factor. After enough heat was lost to his brain he would no longer functioning properly and he would not have noticed that he was shivering severely, muscles would become stiff, he would have slowed down moving less, and less, possibly having enough energy to set up his tent, attempted to warm up with several layers of clothing, got into his sleeping bag, and fell into a stupor from which he never woke up. This scenario may or may not be what happened, but with no evidence it is my best guess.

Hopefully we all can learn something from this tragic incident, being conservative in our abilities when it comes to emergency situations is possible the safest avenue to take when it comes to survival. Understanding and especially educating ourselves about the importance of seeking shelter instead of exposing ourselves to the severe outside environments can be the difference between life and death. Understand the BIG 3 rules of survival, 3 hours without shelter, 3 days without water, and 3 weeks without food, our chances of survival diminish, and these numbers drop substantially in extreme conditions.