Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Missing Hiker Bob Woodie - Recovered

CONTACT: Zach Behrens, 559-565-3131 (o) or 559-679-2866 (c)

Search Continues for Missing Hiker Robert “Bob” Woodie

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, Calif. -- As the search for Robert “Bob” Woodie continues, park officials are requesting that any hiker who was in the search area since Thursday, October 13, 2016, to reach out with information.

“Even if they do not think they saw Mr. Woodie, information about where he wasn't seen is also very important in directing our search efforts,” explained Rich Browne, Incident Commander for the search and rescue operation. “All information is helpful to our investigation. We currently have over 60 personnel and 2 helicopters assigned to the search incident.”

The search area consists of Bishop Pass, Dusy Basin, Barrett Lakes, and the John Muir Trail/Pacific Crest Trail for the length of Le Conte Canyon. The area is a high sierra alpine environment, between approximately 8,000 and 12,000 feet elevation. The rugged terrain includes areas of forest, alpine lakes, and areas above tree line with talus slopes and rocky mountain passes.

Mr. Woodie was reported missing after not returning from a four-day backpacking trip into the wilderness of Kings Canyon National Park. His intended route of travel may have been from South Lake, outside Bishop, CA, into the park via Bishop Pass starting on Thursday, October 13, 2016. He was possibly at Barrett Lakes, southeast of Dusy Basin, on the evening of Saturday, October 15, 2016, based on an electronic check-in message received from his satellite message device. The area experienced some inclement weather during this timeframe, with some areas above about 10,500 ft receiving snow. Overnight temperatures continue to be below freezing.

Mr. Woodie, a 74-year-old from Manhattan Beach, CA, is an experienced hiker who is familiar with the area. He is caucasian with brown hair and brown eyes and is 5’5” and around 150 pounds. He was possibly carrying a blue shell type jacket, baseball cap or floppy hat, and boots. He is reported to have an internal frame backpack, possibly blue in color.

This search and rescue incident is being coordinated with the Inyo County Sheriff’s Department, which is simultaneously performing search operations adjacent to the park boundary within Inyo National Forest. Yosemite Search and Rescue and Sierra Madre Search and Rescue Team are assisting in the operation within Kings Canyon National Park.

We are continuing the search and rescue for 74-year-old Robert "Bob" Woodie of Manhattan Beach, CA, in the wilderness of Kings Canyon National Park. Four dog teams from Yosemite Search and Rescue (YOSAR) are currently assisting our field teams.

Photos and b-roll of the dogs can be found here, along with some new photos from the field to give you a sense of some of the terrain the teams are searching: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nps_seki/tags/robertwoodie/

Our priority messaging for the public at this time is to get hikers who were in the search area since Thursday, October 13 to call us at 559-565-3117. Even someone who did not see Mr. Woodie is a helpful clue for our investigation. That helps us understand where he may have not been at a certain time. The search area includes Bishop Pass, Dusy Basin, Barrett Lakes, and the John Muir Trail/Pacific Crest Trail in LeConte Canyon.

Thank you for your help getting the word out!

Hi All. I appreciate everyone's weather & condition observations. From weather data and a few JMT hikers going through on the west side, it confirms conditions on Saturday (very high winds and, in the search area, some prcip though not major) and Sunday (serous prcip/snow and extreme winds) west of the crest. Mammoth Mountain anemometer (11,000') showed sustained gusts of over 100mph after 1PM (maxed at 116mph). Because of incoming weather, searchers came out Saturday night but teams will return if conditions allow today or tomorrow. Weather, though, is again going to limit both ground and air search later this week.

I'm unable to post the search maps right now but this has been an incredibly extensive search with very good ground coverage on both the east side and west side of Bishop Pass. Sunday we (NPS) went over each section looking for holes in our search pattern. Areas were identified for follow up. I'll try to get permission to post a coverage map (tracklogs of searchers). It gives a really good visual of what goes into a search. Most of the ground teams are volunteers from a number of California county search and rescue teams who spend countless hours in training in addition to being available to show up with incidents like this occur. Also involved are Yosemite SAR and their helicopter as well as a National Guard Chinook. Darned impressive effort & people involved!

Anyway, thanks to everyone for your continued observations and first-hand accounts. I'll update here as I can.

George Durkee
NPS Sequoia Kings SAR

Search for Missing Hiker Robert “Bob” Woodie Scaled Back

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, Calif. -- After more than a week of searching for hiker Robert “Bob” Woodie, the mission has been put on hold due to a series of incoming winter storms forecasted for over the next week. All search teams were taken out of the field Wednesday afternoon in anticipation of the significant weather event, which is forecasted to bring two to three feet of snow at elevations above 8,000 feet and high winds, with gusts up to 75 mph.

“We’ve completed very thorough ground and aerial searches in very difficult terrain over the last nine days, but the storms would put our search teams at risk and decrease our ability to find clues,” explained Rich Browne, incident commander for the search. “When it clears, we’ll reassess, but it does look like weather and snow coverage will end our ability to continue active ground and aerial search operations.”

The suspension of an active field search moves the operation into what is called “limited continuous,” which may include air searches, backcountry patrols, and outreach to hikers heading into the area. The operation will be upgraded to an active search if any leads about or whereabouts of Mr. Woodie are discovered. Additionally, the Incident Management Team continues to evaluate data collected by field teams while investigators continue to follow up on leads.

The itinerary for Mr. Woodie, a 74-year-old resident of Manhattan Beach, CA, was a four-day backpacking and fishing trip between Thursday, October 13 and Sunday, October 16. An experienced hiker who knew the area, he parked his vehicle at the South Lake trailhead in Inyo National Forest and hiked over Bishop Pass into Kings Canyon National Park. An “OK” check-in message was sent from his satellite GPS device on Saturday evening from the Barrett Lakes area. A winter storm that night and next day brought very high winds, overnight temperatures to below freezing, and snow to some areas above 10,500 feet. When Mr. Woodie did not return from his trip, his family notified authorities.

The National Park Service continues to ask the public to contact officials at 559-565-3195 if they were in the search area between Thursday, October 13 and Thursday, October 20. The 26-square-mile search area within Kings Canyon National Park consists of Bishop Pass, Dusy Basin, Barrett Lakes, and the John Muir Trail/Pacific Crest Trail between Muir Pass and Mather Pass. The area is a high sierra alpine environment, between approximately 8,000 and 12,000 feet elevation. The rugged terrain includes areas of forest, alpine lakes, and areas above tree line with talus slopes and rocky mountain passes.

Over 130 personnel have worked on this multi-agency operation within Kings Canyon National Park. They include Yosemite National Park (YOSAR, including YODOGS, and Helicopter 551), L.A. County Sheriff’s Department (with Sierra Madre Search and Rescue), and Fresno County Sheriff’s Department, San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department, California Office of Emergency Services, China Lake Search and Rescue, National Weather Service’s Hanford field office, USGS, and U.S. Forest Service.

Media Assets: Photos | B-roll | Maps | Photos of Mr. Woodie

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Zach Behrens, 559-565-3131 (o) or 559-679-2866 (c)

Search for Missing Hiker Robert "Bob" Woodie Scaled Back

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, Calif. -- After more than a week of searching for hiker Robert "Bob" Woodie, the mission has been put on hold due to a series of incoming winter storms forecasted for over the next week. All search teams were taken out of the field Wednesday afternoon in anticipation of the significant weather event, which is forecasted to bring two to three feet of snow at elevations above 8,000 feet and high winds, with gusts up to 75 mph.

"We've completed very thorough ground and aerial searches in very difficult terrain over the last nine days, but the storms would put our search teams at risk and decrease our ability to find clues," explained Rich Browne, incident commander for the search. "When it clears, we'll reassess, but it does look like weather and snow coverage will end our ability to continue active ground and aerial search operations."

The suspension of an active field search moves the operation into what is called "limited continuous," which may include air searches, backcountry patrols, and outreach to hikers heading into the area. The operation will be upgraded to an active search if any leads about or whereabouts of Mr. Woodie are discovered. Additionally, the Incident Management Team continues to evaluate data collected by field teams while investigators continue to follow up on leads.

The itinerary for Mr. Woodie, a 74-year-old resident of Manhattan Beach, CA, was a four-day backpacking and fishing trip between Thursday, October 13 and Sunday, October 16. An experienced hiker who knew the area, he parked his vehicle at the South Lake trailhead in Inyo National Forest and hiked over Bishop Pass into Kings Canyon National Park. An "OK" check-in message was sent from his satellite GPS device on Saturday evening from the Barrett Lakes area. A winter storm that night and next day brought very high winds, overnight temperatures to below freezing, and snow to some areas above 10,500 feet. When Mr. Woodie did not return from his trip, his family notified authorities.

The National Park Service continues to ask the public to contact officials at 559-565-3195 if they were in the search area between Thursday, October 13 and Thursday, October 20. The 26-square-mile search area within Kings Canyon National Park consists of Bishop Pass, Dusy Basin, Barrett Lakes, and the John Muir Trail/Pacific Crest Trail between Muir Pass and Mather Pass. The area is a high sierra alpine environment, between approximately 8,000 and 12,000 feet elevation. The rugged terrain includes areas of forest, alpine lakes, and areas above tree line with talus slopes and rocky mountain passes.

Over 130 personnel have worked on this multi-agency operation within Kings Canyon National Park. They include Yosemite National Park (YOSAR, including YODOGS, and Helicopter 551), L.A. County Sheriff's Department (with Sierra Madre Search and Rescue), and Fresno County Sheriff's Department, San Mateo County Sheriff's Department, California Office of Emergency Services, China Lake Search and Rescue, National Weather Service's Hanford field office, USGS, and U.S. Forest Service.

Three months after Robert "Bob" Woodie set out on a four-day hiking and fishing trip through Sequoia in October 2016 and never returned, his family—seeking a sense of closure—gave him a memorial service back home.

Their wounds were reopened last week, when 7 feet of snow melted in Bishop Pass to reveal a body that was airlifted and later identified as belonging to Woodie, 74, of Manhattan Beach.

The beloved grandfather is believed to have succumbed to below-freezing temperatures while crossing the final pass of his journey, his son, Robert Woodie, said in a message to friends this week.