A Tale of Two Hikers
Likely’s remains found; Florida hiker rescued.
A massive, multiagency search effort launched on June 14 at Mt. Whitney to locate missing hiker John Likely came to a sad conclusion on Thursday, June 19. According to an Inyo County Sheriff’s Department press release, search crews located the remains of Likely in an extremely steep shoot above Mirror Lake, west of Outpost Camp. The shoot was about 10 minutes off the Mt. Whitney Trail, at about 11,450 feet.
Search crews transported the remains to the Inyo County Coroner for official identification and determination of death.
The 60-year-old Likely, from Dumont, NJ, was separated from his hiking group on June 14. According to information received by Inyo County SAR, Likely and two friends summited Mt. Whitney on that day; during the descent down the trail, Likely was hiking at a slower pace than the other two members of the group, and the reporting party went ahead.
The two members of the hiking group continued their descent and waited for Likely at Trail Camp. They later reported that they could see Likely continuing down the switchbacks with their binoculars, and decided they would continue to Outpost Camp, where they were to spend the night. Likely never arrived at Outpost Camp.
“This has been an extremely difficult five-day search,” said Inyo County Search and Rescue Coordinator Nate Derr. “From the beginning we’ve treated this mission as a rescue, not a recovery. As a team we are deeply saddened, and our thoughts go out to Likely’s family and friends during this very difficult time.”
Between 90-100 SAR members searched the backcountry near and around the Mt. Whitney trail, many choosing to camp in order to be up and searching again at first light.
Sequoia-Kings National Park provided additional ground operations in the area between Trail Crest and the Crab Tree Ranger Station. Four different helicopters were used for inserting SAR members into the backcountry, and for imagery collection and analysis.
Other participating agencies included Inyo and Mono County SAR, China Lake Mountain Rescue Group, Antelope Valley, Sierra Madre, Marin County, Contra Costa County, Monterey County, San Mateo County, San Bernardino County, Orange County, and San Diego County SARs, as well as California Rescue Dog Association. Aerial support was provided by California Highway Patrol H-82 out of Apple Valley, China Lake Naval Air Base out of Ridgecrest, Sequoia-Kings, and Army National Guard out of Stockton, California.
Inyo and Mono County SARs do have their share of success stories, as in the case of a lost hiker on June 24. According to a press release from the Mono County Sheriff’s Office, on Tuesday, June 23, a female hiker from Florida became disoriented during a multi-day solo backcountry trip through the Cascade Valley area. For a 24-hour period, she attempted to relocate the trail, until she became ill.
On the morning of Tuesday, June 24, the hiker activated her SPOT personal locator beacon and sent out a distress signal. Fresno County picked up the signal and a California Highway Patrol (CHP) H40 helicopter responded to the area to attempt rescue.
Because of the location of the hiker and the weather conditions, the helicopter was unable to land. The helicopter crew flew to the Mammoth/Yosemite Airport and requested the Mono County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team to assist with a hoist operation.
A SAR Team member, also an EMT, accompanied the H40 crew back to the hiker’s location, and was hoisted down to evaluate her medical condition. She required no medical treatment, and was hoisted out and flown back to the Mammoth/Yosemite Airport. There she was safely taken to her hotel in Mammoth Lakes.
