Yellowstone employee missing in remote area of the park

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (Gray News) - Search efforts are underway for a Yellowstone employee who went missing while on a backpacking trip in a remote area of the park.

The National Park Service is asking for the public’s help in finding 22-year-old Austin King, a concession employee at Yellowstone National Park.

King was last heard from on Sept. 17, when he called a family member from the summit of Eagle Peak in the southeast corner of Yellowstone.

According to the park service, King was dropped off by a boat on Sept. 14 for a planned 7-day solo backpacking trip to summit Eagle Peak. He was reported overdue when he failed to arrive for his boat pickup near Yellowstone Lake’s Southeast Arm on Sept. 20.

King is described to be 6 feet tall, weighs about 160 pounds, has brown hair and hazel eyes, and several tattoos. He was wearing a black sweatshirt, gray sweatpants, glasses and a dark-colored pack when he was dropped off at the start of his trip.

The park service said King reported fog, rain, sleet, hail and windy conditions while at the summit of Eagle Peak.

Search and rescue teams began searching for King on Sept. 21. His camp and personal belongings were found that evening in the upper Howell Creek area.

Ground and aerial search operations are actively looking in the area around Eagle Peak, Eagle Pass Mountain Creek trail and the Eagle Creek trailhead in Shoshone National Forest, as well as the surrounding areas such as Yellowstone Lake.

The park service reported 20 ground searchers, helicopters, unmanned air systems and a search dog team are all looking for King.

They reported anyone who was hiking in the backcountry near Eagle Peak since Sept. 14 may have come across King. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to contact the Yellowstone Interagency Communications Center at 307-344-2643.

A GoFundMe has been set up by King’s father, Brian King-Henke.