Yosemite continues search for missing Denair hiker. How many agencies have helped?
Yosemite National Park on Monday continued searching for missing Denair resident Joel Thomazin, who did not return from a solo hike as planned on Sept. 9.
Eleven agencies from as far as Santa Cruz and Butte County have helped Yosemite Search and Rescue with the effort, said park spokesman Scott Gediman.
Thomazin, 31, began a hike between Hetch Hetchy and Lake Eleanor on Sept. 6 and was declared missing on Sept. 11, two days after he was due to complete it. His wife Amanda Thomazin did not immediately respond to an interview request Monday and declined to speak to The Bee last week.
“My prayer and the prayer I ask of every one of you is that Joel or an answer is found today,” Thomazin said in a Facebook post Sunday. “I’m praying that this doesn’t drag on and some closure can be found today.”
Search and rescue teams that have or keep assisting the effort include crews from Marin County, Bay Area Mountain Rescue, China Lake, Fresno County, California Highway Patrol Air Ops, Butte County, Point Reyes National Seashore and the California Office of Emergency Services, Gediman said in an email. Plans vary daily depending on the weather, terrain, resources available and areas crews have covered, he added.
Last Monday the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office responded to the mutual aid request and searched the Cherry Lake area by boat and off-road vehicle, Deputy Niccoli Sandelin previously told The Bee. Sandelin did not have any immediate updates Monday morning.
Each year Yosemite National Park responds to 200 to 250 emergency calls, including for technical rescues, according to the park’s website. Yosemite has yet to close three other missing persons cases that predate Thomazin’s: Richard Judd last seen July 25, Sandra Johnsen-Hughes last seen in July 2020 and Peter Jackson, who went missing in 2016.
Thomazin grew up in the area and has hiked in Yosemite since he was a child, said Kelly Schwartz, who serves in a U.S. Army Reserve unit with him.
“This is absolutely not the case of an irresponsible solo hiker going out and losing his way,” Schwartz previously told The Bee. “This is an experienced guy. He knows what he’s doing.”
The park described Thomazin as 5 feet, 10 inches, with buzz-cut brown hair. He had a Kelty brand yellow and gray backpack, green sleeping bag, blue/green hammock, tan or blue zip-off pants and a bright red inflatable kayak.
Anyone in the area of Miguel Meadow, Lake Eleanor or on the trails around Hetch Hetchy since Monday can contact Yosemite Search and Rescue at 209-238-7046.
This story was originally published September 21, 2021 at 4:30 AM with the headline "Yosemite continues search for missing Denair hiker. How many agencies have helped?."
