Missing Yosemite hiker found dead, park officials report

A hiker missing since early August was found dead yesterday at Yosemite National Park.

The body of 39-year-old James Michael Millett Jr. was discovered Tuesday by park rangers “above Yosemite Valley,” park officials said Wednesday in a three-sentence news release.

Park spokeswoman Ashley Mayer said the National Park Service is conducting the investigation, but said no further information could be released.

She declined to comment on any details of the death.

Park officials have had few details on Millett since his vehicle was discovered over the weekend on Tioga Road.

“Park rangers noticed the vehicle had been parked there for an extended period of time and that’s what prompted them to look into it and they discovered he’d gone hiking,” Mayer said in a telephone interview.

They have not said where he is from or whether he was alone or with others.

Mayer said officials have no timetable for when that information may be released.

This story was originally published September 2, 2015 at 10:48 AM with the headline "Missing Yosemite hiker found dead, park officials report."