By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-09-25 20:41:22 | Updated at 2024-10-02 08:24:36
6 days ago
The mother of missing hiker Austin King has spoken about the final call from her 'ecstatic' son as he sat at the freezing summit of a Yellowstone mountain.
No-one has seen the 22-year-old since the he phoned mom Pandora King back home in Minnesota on September 17 after a solo climb of the 11,400-foot Eagle Peak in one of America's remotest spots.
He was due to return home to Winona within days after spending the summer working in the park, but friends said he had been talking about the mountain for 'weeks'.
His mother has joined his father Brian Henke in a hotel at the foot of the mountain as an army of rescuers, scour the slopes for signs of life amid six-foot snowdrifts.
'Every day they come back with you know, 'We're still looking. We're not giving up. We're still searching',' the 52-year-old said.
Austin, of Minnesota , is described 6 feet, 160lbs, with brown hair and hazel eyes. He was last seen wearing glasses, gray pants and a black sweatshirt. (Pictured: Austin in July 2023)
Austin's mother Pandora King said her son her son was days from coming home to Minnesota after a summer working in the national park
'This was the pinnacle of his summer because he had to go home in two weeks. So, this was it. This was the grand adventure.'
Austin had driven to the park in his 2006 Chevy Silverado and was planning a seven-day trip when he set out to conquer the mountain on September 14.
A boat dropped the fit young hiker at Terrace Point on a southern spur of Lake Yellowstone just under 10 miles from the mountain peak.
Two days later he was spotted by a backcountry ranger who spoke to him on the banks of Howell Creek as he skirted the foothills on his way to a cabin on the east of the mountain.
'He was headed to site 6D8 for the night and planned to climb Eagle Peak on Tuesday, September 17,' the National Park Service said in an alert.
But it was 7.30pm and darkness was falling before he finally reached the summit and took out his phone to break the news.
Among those he phoned was his oldest friend Desmond McGroarty, 22, who had also got a job in Yellowstone after following him from their home town.
'He was super ecstatic,' McGroarty told cowboystatedaily.com.
'He did say his hands were cold and stuff, but it sounded like he just didn't care, because he was so excited he made it to the top.'
Rescuers have reported snow drifts up to six feet deep as they search the 11,361-foot mountain
More than 85 rescuers from two national parks have been assisted by two helicopters, a search dog team, and an uncrewed aircraft
Austin's dad Brian Henke has also arrived to help with rescue efforts
The National Parks service released a map on Wednesday afternoon showing the extent of terrain covered by rescuers in the first three days of the search
But the excited climber also mentioned the 'fog, rain, sleet, hail and windy conditions' at the summit as he prepared to set out on his journey back down the slopes.
It was another three days before the alarm was raised when he failed to make a planned rendezvous with the boat on Lake Yellowstone.
And it was Saturday morning before a search team was dispatched to look for the climber who had last been heard from more than 80 hours earlier.
After failing to return to the Yellowstone Interagency Communications Center on September 20, park officials started search and rescue efforts the following day.
They soon found where Austin had been camping to the east of the mountain with some of his supplies still in place.
But his sleeping bag was missing.
'I'm the one who told him to come out here,' his father told ktvq.com after arriving in Yellowstone.
'You know, I was like, 'You're 22. Go see the United States'.
'He took on something he was not prepared for.'
'That's why he moved to Yellowstone,' Pandora added. 'I mean he's been working out here all summer. 'He gets to live in his camper. He gets to hang out with his friends all night.'
But his parents can only watch as 85 rescuers from both Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks have set off each day to look for their son.
'The helicopters come and go every 15 minutes and that's kind of how I've timed my life - by every 15 minutes,' his mother said. 'Next helicopter, next helicopter, next helicopter.'
Austin King, 22, a concession employee at Yellowstone National Park, was last heard from on September 17 after venturing out on September 14
His oldest friend Desmond McGroarty, 22, said Austin had been talking about the mountain for weeks and was 'ecstatic' when he phoned him from the summit
Visitors to the park are being asked to look out for the missing man
Austin's grandfather, Richard King, has also posted updates on Facebook, urging family and friends to keep his grandson and family in their thoughts.
'Come on kid, show us where you are. 2 helicopters, 4 boats, a drone, 48 people on the ground and a dog are all out there,' he wrote.
Austin, who was last seen wearing glasses, gray pants and a black sweatshirt, has climbed mountains before and was competing in triathlons as recently as two years ago.
But McGroaty said his old kindergarten friend had 'never done' anything as challenging as Eagle Peak before.
'He showed everybody his plan (that) he wrote out on paper,' he added.
'He can be really determined on things he wants.'
