A note discovered atop a Wyoming mountain was identified as belonging to a missing hiker, Austin King, who has not been seen since. King last contacted his mother, Pandora King, on September 17, calling from Yellowstone National Park, where he was undertaking a solo climb of Eagle Peak, a summit standing at 11,400 feet.
Three days before he was meant to check into camp, King left a cryptic message at the peak, but when the expected day arrived, he was nowhere to be found. During the summer, King worked in the park, and friends noted his excitement about the climb, talking about the mountain for weeks.
King was set to return home shortly, yet he vanished without a trace. His father, Brian King-Henke, has made public the note King penned, which described the severe weather he faced on his ascent.
According to the Daily Mail, King wrote: “I can’t feel my fingers and my glasses are so fogged from the ruthless weather of the mountains. I truly cannot believe I am here after what it took to be here. I endured rain, sleet, hail and the most wind I have ever felt.” The climb had appeared to be a transformative experience for him.
In his note, King continued: “I free soloed too many cliffs to get here and walked up to the peak from the connecting peak – AKA not the right path. I am 22 years old and I will never forget today (for) the rest of my life.” He concluded with a smiley face and the words ‘life is beautiful, go out and LIVE IT!’
The National Park Service reports that King last communicated with his family from Eagle Peak’s summit around 7 p.m., after allegedly reaching there at 6 p.m. Since it coincided with sunset, it left King with minimal daylight to descend, meaning he soon found himself in darkness.
During his time on the peak, King called his long-time friend, Desmond McGroarty, who also worked in the park. McGroarty shared with cowboystatedaily.com that King seemed very joyful. “He was super ecstatic. 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.”
The alarm was sounded when King did not attend his planned boat ride back to his RV at Grant Village three days later, prompting a search team to be deployed on September 21. King’s grandfather shared online that ‘2 helicopters, 4 boats, a drone, 48 people on the ground’ were involved in the search efforts.
King’s father, after setting up a GoFundMe for his son, expressed to KTVQ upon arriving in Yellowstone, “I’m the one who told him to come out here. You know, I was like, ‘You’re 22. Go see the United States.’ He took on something he was not prepared for.”
The rescue operation extended for 11 days before transitioning to a body recovery mission on October 2. No further evidence of King’s whereabouts has been found. Superintendent Cam Sholly stated: “Despite significant search efforts we have not been able to locate Austin. Although we will continue to hope for the best, I want to extend my deepest sympathies to Austin’s family, friends and colleagues. I also want to thank the teams from Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, and Park and Teton counties, Wyoming, who have all worked tirelessly to find Austin in some of the most difficult and remote terrain in Yellowstone.”
John Lamb, a seasoned hiker assisting in the search, mentioned to Cowboy State Daily that King’s voicemail to his father suggested he was ‘disoriented’ and ‘you can tell he’s scared’.