Missing CCC worker found dead in Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park News Release

July 14, 2006
For Immediate Release

Search Commences for Missing California Conservation Corp Worker in Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park initiated a search today for Mike Gresham, a 24-year-old California Conservation Corps (CCC) worker from Eureka, Montana.

Gresham was last seen on Thursday, July 13, 2006 between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. at the junction of the Porcupine Creek, North Dome, and North Rim Trail.

Mike Gresham is described as a Caucasian male, with brown hair and brown eyes who weighs approximately 170 pounds. He was wearing a brown CCC uniform consisting of dark brown pants and a tan shirt, a black baseball cap with Americorps emblems and a blue and black backpack.

Gresham was reported missing by members of his CCC trail crew when he did not arrive at their next long-term base camp yesterday afternoon.

Yosemite National Park is working with the California Highway Patrol and Army National Guard from Mather, CA. Yosemite Search and Rescue has placed monitors on the trails around the Porcupine Creek area and have started an extensive search. Two helicopters and ground crew consisting of over 25 volunteers and a few search dogs are being utilized to aid in the search.

Anyone with any information about Mike Gresham is asked to call the Yosemite Criminal Investigations Unit at 209/372-0614.


-NPS-

Yosemite News Release
July 15, 2006

For Immediate Release
Missing CCC worker found dead in Yosemite National Park

The search for a missing California Conservation Corps (CCC) trail crew member working in Yosemite National Park ended on Friday, July 14, 2006 when his body was located half-way down the Royal Arches wall north of the Ahwahnee Hotel.

Michael Gresham, 24, stationed at the CCC's San Luis Obispo Center, was reported missing by members of his CCC trail crew when he did not arrive at their new base-camp on Thursday, July 13, 2006. A full-scale search was launched immediately utilizing both National Park Service ground search crews and helicopters from the California Highway Patrol and the California Army National Guard.

Gresham had been working on the trail crew in Yosemite for nearly three months as part of the CCC's elite Backcountry Trails Program. He had been a CCC Corps member for nearly three years, having attained the rank of Specialist. Gresham was known as a reliable, hardworking young man widely respected by his peers.

The cause of death is still under investigation.

This is a tragic loss for the National Park Service and the California Conservation Corps, which have had a collaborative partnership for over 25 years. Through the Backcountry Trails Program, the CCC provides thousands of hours per year building and maintaining trails throughout the park.

The CCC point-of-contact is Chris Skopec, Communications Director, at (916) 341-3223 [[email][email protected][/email]].

(-NPS-)