Re: Missing Person: Hyundo Ahn

Date
July 22, 2005

Contact
Steve Yu, 209-372-0614

Hyundo Ahn, from South Korea, has been in the USA as a student at U.C. Davis since September of 2004. Before returning to Korea Ahn planned a hike of the John Muir trail. He got a wilderness permit to start the hike on June 20. He was to start his trip in Yosemite Valley and end at Mt. Whitney on July 1. At that date trail conditions along that route were still snow covered at mid and high elevations, and the amount of time he allowed for the 212 mile trip was very ambitious.

A withdrawal was made using Ahn's ATM card in Yosemite Valley on June 22. No other evidence of his whereabouts has been discovered since then. He was scheduled to fly home to Korea on July 21, but missed the flight. Yosemite National Park was informed that Ahn was missing on that date.

Anyone with any information about Ahn should call investigator Steve Yu at (209) 372-0614 or the Yosemite National Park emergency communication center 24 hours-a-day at (209) 379-1992.

Ahn's body was found in Tenaya Canyon.

I was there last week and saw all the missing person notices for him. Did they find him today? I couldn't find any articles online.

This story is all the information I have so far:

http://www.californiaaggie.com/article/?id=9925

Yosemite National Park News Release

August 9, 2005
For Immediate Release

Missing Hiker Found in Yosemite National Park

Search and rescue teams at Yosemite National Park discovered a body in Tenaya Canyon late Saturday afternoon. The body has been positively identified as Hyundo Ahn, the missing UC Davis exchange student who began a solo backpacking trip in Yosemite National Park on June 20, 2005.

Park search and rescue teams began searching for Ahn after he was reported missing on July 21, 2005, over a month after he began his trip. Initial searches along Ahn's intended route were narrowed down to points in the Tuolumne Meadows area after hikers reported seeing Ahn on the trail.

A backpack and other personal belongings were found in Tenaya Canyon, a remote and rugged wilderness area, on Friday, August 5, 2005. A subsequent search of the area by park search and rescue teams led to the discovery of the body on August 6, 2005. The body was found in close proximity to the backpack. The exact cause of Ahn's death remains under investigation.


-NPS-