The days have turned into weeks. And 22-year-old Yellowstone worker Austin King is still missing. He disappeared after climbing Eagle Peak On September 17.
In a sad discovery, King actually left behind a note on the mountain's peak. He wrote a handwritten note for future climbers to fine. King's father shared the discovery with outlets.
"I can't feel my fingers and my glasses are so fogged from the ruthless weather of the mountains," says King in a letter dated Sept. 17. "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(.)" He commented on the difficulties of the weather and how hard it was to see.
He added, "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: "Life is beautiful, got out and LIVE IT!" He signed his name with a smiley face. Likewise, King also left behind a voicemail for his dad Brian King-Henke from the summit. Unfortunately, his father didn't get the voicemail until a week later.
Austin King Still Missing
Volunteer search and rescue coordinator John Lamb says these offer clues.
"We can tell by that voicemail that he was disoriented," Lamb told Cowboy State Daily. "He admits he came up the wrong path ... he possibly didn't know the right path to take down, to head back down to the lake." The mountain features various pitfalls.
"You can tell he's scared (in the voicemail), he's cold — he doesn't really know where he's at," said Lamb. "It took him all day to get there, so you can just imagine trying to come down a mountain not seeing at all, and not knowing where you're at up there and which direction to go."
The search for King continues. But it grows dimmer every day, especially with winter approaching.
"The park has continued limited search efforts since scaling back," says an email Yellowstone's public affairs office sent Friday to Cowboy State Daily. "We are aware that the father is attempting to coordinate additional search efforts for the upcoming days and have provided him information on the search efforts to date. We are also cautioning any of these additional searchers to be aware of the dangerous terrain and predicted inclement weather for next week."
