The search continues for a missing 22-year-old hiker who disappeared at Yellowstone National Park. The young man has been missing since September 17.
22-year-old Austin King decided to submit Eagle Peak, Yellowstone National Park. He didn't show up to his boat pickup 7 days later. Yellowstone Park said, "[King] was reported overdue to the Yellowstone Interagency Communications Center when he failed to arrive for his boat pickup near Yellowstone Lake's Southeast Arm on Friday afternoon, Sept. 20, after his planned [trip]."
No one has heard from King since September 17. King "was last heard from on Tuesday, Sept. 17 when he called friends and family from the summit of Eagle Peak in the park's remote southeast corner."
Unfortunately, the 22-year-old encountered "fog, rain, sleet, hail and windy conditions" in Yellowstone. His parents traveled from Minnesota and are staying at he Lake Hotel in Yellowstone National Park.
Missing At Yellowstone
"I couldn't even think," said Austin's father, Brian King-Henke. "It was something that you can't fathom."
Likewise, his mother said that he loved the outdoors.
"That's why he moved to Yellowstone," said Austin's mother, Pandy King. "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."
King-Henke regrets telling his son to come to Yellowstone. "I'm the one who told him to come out here," King-Henke said. "You know, I was like, 'You're 22. Go see the United States.'"
He feels that the 22-year-old bit off more than he could handle with his latest endeavor. "He took on something he was not prepared for," King-Henke said.
Right now, his mother said she's living her life in 15-minute intervals. "The helicopters come and go every 15 minutes and that's kind of how I've timed my life by every 15 minutes," King said. "Next helicopter, next helicopter, next helicopter."
Neither is willing to give up the search until they find him. "Every day they come back with you know, 'We're still looking. We're not giving up. We're still searching,'" King said.
But they recognize the severity of the situation. "It's settling a little bit, but I'm there for his mom and brother," said King-Henke. "So, I can't think that. I'm glad he was doing what he loved."
