Urgent search for backpacker who disappeared after entering creek in Yosemite

05 July 2023 , 13:10

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Hayden has gone missing at Yosemite National Park on Sunday 7/2 at approximately 2pm (Image: YosemiteNPS/Facebook)

A search is underway in a desperate attempt to find a "truly extraordinary" backpacker who vanished after visiting Yosemite National Park three days ago.

Alarm bells were raised when Hayden Klemenok, 24, who was part of a group, vanished on Sunday afternoon when he entered a Creek around 2pm.

There are some reports that Hayden may have got down on all fours to wet his head in the water before being swept away.

The group was backpacking at Upper Chilnualna Fall in California, when Hayden entered Chilnualna Creek near the trail junction, and he has not been seen since, the park said on Facebook and its website Tuesday.

Hayden Klemenok was wearing a tan, brimmed hat, white sunglasses, a red t-shirt, blue swimming trunks and white Adidas shoes (YosemiteNPS/Facebook)

Park officials are appealing to anyone who hiked in the area around the time, They are urged to contact park dispatch.

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“Simply knowing where you went and when you were there may help us focus the search, whether you saw anyone or not,” the park said in the post.

Hayden recently graduated from San Diego State University, according to a GoFundMe set up by a family friend who is raising money for the family who are taking time off work to look for him.

He was last seen backpacking with a group at the Upper Chilnualna Falls (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

His friend, who set up the page, wrote: "The efforts of law enforcement, the national park rangers, and Yosemite Search and Rescue Team are greatly appreciated however the outcome of Haydens whereabouts are presumed devastating.

"Hayden is a truly extraordinary young man who just recently graduated from SDSU with such a bright future ahead of him. We are all praying for a positive outcome."

Hayden was last seen wearing a tan brimmed hat, white sunglasses, a red T-shirt, blue swimming trunks and white Adidas shoes.

An alert on the park’s website Tuesday warns visitors to stay away from rivers and creeks because of flooding, noting they are “surprisingly swift, cold, and dangerous."

Yosemite National Park contains some of the largest, most remote wilderness in the United States.

As a result, every year visitors tragically fall to their deaths at the park.

According to Outforia, 45 people fell to their deaths in Yosemite from 2010 to 2020

Lucy Williamson