The dramatic search for an experienced ranger has come to a chilling end after an eerie note was found on his note saying he’d return.
Backpacker Kirk S. Thomas-Olsen, 61, was found dead in Yosemite National Park, California on September 14 just two weeks after he was reported missing by authorities.
He had planned to backpack in the Ostrander Lake Area from August 23 to 27 but concerns grew when he failed to return. The National Park Service had asked the public for help in finding the experienced hiker.
Thomas-Olsen, who worked for the California State Parks agency for ten years, was described by his worried niece Holly Leeson as “an experienced hiker and former park ranger,” and she said her family was “struggling to understand what has happened to him out there.”
He had planned to backpack in the Ostrander Lake Area from August 23 to 27 (
Getty Images)
A search operation was underway after a ranger found a note on Olsen’s car saying that the hiker had planned to return two weeks earlier, according to his niece. The National Park Service describes the hike to Ostrander Lake as a “strenuous” 11.4-mile round-trip, which can take 8-10 hours.
Tragically, his body was found on September 14. After her uncle was found dead, Leeson updated the Yosemite Tourist Information Facebook page.
“His body was found which is not the outcome we as a family hoped for but I would like to say a genuine thank you to Yosemite National Park for their diligent efforts to find him, and to this community for the support,” she wrote, adding, “My late uncle was an experienced hiker and a former State Park ranger, unfortunately, Mother Nature in all of her glory does not account for past experience and solo hiking is never an endeavor that is without risks.
“Please, whenever possible, travel with a companion and be safe. The earth is beautiful and I myself will always be a supporter of our National Parks system and the opportunities they provide to see nature at her best, but take the necessary precautions and be safe in all of your endeavors.”
The National Park Service and authorities have not provided cause of death or any additional details on Thomas-Olsen’s case.
As millions visit Yosemite National Park each year, the leading causes of unintentional deaths in national parks are motor vehicle crashes, drownings and falls, according to the park’s mortality data from 2014 through 2019.
Furthermore, half of all reported deaths are due to unintentional causes. According to recent data, Yosemite National Park has recorded 98 deaths in that same timeframe.
