Avid hiker and former park ranger discovered in Yosemite National Park weeks after note said he'd return

An experienced hiker, who had been missing for implicit 2 weeks, was recovered dormant successful Yosemite National Park, California.  

Kirk S. Thomas-Olsen, 61, planned to backpack successful the Ostrander Lake Area from August 23 to 27, and hadn't been seen for implicit 2 weeks. 

The National Park Service had asked the nationalist for help successful uncovering the missing backpacker, until helium was recovered dormant Sept. 14. 

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Kirk S. Thomas-Olsen, 61, who had been missing for implicit 2 weeks, was recovered dormant successful Yosemite National Park, California.   (Facebook/Yosemite National Park)

Thomas-Olsen worked for the California State Parks bureau for 10 years starting successful 2014, according to his LinkedIn, and his illustration notes that helium had besides worked astatine 3 nationalist parks and 2 zoos. 

While helium was missing, Thomas-Olsen's niece Holly Leeson posted on Facebook asking the nationalist for help, and described her uncle arsenic "an experienced hiker and erstwhile parkland ranger," and she said her household was "struggling to recognize what has happened to him retired there."

Ostrander Lake, Yosemite National Park, wherever Kirk S. Thomas-Olsen had planned to backpack erstwhile helium went missing. (National Park Service )

The National Park Service describes the hike to Ostrander Lake as a "strenuous" 11.4-mile round-trip, which tin instrumentality 8-10 hours with 1,500 feet of elevation gain.

Rangers began searching for Thomas-Olsen aft a ranger recovered a enactment connected Olsen’s car saying that the hiker had planned to instrumentality 2 weeks earlier, Leeson told the San Francisco Chronicle.

With millions of radical visiting Yosemite National Park each year, the starring causes of unintentional deaths successful nationalist parks are centrifugal conveyance crashes, drownings and falls, according to the National Park Service's mortality data from 2014 done 2019. Half of each reported deaths are owed to unintentional causes. Yosemite National Park has recorded 98 deaths successful that aforesaid timeframe, according to the data. 

The tract defines unintentional decease arsenic "death that occurs without the volition of hurting oneself oregon others which results successful harm to the assemblage from acute vulnerability to kinetic, thermal, electrical, oregon chemic vigor oregon from the lack of specified essentials arsenic vigor oregon oxygen." 

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The mounting prima casts airy and shadiness crossed the look of Half Dome successful Yosemite National Park connected Aug. 4, 2021. The presumption of Half Dome is from Washburn Point on Glacier Point Road. (Mark Hume/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images) (Mark Hume/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

After her uncle was recovered dead, Leeson updated the Yosemite Tourist Information Facebook page. 

"His assemblage was recovered which is not the result we arsenic a household hoped for but I would similar to accidental a genuine convey you to Yosemite National Park for their diligent efforts to find him, and to this assemblage for the support," she wrote, adding, "Unfortunately Mother Nature successful each of her glory does not relationship for past experience, and solo hiking is ne'er an endeavor that is without risks."

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The National Park Service and officials person not provided origin of decease oregon immoderate further details connected Thomas-Olsen's case.