News Release

I saw this news release on the Whitney Portal Store Message Board but couldn't find it on the National Parks Service website to get the link:

SEKI NPS


Member

Registered: 10-30-09

Posts: 2

Loc: Sequoia NP, CA

(165.83.72.49) For Immediate Release, October 31, 2009

Contact: Adrienne Freeman, 559/565-3131



Search Effort for Missing Washington Man Continues near

Mt. Whitney



A large scale interagency effort to find Wade Brunette will continue through the weekend in the remote, mountainous area around Mt. Whitney. Searchers are collecting clues in the field and are continuing to search on both sides of the Sierra Nevada crest. Approximately 100 searchers are participating in the effort.



Search and rescue personnel (including ground searchers and dog teams) from Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon National Parks and rescue teams from Inyo, Mono, Los Angeles, Fresno, Tulare, Sierra Madre, Montrose, and Contra Costa Counties and China Lake Mountain Rescue Unit are currently on scene. Helicopters from the National Park Service and the National Guard are being utilized for aerial searching and for team transport into the remote backcountry area.



Anyone who was in the backcountry area around Whitney Portal, the Mt. Whitney summit, or the areas in Sequoia National Park around Crabtree Meadow or Mt. Russell are asked to contact investigators whether or not they saw someone matching Mr. Brunette’s description.



Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks: 559/565-3195

Inyo County Sheriff’s Department: 760/878-0383





-NPS-