Strange Disappearance on Rainier’s Wonderland Trail

[retired jerry]

Will they release their conclusion so we'll learn any lessons?

Will this comfort my wife so she'll let me go out again?

At least there's some sort of closure for his family.

[Water]

Jerry,

What about a SPOT or a PLB etc.. kept with you at all times--does that help your wife's concerns at all? Seems like it could.. ..injury can happen even with a group--i mean, a slip that injures you or a medical issue..certainly someone right there at the moment can help but if it is bad enough they could do no more than if you did have an beacon of some sort but were not able to activate it.

just a thought..

[retired jerry]

thanks, I should get one of those, that might help her

or, you can get injured or killed driving there - probably higher risk

or, if I stayed at home all the time we might kill each other. appreciate each other more after I get back

[Koda]

Resolution perhaps, but certainly still a strange disappearance. Looking at the terrain of that area there is no reason to abandon your gear and willingly bushwhack 1000 vertical feet uphill off trail.

Indeed.

Late in the day, on a familiar trail, close to the terminus, for some reason he apparently stops to make food. That seems strange right there.

Then the body is found ~1000 higher in elevation. What prompted him at this time and place to climb what sounds like a nasty and un-inviting piece of terrain?

Search teams were immediately in the area and couldn't track him. That in itself is significant. If searchers and their dogs found signs of bear or cougar that might have spooked him, it wasn't mentioned. This guy seems to have been familiar with the locale. I really don't think a common bear or cougar would cause him to climb 1000'. Think about it. If you have to escape something, which way are you fastest? Out the flattish trail to the trailhead a quarter mile away and the relative safety of your vehicle? Downhill where you might run faster but are cut off by a river. Or climbing very steep, brush choked terrain without a path. Logic dictates the last would be the least appealing choice. Why go?

The uncomfortable question is - did he choose to go there or was he forced to? Did he go there willingly, or was he taken there? What really happened?

Exactly, lets also not forget (IIRC) he had a bad leg…

My opinion is he didn’t want to be found and committed suicide. He went for one last soak at a favorite place, set his stuff out as a distraction and set off to find a location he figured least likely to be found.

[Koda]

Will they release their conclusion so we'll learn any lessons?

Will this comfort my wife so she'll let me go out again?

At least there's some sort of closure for his family.

Jerry my advice is to not show your wife this thread and tell her that “statistically” your safer out in the woods alone…

[retired jerry]

actually, the wife indepentdently brought this up so I'm just screwed

hopefully it will fade enough before next trip

[Koda]

Jerry here’s what you do. Tell her your taking up base-jumping. Tell her you know of a guy from the forum who’s done it like 3 times and says he’s got it figured out now and said he would take you. Its important to do this at least a week in advance to give her time to dwell on the idea... Then at the last minute tell her your thinking backpacking solo would be easier this weekend but not certain if you should do that or go with the new guy cause you said you would….

[retired jerry]

Good idea, thanks

[200,000']

It's a safe bet unless death is expected and in a hospital, there is going to be an autopsy

Hope you're right, but the media reports are the remains went to a funeral home and not the M.E.'s office.

Regardless, after a month exposed to the elements, short of obvious trauma the D.C. will probably list the cause of death as the reliable label of 'probable exposure' or similar.

More research is needed... all we have is the superficial press release by parks service.

[greenjello85]

Yeah, I'm still feeling pretty safe on the trails. My odds of getting murdered are probably higher walking through my neighborhood than they are hiking. People make short off-trail side-trips that could end tragically very easily. I would suspect drugs/alcohol probably play a factor in many of the stranger disappearances. Check out the guy that recently fell off goat mountain: Drunk, looked over the edge, and fell. If he's friends weren't right there, his body may never have been found.

*Also of note, those numbers seem to include all activities, not just hikers. Also here's a good document for those curious about the statistics: http://www.oregon.gov/OMD/OEM/tech_resp ... 20Data.pdf