YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) — A hiker has been lacking in Yosemite Nationwide Park for the reason that vacation weekend after being swept away by a chilly and fast-flowing creek as California’s epic winter snowpack melts.
Hayden T. Klemenok vanished whereas backpacking with a gaggle at Higher Chilnualna Falls on Sunday, the Nationwide Park Service mentioned in an announcement.
“At roughly 2 p.m., he entered Chilnualna Creek close to the path junction, and his whereabouts are presently unknown,” the service mentioned.
The part of creek is a couple of dozen miles (20 kilometers) south of Yosemite Valley and incorporates a collection of waterfalls and cascades that plunge lots of of toes.
Klemenok’s mother and father advised The San Francisco Chronicle that his buddies mentioned the day of the accident was sizzling and the 24-year-old from Petaluma, California, had gotten down on all fours to moist his face, however his palms slipped and he went into the water.
“It’s the worst expertise any mum or dad or household ought to undergo,” Michelle Klemenok mentioned.
California authorities have been warning the general public that rivers, streams and lakes are extraordinarily harmful this 12 months due to the large runoff. The water is so chilly that an individual can lose muscle management inside minutes, officers say.
Regardless of the warnings, there have been repeated tragedies. Almost two dozen individuals have drowned or gone lacking in California rivers since mid-April, in accordance with the Bay Space Information Group, which has been monitoring reviews from native authorities.
