Beautiful faces. The National Park Service has issued a photograph of Winona Cotter graduate Austin Kng in athletic gear integrated into an image of seldom-scaled Eagle Peak on a quiet day.
Parents: Now a “recovery” mission, not a search
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. — Two weeks since anyone has heard from Winona mountaineer Austin King, his family is accepting that a rescue unlikely. “With a heavy heart we’re sharing that over the past few days, the search team has transitioned to a recovery operation,” Brian King-Henke and Pandy King said. Recent sunny days have aided searchers, but the weather is not so kind at higher elevations. King was last known to be alone at the summit of 11.300 Eagle Peak on September 17 with fog, snow and wind closing in. Even at lower park elevations, mostly about 7,700 feet, the nights have been below freezing. Even so, the National Park Service is continuing the search and is not using the family’s term “recovery,” which usually refers to seeking someone presumed to be dead. The Park Service said it has begun using a new digital data search system supplied through collaboration with another agency. Aiding in search have been personnel from neighboring Grand Teton National Park and Park and Teton counties in Wyoming