Missing AT hiker

A friend of mine is missing on the AT in VA. Anyone out there keep an eye open.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/...thread_id=20748

He has had no contact since Sunday. He is visually impaired can easily loose the trail but he has done a lot of backpacking.

My thoughts and prayers are with Ken and all those searching for him.

There is an extensive search underway led by VA SAR. The concern is that he has been missing for a long time. He has an iphone with him which he uses to broadcast video clips so if he were just lost he should have contacted someone by now. There is an extensive update on the Backpackinglight site for more details. Several of his fellow hikers here in Michigan have gotten into his house and have sent laundry items to the area for use by tracking dogs. There is a group of friends from Michigan leaving to join the search on Friday. He is a very capable backpacker and has his pack with him so if he is not injured he is able to survive for a long time.

Man, I hate to hear of stories like this.

There go I but for the grace of God. I pray he is found safe and sound.

Good thoughts his way.

There go we all but for the grace of God. Man I hope he's just off trail and stuck doing the right thing, hanging out waiting for SAR...

GG, I'm in Virginia. What can I do to help?

Check the link in GrumpyGord's post. Virginia SAR is coordinating the search. Those belonging to hiking organizations in the region should work with their clubs. What SAR would really like is to talk to anyone who has seen Ken since his 6:30 am Sunday phone transmission!

There may be a need for volunteers not associated with SAR should it get to the point where SAR gives up the search.

I have not been a Ryan Jordan admirer. This has changed! Any boss who drops everything and flies half a continent away to help search for a lost employee is A1 in my book!

There were at least 150 people and 35 teams looking for Ken Knight yesterday. Anyone wishing to help should follow the link in my original post. Things are well coordinated with Backpackinglight and VA SAR.

Hopefully things turn out well. When I have hiked with Ken I have observed that he tends to veer right soon because he cannot establish a visual reference point beyond a very short distance. Hopefully his phone is just lost, damaged or dead because if it were operating he would have contacted someone by now.

Per Ryan Jordan's Twitter, Ken has been found alive!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

EDIT:

Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's good news.

Just got the word, That is really great. Apparently from what is on the local list he lit a brush fire and the firefighters found him.

Grumpy-here is a link to a local paper up your way. Sounds like your friend is alive and well.

http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2009/05/searchers_find_missing_appalac.html

A happy ending for once.

BUT, with this happy ending comes a warning that should not be ignored-
Ken was rescued because he started a fire that was spotted and fire crews responded.

While I am sure we all are glad he's okay, fires are not always the best way to get attention when lost. Here in SoCal, in 2003, a lost hunter set off a flare to get spotted. The fire he started burned almost 300,000 acres, destroyed more than 2300 homes, more than 500 other buildings and killed 15 people. It cost millions to fight.

I think much needs to be considered when choosing to use a fire as a rescue signal. Here in Virginia, it's been pretty wet, the area he was in is not surrounded by homes and is in a fairly rugged area. We really don't know any facts about the fire other than one was set. But, yes, TomD, I do agree some common sense is in order when using fire for rescue.

The story of the lost hunter sounds as though he didn't set a fire on purpose, just that his flare began the fire. I never would have thought a flare could do that. But California is a tinder box, anyway. Thanks for the info.

I wonder if he had a map and compass with him?

Ken is presently spending some "quality family time" with his parents who obviously have been through an ordeal as well. They have told him that there is a SPOT in his future.

I can hear his mom now, you should be more careful.

Great news.

Actually Leadfoot, the hunter did start the fire on purpose. He got a minor slap on the wrist for causing one of the biggest disasters in California history and indirectly killing 15 people.

I'm sure a lot of people will defend what Ken Knight did by starting that fire, but given what can happen, I think people should think hard before doing what he did. Setting off a beacon is a much less risky choice.

A friend of mine was killed in a helicopter crash looking for a lost hiker. I don't have a lot of sympathy for garden variety carelessness. Not a popular position under the circumstances here, but one that should be considered.

I understand. Sorry for the loss of your friend.

What I don't get is if this person is visually impaired, why didn't he carry some kind of satellite locator item? Yes, some work better than others, but there's choices. And it seems like his habits are to go off trail...all the more reason for something to aid his sense of direction. Like I said earlier, even a plain map and compass would have helped him, unless he physically couldn't get out. People get slack on the AT thinking that it's such a well-marked trail, what could possibly happen?

I am very glad that he is found and all of his friends appreciate the concern and actual help provided.

I do not want to get into a discussion about the circumstances here in a public forum but frequently in these cases hubris and lightweight carried too far enters into the situation.

Safety in numbers!!! I'm glad that Ken is safe. I guess he wasn't a boy scout. Be prepared, ALWAYS. I understand the need to be on your own and the feeling of self worth but to wander off trail with a physical imperment and cause all out panic in the community is really uncalled for. GG, sit your buddy down and have that talk. He doesn't sound like he would be unreasonable. I'm sure that many people would like to join him on the next trek.

One good thing to come out of this is that Ken can probably get hiking partners more easily due to his 15 minutes of fame. Ken is ALWAYS trying to find hiking partners but at 41 all of his peers are working, married etc. Ken cannot drive so either he has to use public transportation or find someone near enough to pick him up. Backpackers are an independent bunch and like me plan trips on the spur of the moment so arranging to drive 100 miles out of my way to pick up someone is not going to happen a lot. Besides if you were in his position would you care to be semi forced to hike with someone you really did not care for just to get a ride?

Glad to hear your buddy is going to be fine and all ended well.

As for the signal fire set to help locate him, the danger of fires set back east and here in the Ozarks really can't be compared to the Western U.S., unless maybe you're in the northern rainforest.

To provide some perspective, a large White Oak fell in my front yard yesterday. The ground under it is so saturated with water that the hole where the rootball was torn out has over a foot of water standing in it.

I watched a guy take a 1" thick solid metal bar and poke it, one handed, over 5' straight down into the ground while looking for my septic tank in February. The ground is wet deep down here.

You could not start a forest fire here today if you worked at it full time with a couple friends. Later this summer, that may indeed change.

So, setting a signal fire here, right now, would be the safe and smart thing to do no matter what the conditions in California are today.

Tom, the article said Knight "started a brush fire that brought firefighters and rescuers to his location", so we need to recognize that "Rescuers" found him too, as a result of his signal fire.

It did not say what the fire danger level was. The 3-day history shows mostly calm winds and misty conditions:
NOAA

And, helicopters are dangerous. They are tearing themselves apart the whole time they are operating. The people that pilot them would rarely miss an opportunity to do so and they are well aware of the machine's design flaws.

Each year the Feds spend close to an hour flying a helicopter in, around, and over, me and my neighbors property looking for pot plants. They must spend hundreds of hours flying in just our county. Please don't blame us if one of them crashes in the hollows near my house. Odds are, eventually, one will.

I worked with handicapped people for years. I'm impressed that Mr. Knight will get out there at all and even more that he does it on his own. And I'm impressed that he faired so well while being lost and was able to help himself get found.

With just a few tweaks in todays tools to make them more accessible for his needs, I'd bet he could go by himself to just about anywhere I'd want to go. That's encouraging to me.

Bill

Bill, AFAIK, the crash that killed my friend was a mechanical failure in bad weather. My point is that when SAR comes out, it often is in bad weather and puts everyone at risk. Risks they are willing to take, but risks nonetheless.

So, before going off and doing something careless, like not preparing for your hike properly, think about who might be risking their lives to find you, then make some sensible choices that will lessen the possibility of needing that help.