Rangers Asking For Help to Find Solo Hiker Missing in Sequoia-Kings National Park, CA

Park rangers in Sequoia-Kings National Park, CA, on Thursday are asking for help finding a hiker missing since Wednesday.

Matthew Thoke was last seen on 7/21/21 at about 1 pm, leaving the High Sierra Trail approximately 3 miles east of the Crescent Meadow trailhead, east of Panther Creek.

Thoke split from his group and was hiking towards Crescent Meadow when he walked off-trail, downhill to the south, without his pack (a black overnight backpack).

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If you believe you may have seen Matthew Thoke, or if you hiked along the High Sierra Trail between Kaweah Gap and Crescent Meadow between 7/21/21 to today regardless of seeing him, please get in touch with Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Dispatch at 888-677-2746 or by email SEKI_Dispatch@nps.gov.

The Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks is the consolidated management structure for Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park in California. The two parks have been jointly administered since 1943. They have a combined size of 1,353 square miles (3,500 km2). It was designated the UNESCO Sequoia-Kings Canyon Biosphere Reserve in 1976.

It is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year. The Parks feature a wide variety of animals that include over 200 species of birds, gregarious slender salamander, western toad, western spadefoot toad, rainbow trout, coyote, wolverine, Mexican free-tailed bat, rubber boa, common kingsnake, and many more.