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Re: Resuming Search
saltydog #31468 05/22/13 08:35 AM
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Great Job Maverick !! If I can help I will, even if it with Criteria or Basic Outline for standard Search / Recovery. ( I am getting Swamped with work right now). I have found a few alive and Dead over the decades . Mav, if you want, please provide Planned dates, areas and Contact Number . We always started with Starting Point? Trail Head ( that is if it is for certain) Possible Routes in and Out , His Camp sites ( which will spread out all over from winter Snows and animals) and Summit registers ( His Plan and other summits next to ). Again Good Work for the Beginning Stages . Sierra Angler.

Re: Resuming Search
Sierra Angler #31473 05/22/13 10:37 AM
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Hi Sierra Angler,

Thanks for the offer SA.
All the particulars/planning for the search itself
has been put together/covered, my main concern now
is to get some more searchers with backpacking
experience to volunteer so we can cover all the high
priority areas even more safely and effectively. Mav


Re: Resuming Search
Maverick #31478 05/22/13 11:02 AM
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SA, Maverick has a very long (4 pages) thread on High Sierra Topix on the planning. You can get more info there:

Resuming The Search For Larry 7/30 - 8/4

Re: Resuming Search
Maverick #31760 06/11/13 02:47 PM
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Inyo and Sierra Madre SAR went up this past weekend and found
Larry's shoe at the top of the pass not to far from the trail.
SEKI is looking now, hopefully there will be closure soon for
all involved.

Re: Resuming Search
Maverick #31761 06/11/13 03:00 PM
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If they found his shoe, then closure soon is likely.

This is good news.

Re: Resuming Search
Maverick #31768 06/11/13 10:38 PM
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Originally Posted By: Maverick


Inyo and Sierra Madre SAR went up this past weekend and found
Larry's shoe at the top of the pass not to far from the trail.
SEKI is looking now, hopefully there will be closure soon for
all involved.


I am reminded of Norman Clyde's search/recovery for Paul Starr (after everyone else had given up)

I believe that your search, too, is coming to a close.


The body betrays and the weather conspires, hopefully, not on the same day.
Re: Resuming Search
Maverick #31771 06/12/13 01:13 AM
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Mav, that's a pretty light, warm weather shoe. Would that be a camp shoe that could have fallen off his pack or is that what he hiked in?


Wherever you go, there you are.
SPOTMe!
Re: Resuming Search
saltydog #31783 06/12/13 09:55 AM
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That is the size, color, and make of his shoe. I use the same shoe
but different color.

Re: Resuming Search
Maverick #31788 06/12/13 03:25 PM
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Originally Posted By: Maverick

That is the size, color, and make of his shoe. I use the same shoe
but different color.


Right, got that it is confirmed as Larry's shoe. But did he wear it or carry it? I have often carried similar as camp shoes while wearing heavier ones on the trail, especially that time of year. So it could make a big difference in locating him whether he was carrying it as a camp shoe or wearing it on the trail. I.E. if it could have dropped off his pack, or have been left at a rest stop, he might not have noticed it, or gone back for it, and could have gone many miles beyond where it was found. If its his hiking shoe, its much less likely to be far from where he last stopped.


Wherever you go, there you are.
SPOTMe!
Re: Resuming Search
saltydog #31798 06/13/13 04:46 AM
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A. Single shoes are commonly removed from camp ( and taken away in a Unknown and Vast distance from the Hikers other shoe at camp) by Coyotes / Animals..... for salt etc. I have met Many Hikers ( over 40 years in the High Sierra Nevadas)) with one boot/ shoe and a Heavy /Multi Sock Covered Single Foot( sometimes Supplemented with Tape/ etc.). ( Always Tie shoes to secure tent/ tree... Mine is inside Tent, or right Next to me. Camp shoes/ sandals are Nice as everyone knows.)

B. Could have fallen off Pack if camp shoes were tied to pack.

C. This is Debris from His Last Camp (attempted Camp) or Accident sight. Many Recovery efforts are Centered at Main Passes that got hit by White Out Blizzard / freezing Rain/ Hail Storms while the Victims were trying to go over them (either in or Out) and/or because of altitude sickness. Being tired, or Hypothermic they succumbed to the Elements. We have found Scattered Clothes, tents, pack/ camp items, under these conditions as victim was incoherent and going down with unstable mental facilities at the end. In other words Freezing to Death. I know this may be a Graphic picture for some... but, believe me it is the Watered down version. Sometimes all we found was a Shirt or a Boot... with part of the Victim in it. Hopefully the "Final Resting spot" is near for all our sakes. Be Safe out there in the field people ... Sierra Angler

Re: Resuming Search
Sierra Angler #31810 06/13/13 12:08 PM
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Salty,

Primary shoe, no extra's.

SA,

"C" were my thoughts exactly.

Re: Resuming Search
Maverick #31821 06/13/13 05:52 PM
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In that case, I would pick C as well. The shoe being on the County Line Route is a pretty low probability unless very close to the last rest, or unless that route is also a pretty well-used game trail. SUch unlikely things happen all the time, but it seems probable that the last resting spot must be close by.


Wherever you go, there you are.
SPOTMe!
Re: Resuming Search: Larry Conn remains recovered
Maverick #31904 06/18/13 02:32 PM
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Larry has been found. Update on HST thread. Thanks for
everyone's help and input. Mav

Re: Resuming Search: Larry Conn remains recovered
Maverick #31905 06/18/13 02:42 PM
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Thanks for letting us know, Mav. All of our best, as I am sure you know, to all concerned.

For available details, bare story is here, with Maverick's further insights and perspective at the HST site.


Wherever you go, there you are.
SPOTMe!
Re: Resuming Search: Larry Conn remains recovered
saltydog #31908 06/18/13 04:10 PM
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So glad he has been found! Here's the link to Maverick's announcement earlier today.
Note that many replies are on subsequent pages on that forum.


Here's the text from the Yuba.net story (Thanks to saltydog for finding it.)

Quote:
Remains recovered in Sequoia National Park - Might be hiker missing since October

Published on Jun 18, 2013 - 7:01:59 AM

By: Cpt. Terry Waterbury, Inyo County Sheriff Office, SAR Coordinator

June 17, 2013 - Search efforts have continued for 53 year old, Lawrence Conn from Pacific Palisades who went missing last October during one of winter's first snow storms. Conn failed to return from his solo hiking/camping trip into Sequoia National Park. After friends reported him overdue, Conn's vehicle was located at Taboose Pass trailhead in Inyo County. A joint search effort was conducted between Inyo County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue and Sequoia National Park.· Due to the accumulation of snow and no signs of Conn, search efforts were suspended.

On 06-09-2013, Search teams from the National Park Service, Inyo County SAR, and Sierra Madre Mountain Rescue Team conducted joint efforts to locate Conn. A hiking shoe similar to what Conn may have been wearing was located a short distance inside the Park off the main trail near the pass. The discovery of the shoe redirected the search teams from the approximate 100 square miles of search area to the Taboose Pass area.

On 06-15-2013, in the early afternoon search teams located a windblown tent and several other items off the Taboose Pass trail in Inyo County at about 11,500 foot level. The tent matched what Conn was reported to have used. Concentrating efforts in that area, search teams discovered a cell phone which was determined to be Conn's and possible human remains.

The remains have been turned over to the Inyo County Coroner's Office for positive identification.

Re: Resuming Search: Larry Conn remains recovered
Steve C #32603 08/07/13 01:21 AM
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Maverick posted a followup including several pictures from Larry's iphone from the day he apparently died on Taboose Pass.
Here's the link: Follow Up Info

Summarizing:
Larry took this picture at the Bench Lake/JMT junction:

His iphone recorded date and time as well as gps location with each picture.

2 1/2 hours later, about noon, he took this picture near the top just west of Taboose Pass:


His camp and his remains were found very near the location of the last picture.

Maverick wrote:
Quote:
It was about noon when Larry made it to the top of Taboose Pass, why didn’t he continue down to the safety of lower elevations? Were conditions so bad, visibility wise, that he felt it to be to dangerous to continue? Temps were in the 20s, hypothermia could have been an issue (made a point to re-reading all medical information related to hypothermia), especially with the intense hiking over the fresh snowy terrain would have caused him to get wet from sweat allowing the heat to radiate from his body over time. With temp in the 20s he would have been breathing in cold air further lowering his core temp, then add in the high wind increasing the chill factor. After enough heat was lost to his brain he would no longer functioning properly and he would not have noticed that he was shivering severely, muscles would become stiff, he would have slowed down moving less, and less, possibly having enough energy to set up his tent, attempted to warm up with several layers of clothing, got into his sleeping bag, and fell into a stupor from which he never woke up. This scenario may or may not be what happened, but with no evidence it is my best guess.

Hopefully we all can learn something from this tragic incident, being conservative in our abilities when it comes to emergency situations is possible the safest avenue to take when it comes to survival. Understanding and especially educating ourselves about the importance of seeking shelter instead of exposing ourselves to the severe outside environments can be the difference between life and death. Understand the BIG 3 rules of survival, 3 hours without shelter, 3 days without water, and 3 weeks without food, our chances of survival diminish, and these numbers drop substantially in extreme conditions.

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