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Yosemite officials scale back search for missing hiker
By: Associated Press - | ∞
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. -- Park officials on Monday scaled back a weeklong search effort for a missing 80-year-old woman with a history of memory loss, saying they were focusing the investigation on a few rugged wilderness areas where she could have gotten lost.
Ottorrina Bonaventura, of Schererville, Ind., was last seen July 30 when she left her hiking group near Emeric Lake to return to her tent at Vogelsang High Sierra Camp, which is about 7 miles southeast of Tuolumne Meadows. The only food she may have been carrying was a few peaches, said park spokeswoman Adrienne Freeman.
Bonaventura is described as 5 feet tall, with dyed blond hair and brown eyes. Although she is an experienced backpacker, rangers fear she could have become confused while hiking the trail alone.
After sending out more than 150 searchers to scour a 100,000-square mile area last week, park officials scaled back the operation Monday to just a dozen rangers and search and rescue workers. Searchers are now focusing on the areas surrounding Emeric Lake and Boothe Lake, which sit in a high alpine region full of exposed granite outcroppings.
"Without anything really concrete to work on, it doesn't make sense to do the search using such a huge amount of resources," Freeman said. "Every day that passes the chances of survivability diminishes. But you can't underestimate the drive to survive."
More than 150 searchers, including teams from counties across the state, as well as tracking dogs and volunteers from the National Park Service, participated in the search, which has cost about $200,000, Freeman said.
Park officials are asking anyone who has been in the area to contact them, and investigators are interviewing everyone who was issued a wilderness permit hoping for new leads, Freeman said.
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