Uwe Schauer 2010-07-31
German hiker reported missing in Katmai National Park
Anchorage Daily News / adn.com, Published: August 2nd, 2010
A search is under way for a 48-year-old hiker from Germany missing since Saturday
in the Valley of 10,000 Smokes region of Katmai National Park in Southwest Alaska.
Here's a statement put out this morning by the National Park Service:
"An air and ground search for a hiker missing in Katmai National Park in the Valley
of Ten Thousand Smokes entered its third day this morning.
"At 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 31, Katmai National Park received a call from an emergency
radio at the Three Forks Trailhead. The caller reported that a member of his party
had disappeared along the Lethe River while trying to recover his boots, which had
fallen into the river at a crossing approximately nine miles up the Valley of Ten
Thousand Smokes from the trailhead.
"The remaining group of four had spent several hours looking for their 48-year-old
companion, an experienced hiker, before hiking out to the trailhead and calling
in the incident. The group of five Germans had planned to spend the last night of
their 4-day trip at Six-mile Camp (about six miles from the trailhead) before heading
out to be picked up by a concessioner's tour bus on August 1.
"This morning efforts were still under way to notify the missing man's family.
"A hasty search by two National Park Service ground crews and the park airplane
was initiated on Saturday evening but poor visibility and the onset of darkness
ended the search with no signs of the missing hiker.
"The search resumed on Sunday morning with three ground crews and two fixed-winged
aircraft and one helicopter. Air support is being provided by Katmai National Park,
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Alaska State Troopers.
"The Lethe River drains out of the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, which is a large
ash-filled area resulting from the 1912 eruption of Novarupta Volcano. The river
has frequently swift water, limited numbers of fords for hikers, and many areas
with steep banks cut through the ash layers. The trailhead to the area is reached
by a 23-mile road from Brooks Camp, the park's main developed area. Katmai is a
4 million acre park and preserve located about 300 miles southwest of Anchorage."
Search called off for missing German hiker in Katmai
The Associated Press, Published: August 3rd, 2010
The National Park Service is calling off its search for a German hiker missing in
Katmai National Park.
Uwe Schauer of Jena, Germany, went missing Saturday when he disappeared while trying
to retrieve his boots, which had fallen into the Lethe River.
He was with a group of experienced hikers. They called authorities Saturday night
after failing to find their 48-year-old companion.
Air and ground searches were conducted through Tuesday with no signs found of the
hiker.
Wendy Artz with the National Park Service at Katmai says incidental searches will
continue throughout the season. The man's family in Germany has been notified of
his disappearance.
Katmai is a 4 million acre park and preserve located about 300 miles southwest of
Anchorage.