Yellowstone Employee Missing in Park

A search operation is underway for a Yellowstone National Park employee who went missing while on a solo backpacking trip.
Rescue teams have been looking for Austin King, 22, since Saturday, the day after he failed to arrive for his boat pickup near Yellowstone Lake’s Southeast Arm in Wyoming.
King, a concession employee at Yellowstone, was dropped off by a boat on September 14 for a seven-day trip to summit Eagle Peak, where he called friends and family from on September 17—the last time anyone has heard from him.
While on the summit, King described fog, rain, sleet, hail and windy conditions, according to Yellowstone National Park’s news release.
When he did not show up for his boat pickup, this triggered a search and rescue operation which discovered his camp set up with his personal belongings in the upper Howell Creek area on Saturday evening.
Since that day, 85 personnel, two helicopters, a search dog team and an uncrewed aircraft have searched the area for King.
They reported accumulations of snow and ice and 6-foot drifts on Eagle Peak on Tuesday.
“Teams will continue to search for the next several days as conditions continue to improve due to favorable weather forecasts,” the park said.
It also asked the public to help, saying that “anyone traveling in the backcountry near Eagle Peak since September 14 may have seen King.”
He has been described as 6 feet tall and about 160 pounds with brown hair and hazel eyes—he was wearing glasses, a black sweatshirt and gray pants at the start of his trip.
King’s father Brian King-Henke has started a fundraiser to help find his son.
He wrote: “As of Saturday search and rescue have been doing everything they can find clues to where to they are narrowing the search. Family are keeping an open mind for him to come home. Please keep Austin in your prayers.
“Thank you so much for all the support and donations. We don’t know how much to ask for so please if you are able to help it would be greatly appreciated. Please help us bring Austin back safe.”
It comes as one of Yellowstone National Park’s most iconic attractions, the Morning Glory thermal pool, has been permanently changed by tourists.
Historically, Morning Glory Pool dazzled early park visitors with its crystal-clear blue waters. Named after the vibrant Morning Glory flower, it was a key attraction in Yellowstone’s early days.
But folks started throwing coins into it, leading to coins, trash and debris accumulating in the pool.
Yellowstone National Park historian Alicia Murphy told the Cowboy State Daily: “I think many people like to throw things into pools. Wishing wells are a time-honored tradition. Flip a coin into a wishing well and make a wish. There is something about a pool of water that gives humans a weird instinct to throw things into it.”