Austin King, 22, a Winona, Minnesota native employed as a concession worker for Xanterra Parks and Resorts in Yellowstone National Park, was reported missing after failing to return from a solo backcountry trip. King was dropped off by boat at Terrace Point on Yellowstone Lake on Sept. 14, 2024, for a planned seven-day trip to summit Eagle Peak (11,372 ft.), the highest point in the park. On Sept. 16, he spoke with a backcountry ranger at the Howell Creek cabin, a detour from his planned route, and said he intended to camp overnight at the summit to watch the sunrise. On Sept. 17, around 7 p.m., King called family members from the Eagle Peak summit, describing fog, rain, sleet, hail, and high wind. He also left a handwritten note in the summit's climber's register describing the same conditions and stating he had "free soloed" some of the route. He was not heard from again. King failed to arrive for his scheduled boat pickup near Yellowstone Lake's Southeast Arm on Sept. 20 and was reported overdue to the Yellowstone Interagency Communications Center. King is described as a white male, 6 feet tall, 160 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes; he was last seen wearing glasses, a black sweatshirt, gray pants, and carrying a dark-colored backpack.
The National Park Service, with Grand Teton National Park, Park County, Wyoming, and Teton County, Wyoming, began search and rescue operations on Sept. 21, 2024. Searchers located King's tent, sleeping pad, and food bag at a campsite (site 6D8) roughly a half-day's hike from the peak, but no further trace of him. Over 11 days, more than 100 personnel, two helicopters, canine teams, ground teams, and a drone searched over 3,225 miles by air and ground at elevations from 8,400 to 11,350 feet; cellular forensic analysis of King's phone activity on the night of Sept. 17 was also conducted. On Oct. 2, 2024, Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly announced the operation was transitioning from rescue to recovery, citing the lack of definitive clues. Limited park-led searches continued intermittently through 2025, and King's father, Brian King-Henke, has organized and funded multiple independent private search efforts, including planned decedent-recovery missions in 2025. As of early 2026, King has not been located and is presumed deceased; the case remains open. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Yellowstone Interagency Communications Center at 307-344-2643, or the family through their active GoFundMe page.
