Legally blind 76-year-old hiker missing in Joshua Tree National Park
Authorities are searching for a legally blind man who went missing after going for a hike in Joshua Tree National Park on Saturday morning.
David Sewell, 76, appears to have left the Quail Springs parking lot and was headed for an “unspecified location” in Johnny Lang Canyon, the National Park Service said.
Park rangers who found Sewell’s silver Honda Odyssey around 8 p.m. Saturday also discovered a note in the car. In it, the Joshua Tree resident wrote that he was departing at 8:45 a.m. on April 21 and that if he was not back by the next day, he would need assistance.
Search and rescue personnel started looking for Sewell on Monday morning. About 50 searchers, two K-9 teams as well as fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft from the California Highway Patrol are involved in the search.
Park officials said they spoke with Sewell’s daughter by phone and she described her father as having “numerous health issues” in addition to being legally blind.
Anyone with information on Sewell’s location is urged to call the tip line at (888) 294-3666.
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