Body Found in Yosemite May Be Missing Teen’s

A body believed to be that of a Simi Valley teen-ager missing since Tuesday in Yosemite National Park was found Sunday about two miles from where he was last seen, officials said.

Searchers found the body, tentatively identified as that of 18-year-old Dan Howard, about 2 p.m. in a ravine in a rugged section of the park known as Ten Lakes. Authorities said the victim apparently died of injuries suffered in a fall.

National Park Service officials said Howard’s parents were being taken to the area late Sunday to identify the body. An autopsy was to be performed today or Tuesday, said Mallory Smith, a National Park Service spokeswoman.

Earlier Sunday, searchers found Howard’s backpack and other camping equipment about half a mile from where the body was recovered.

Howard was on the second day of a camping expedition with three friends when he fell behind the other hikers and apparently ventured off the trail, Smith said. Howard’s friends searched for him Tuesday and part of Wednesday before reporting him missing to park rangers.

A 70-member search team that included helicopters and dogs combed the area, which is near 9,000 feet elevation and about 10 miles from the nearest road. But searchers had not found any trace of Howard until his equipment was discovered about 1 1/2 miles off the trail.

It is believed that Howard fell down the ravine shortly after abandoning his equipment on Wednesday or Thursday, Smith said.

Howard was described as an experienced hiker who was unfamiliar with the Ten Lakes area, Smith said.