California IN BRIEF : YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK : Man Killed in Apparent Fall

A hiker who loved the park so much he built a replica of Yosemite Falls in his back yard was found dead from an apparent fall on the north side of Yosemite Valley. The body of Walter Gibson Little, 68, an almond farmer in Denair, was discovered after a three-day search conducted by 170 people, including many relatives. He had failed to return from a day hike on Snow Creek Trail in the Mirror Lake area. “He apparently had fallen, possibly while attempting to take a short cut to Yosemite Valley,” Ranger Kris Fister said. “He was way off the trail.”