Former Yosemite park employee was reported missing. He turned out to be a fugitive on the run
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For two days, the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office conducted a search for a man who was reported as an “at risk missing person” near Yosemite National Park.
The search included helicopters, an off-highway vehicle unit and law enforcement search and rescue, according to a sheriff’s office news release.
The missing man, Nathan Baptista, was last seen on June 27 when he told family members he was going to ride his dirt bike “near a mine and a tower” but offered no additional details, according to a sheriff’s office social media post.
Search teams covered more than 500 miles of rugged terrain before the sheriff’s office investigations unit uncovered that Nathan Baptista had an active federal warrant out for his arrest, tied to an aggravated sexual abuse charge.
Baptista, 38, who weighs around 165 pounds and is 5’9”, allegedly violated his probation in connection with the charge, officials said. He was driving a white Chevrolet S10 pickup truck with California license plate 7B48533. Anyone with more information has been asked to contact authorities.
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“As of now we now feel confident that this case has shifted from an ‘At Risk Missing Person’ to an absconding fugitive from federal law enforcement who is no longer in Mariposa County,” according to the sheriff’s office news release. “Surveillance footage has confirmed that his truck and dirt bike were seen in the Fresno area.”
Baptista was charged last year with aggravated sexual abuse after he was accused of raping and strangling a female park employee, according to federal prosecutors.
Both Baptista and the woman worked for a company that operates the park’s hospitality services. The alleged rape happened the night the woman met Baptista, prosecutors said.
Baptista is awaiting trial, and it is not clear if he is currently out on bail.
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