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Nelson, Erica; Denali National Park, AK
Topic Started: Jun 16 2008, 05:45 PM (94 Views)
burnsjl2003
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2 Denali backpackers missing; search in third day
By DAN JOLING (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
June 16, 2008 3:05 PM EDT
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Ground and air crews were searching nearly 100 square miles of Denali National Park on Monday for two women missing on what was supposed to be a short backpacking trip.

Searchers with dogs were to arrive Monday to help look for Abby Flantz, 25, of Gaylord, Minn., and Erica Nelson, 23, of Las Vegas. They were reported overdue Saturday when they did not show up for work at a hotel outside the park.

The women were last seen Thursday at the Savage River check station about 15 miles from park headquarters; they had planned to return Friday.

"Our concern with these young women is, they were only going to go in for one night," said park spokeswoman Kris Fister. "They wouldn't have gone in that far."

The area being searched consists of rugged terrain without trails ranging in elevation from approximately 2,000 feet to 6,000 feet. The two women are experienced trail hikers but had limited experience with Alaska backcountry conditions, Fister said.

Searchers have focused on camping areas and travel routes on Mount Healy and in the adjacent Primrose Ridge backcountry unit.

Crews in two helicopters and a fixed wing aircraft have been searching for the women since Saturday. Teams of ground searchers Sunday checked heavily wooded and vegetated sections that could not be searched effectively from the air.

About 40 people assisted with the search Sunday.

Temperatures have been mostly typical of the season, with daytime highs in the 60s and nighttime lows in the 40s.

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On the Net:

Denali National Park and Preserve: http://www.nps.gov/dena/

http://enews.earthlink.net/article/nat?gui...806162003185036
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burnsjl2003
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http://porchlightinternationalformissinguid.com/
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burnsjl2003
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06/17/08
updated 2 hours, 27 minutes ago

Searchers hunt for hikers missing in Alaska

Two women were supposed to finish backpacking trip Friday

Searchers camping overnight, using dogs, aircraft

One missing woman missed being maid of honor in sister's wedding

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- Ground and air crews are searching Denali National Park and Preserve for two women missing on what was supposed to be a short backpacking trip.

Searchers with dogs were looking for Abby Flantz, 25, of Gaylord, Minnesota, and Erica Nelson, 23, of Las Vegas, Nevada. The hikers were reported overdue Saturday when they did not show up for work at a hotel outside the park.

The women were last seen Thursday at the Savage River check station about 15 miles from park headquarters; they had planned to return Friday.

Nelson was supposed to be on a plane Sunday night to fly to Houston, where she was set to be maid of honor in her sister's wedding, park spokeswoman Kris Fister said.

Ground and air crews have searched nearly 100 square miles of the nearly 9,400-square-mile park. Searchers were planning to camp out Monday night about three miles from where the women were last seen, Fister said.

The area being searched consists of rugged terrain without trails ranging in elevation from approximately 2,000 feet to 6,000 feet. The two women are experienced trail hikers but had limited experience with Alaska backcountry conditions, Fister said.

Temperatures have been mostly typical of the season, with daytime highs in the 60s and nighttime lows in the 40s.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/06/17/denali.se...ref=mpstoryview

Erica Nelson, 23, is from Las Vegas, Nevada.

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Denali backpackers missing for days found alive
By DAN JOLING (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
June 18, 2008 3:36 PM EDT

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A cell phone call interrupted Ellane Nelson on Wednesday morning as she listened to Denali National Park officials give a briefing on the search for her missing daughter. According to park spokeswoman Kris Fister, Nelson glanced at her cell phone as if she'd seen a ghost. Caller ID indicated the call was from 23-year-old Erica Nelson, who had vanished Thursday along with her roommate, 25-year-old Abby Flantz.

Park officials had reported the women were not carrying a cell phone, but the call was not a hallucination. Nelson answered the phone and heard her daughter say she and Flantz were alive and well.

The cell phone's battery was weak but park officials were able to locate the signal coming from the eastern section of the 100-square mile they had been searching for more than four days, Anchorage television station KTUU reported.

Park Service officials quickly directed a helicopter to pick them up.

"We are thrilled," Fister said.

Nelson, of Las Vegas, and Flantz, of Gaylord, Minn., were in the Dry Creek River zone east of Mount Healy and near the Stampede Road area, about 175 miles north of Anchorage.

The backpackers left Thursday from the Savage Creek checkpoint just 15 miles from the park entrance, intending to return the next day.

They were spotted by other hikers a mile off the road before they vanished.

When the women did not show up for work Saturday at Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge, a hotel outside the park, they were reported overdue and the search began.

Searchers scoured a 100-square mile search area that includes dense alder and willow, some black spruce forest, but also miles of open tundra.

They found no indication that the women had left the park but were puzzled that no clothing or gear had been found, or that the women had not somehow signaled the three helicopters or park airplane that flew overhead.

Officials said it was unlikely the women merely decided to extend their camping trip. Nelson was scheduled to fly Sunday night to Houston so she could be maid of honor in her sister's wedding.

The backpackers had a permit to camp in the Mount Healy wilderness unit and their intended destination required a crossing of the Savage River.

Crossing park rivers in swift, cold water can be dangerous and searchers looked for indications of trouble along the banks of the Savage.

Searchers found evidence of grizzly bears in the area but said an animal attack was less of a threat.

The Park Service on Wednesday brought in additional search and rescue teams from Grand Teton, Mount Rainier, Sequoia-Kings Canyon, and Yosemite national parks.

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On the Net:

Denali National Park and Preserve: http://www.nps.gov/dena/

http://enews.earthlink.net/article/nat?gui...0618-2047408659
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