Cellphone Data Leads Searchers to 26-Year-Old Hiker's Body in Olympic National Park
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Sep 17
Cellphone Data Leads Searchers to 26-Year-Old Hiker's Body in Olympic National Park
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 17
Summary
Neil Gehring’s body was recovered Sept. 13 from the northwest slope of Mount Appleton, nearly two weeks after the 26-year-old set out on an overnight trek in Olympic National Park.
Additional cellphone location data gave searchers the break they needed after 10 days of air and ground searches along his expected route using drones and dogs failed to find him.
Gehring left the Madison Falls Trailhead on Aug. 31 and planned a cross-country route from Boulder Lake to Appleton Pass before returning Sept. 1, but was reported overdue at 6:30 a.m. on Sept. 2.
Park officials have not disclosed what the cellphone data showed or the circumstances of Gehring’s death; his body was taken to the Clallam County Coroner’s Office.
The case underscores how investigators shifted tactics by Sept. 11 from broad searching to finding new clues, a move that led to the final discovery two days later.