Father-to-Be, 40, Found Dead on Top of a Glacier After Missing for Days
A three-day search for a California hiker was called off after he was found dead Thursday on the top of Darwin glacier in Sequoia and Kings National Park.
Alan Stringer, 40, was found by investigators on the top of the glacier near the base of Mount Darwin, according to a statement on Inyo County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.
Stringer, a Huntington Beach resident, was reported missing on Monday, the statement said. Officials were told that he had planned to hike somewhere out of the Bishop area last Sunday but did not return home the next day.
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He did not divulge his hiking plans or potential routes before he went missing, the sheriff’s office said. After a search was launched, deputies discovered Stringer’s car near North Lake just after midnight on Tuesday morning.
The sheriff’s office also said that a forensic analysis of Stringer’s cell phone activity was conducted. The results showed only one phone call very early in the morning from downtown Bishop on Nov. 3, right before he began his hike.
Inyo Search and Rescue used aerial support to fly the areas near and around North Lake while searching for Stringer, the statement said.
“A good friend of ours tragically lost her husband this week, and she is 37 weeks pregnant with their first baby,” according to a GoFundMe page for Stringer’s family. “We are heartbroken, and we just want to help his wife, family and unborn baby girl.“
Stringer was ”an avid hiker who loved the outdoors,” according to the GoFundMe page, which also stated that he often would go on treks alone.
GoFundMe verified the page and said donations will go toward funeral and childcare costs for the family, according to the Los Angeles Times.