Need help: Missing Hiker on Appalachian Trail in VA

WolfTracker

WolfTracker

Joined
Mar 8, 2007
Messages
554
*** URGENT ***

Backpacking Light editor KEN KNIGHT is missing after a hike on the Appalachian Trail in Virginia.

If you saw Ken or otherwise know of his whereabouts after Sunday morning, please contact us at the following email address:

PUBLISHER@BACKPACKINGLIGHT.COM

About Ken

Ken is 5'4" tall and approx. 180-200 lb. He is vision impaired, has dark hair, and is probably using a dry bag-style pack with an orange packbag. This is a photo of him with what he was last seen wearing:

ken-knight_lg.jpg


Ken is an experienced AT hiker but his vision impairment may have caused him to lose the trail.

Point Last Seen

He was last seen on the AT on Sunday morning, around 9-10am, at Punchbowl Mountain, Blue Ridge Parkway, mile 51.7, in the area of Buchanan and Bedford, Virginia.

He'd been trailing behind a group and meeting up with them at their camp sites. On Sunday, he reported not feeling well and suggested he
might go off the trail. The group did not see him since leaving Punchbowl Mountain on Sunday.

He was anticipated to reach mile 76.3 on Tuesday, which the rest of the group did. To date, he has not arrived, and he has missed his flight back home to Michigan Wednesday night.

Ken regularly blogs via iPhone when he has cellular coverage. His last known blog entry was Sunday morning, April 26, at 6:36 AM Eastern:

http://twitter.com/kenknight

Search in Progress

Ken's family has been notified, and a search is currently in progress by NPS and VA State SAR.

Non-agency SAR and other volunteers interested in assisting with this search should contact us at publisher@backpackinglight.com, who is coordinating the efforts of outside volunteers with the SAR Coordinator on location. Please send your name, cellular phone number, and distance from SNP in your message, and then wait for further instructions.

Please Distribute This Info

Please distribute a link to this post as wide as possible via this tinyurl link via Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking avenues. Please copy and paste this exact text to retweet this info on Twitter etc.:

EMERGENCY @KENKNIGHT (KEN KNIGHT) MISSING ON A.T. IN VA: http://tinyurl.com/ded5tt INFO? EMAIL PUBLISHER@BACKPACKINGLIGHT.COM RT @BIGSKYRY

I am in contact with the NPS Ranger and the VA State SAR, the agencies responsible for the search and will relay info promptly them.

Best Regards,
Ryan Jordan
CEO Backpacking Light
 
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WolfTracker said:
*** URGENT ***

Backpacking Light editor KEN KNIGHT is missing after a hike on the Appalachian Trail in Virginia.

If you saw Ken or otherwise know of his whereabouts after Sunday morning, please contact us at the following email address:

PUBLISHER@BACKPACKINGLIGHT.COM

About Ken

Ken is 5'4" tall and approx. 180-200 lb. He is vision impaired, has dark hair, and is probably using a dry bag-style pack with an orange packbag.

1241105489_12560.jpg


Ken is an experienced AT hiker but his vision impairment may have caused him to lose the trail.

Point Last Seen

He was last seen on the AT on Sunday morning, around 9-10am, at Punchbowl Mountain, Blue Ridge Parkway, mile 51.7, in the area of Buchanan and Bedford, Virginia.

He'd been trailing behind a group and meeting up with them at their camp sites. On Sunday, he reported not feeling well and suggested he
might go off the trail. The group did not see him since leaving Punchbowl Mountain on Sunday.

He was anticipated to reach mile 76.3 on Tuesday, which the rest of the group did. To date, he has not arrived, and he has missed his flight back home to Michigan Wednesday night.

Ken regularly blogs via iPhone when he has cellular coverage. His last known blog entry was Sunday morning, April 26, at 6:36 AM Eastern:

http://twitter.com/kenknight

Search in Progress

Ken's family has been notified, and a search is currently in progress by NPS and VA State SAR.

Non-agency SAR and other volunteers interested in assisting with this search should contact us at publisher@backpackinglight.com, who is coordinating the efforts of outside volunteers with the SAR Coordinator on location. Please send your name, cellular phone number, and distance from SNP in your message, and then wait for further instructions.

Please Distribute This Info

Please distribute a link to this post as wide as possible via this tinyurl link via Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking avenues. Please copy and paste this exact text to retweet this info on Twitter etc.:

EMERGENCY @KENKNIGHT (KEN KNIGHT) MISSING ON A.T. IN VA: http://tinyurl.com/ded5tt INFO? EMAIL PUBLISHER@BACKPACKINGLIGHT.COM RT @BIGSKYRY

I am in contact with the NPS Ranger and the VA State SAR, the agencies responsible for the search and will relay info promptly them.

Best Regards,
Ryan Jordan
CEO Backpacking Light
Click to expand...


I hope is ok, and that they find him soon. I am unfamiliar with that section of the trail but if it is anything like it is down here....one misstep in the dark can be a bad thing in some areas. Also...the snakes are back out of hibernation.
 
I'll be up near there this weekend.

2 snakes in that area to worry about, Copperhead and Timber. Neither of those bites would impede a human from walking out unless they had a bad reaction. Doubt its them. Will say a prayer
 
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We're praying for his safety. I wish there there was more we could do besides follow unfolding events.
 
Wow, sorry to here it. I really hope he's doing ok. It sure has been a while to realize something is wrong. All my best to him and his family, and prayers that he is found soon.
 
Unfortunate and very sobering. Praying for a safe and speedy return.
 
He looks awfully familiar to me, but the name does not ring a bell.

Beautiful country where he is hiking. Hope he is okay. One of the problems of hiking alone on the AT is getting in trouble and it taking days for anyone to know there may be a problem.

Hope he didn't have an encounter with those friendly black bears that many seem to dismiss as not a threat.
 
I wish that I wasn't on the other side of the country, so that I could help.

I hope that all goes well and I'll say a prayer.
 
Rats! I know exactly where that is, but I'm too sick with influenza to be of any real help.

However, I'll shotgun this message to literally everybody I know in the community roundabout there.

No matter how skilled and experienced you are, all it takes is one misstep.

Smoke and prayers going up from my sickbed in NoVA.:thumbup:
 
So a vision imparred person dosen't feel well, and the rest of the group went on leaving him to catch up?:eek:

If he survives this, he needs to find a better group to go hiking with! And maybe some of that group needs a good butt kick just for g.p.
 
Thanks guys. I do not know him personally, but when I read the pleas from the other boards, I felt compelled to spread the word. From what I read, this gentleman is wildly independent and does not want help on the trail when he hikes.

More narrative and news HERE
 
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