Authorities Find Missing Marine’s SUV

This story is horrifically sad – and it hits close to home because I’ve actually been in this general area all week. It chills me knowing he was out there as we explored the area.

According to Fox News, “a search team found the rental vehicle of First Lt. Matthew Kraft, the missing Camp Pendleton Marine who failed to return from a ski trip through California’s rugged Sierra Nevada six days ago, authorities said Saturday.”

The snow in the area is simultaneously awe-inspiring and frightening right now. I took this video yesterday leaving the South Lake Tahoe area towards Yosemite. While the roads are clear, I can’t even IMAGINE what the backcountry looks like right now. Some of those WALLS OF SNOW looked at least 20-feet high.

Yesterday’s morning drive. pic.twitter.com/FOCEaBZEIj

— Ashley “Kimber” D. (@RedIsTheNewPunk) March 10, 2019

His vehicle has been found, possibly helping authorities narrow down the search.

Crews located the Jeep Wrangler that Kraft parked before starting his backcountry trek on the Sierra High Route near Independence, Calif., on Feb. 23, said Inyo County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Carma Roper. Kraft was scheduled to end the trip Monday or Tuesday of last week near Bridgeport, about 130 miles to the south.

While for most being lost this long in these kinds of conditions would spell out the worst… many still have hope because of Matthew’s background.

Kraft, with the 1st Marine Division, has had survival training, buoying hopes for the infantry officer’s survival as the search heads into a seventh day.

“He has the skills to survive in austere environments, and we’re hoping for the best here,” 1st Marine Capt. Paul Gainey said.

I hope they’re right.

The Mono County Sheriff’s Office initiated a search on March 4, when Kraft’s father did not hear from his son. The search then expanded last Tuesday to a joint operation with crews from local, state and federal agencies.

Officials employed both ground and air teams to search a 400-square-mile area from Yosemite down to Sierra and Inyo National Forests and Kings Canyon National Park, according to a statement from the county sheriff’s office. The team also deployed a snowcat “to rope-tow search” up to the Onion Valley parking area near Independence.

But thick clouds have mired the aerial search, and winter weather has made searches by ski on the ground unsafe, Roper said. The searches were to continue as long as the weather permitted. Another storm was in the forecast Saturday afternoon through the weekend.

Recent winter storms have dumped record amounts of snow in the Sierra and led to avalanche warnings in the backcountry.

I pray this young man is found safe. If anyone can survive this sort of trial, it’s a Marine.