A 73-year-old hiker who has been missing since Sunday in Northern California's Yosemite National Park has been found dead. The body of Kenneth Stensby was found at the bast of a popular waterfall, reported The Los Angeles Times.
His body was seen by searchers at the base of Vernal Hall on Monday evening around 6 p.m. Yosemite Park officials said in a statement that Stensby was known as an avid hiker and had been fatally injured after he fell from a cliff near the top of the water fall which is 317 feet. Officials said that he had been staying at the park for a few days and left a note at the Ahwahnee hotel telling staff that he would be back around noon. When hotel staff members realized that he hadn't returned, they notified rangers. His day pack was found near a guardrail at the top of Vernal Fall and his camera was missing.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that Stensby was president and chief executive of a Minneapolis real estate company from 1974 to 1995 when he retired. The company was called United Properties.
The search included a California Highway Patrol helicopter and dogs.
The Mist Trail to Vernall Fall is one of Yosemite's signature hikes and is 3 miles round trip to Vernal Fall and is popular due to its sweeping views.
"The Mist Trail has fabulous views scattered all along it, beginning at the bridge overlook, progressing to two unforgettable waterfalls that fall a combined total of more than 900 feet (270 meters), and ending with perhaps the most striking of all: the view of Nevada Fall, Liberty Cap, and the back of Half Dome from the Muir Trail return segment," says yosemitehikes.com.
The Associated Press reported that in 2011 three young tourists were killed after one of them slipped on a rock at Vernal Fall and her two friends fell while trying to save her life.
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