Hiker Still Missing In Yosemite
The Yosemite National Park Service is requesting your help in locating John Paul Chaufan Field. The 22 year old college student was last seen at 11am on Saturday near Kibbie Lake in the Hetch Hetchy area of northwestern Yosemite National Park. He was with a UC Santa Cruz Recreation Group and does not have any camping equipment, only the clothes he was wearing.
Chaufan Field is a college student attending the University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC). He was with a UCSC group that began their backpacking trip from Cherry Lake on Friday, May 18, and set up camp near Kibbie Lake that evening. At approximately 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 19, the group planned a day hike from their campsite at Kibbie Lake. Chaufan Field decided not to join the group. This was the last place that Chaufan Field was seen.
Yosemite National Park is asking anyone who was in the area of Kibbie Lake over the weekend, whether they saw him or not, to call the Yosemite Emergency Communication Center at 209-379-1992. Phones will be answered 24-hours a day, 7-days per week.
Chaufan Field is 5′ 5″ tall, weighs 120 pounds, and has black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a eyeglasses, an earth colored baggy plaid button-up long-sleeve shirt, an olive/brown undershirt, cut-off denim shorts, and Vibram Five-Finger shoes.
Approximately 50 personnel are assisting in the ground search, including Search and Rescue teams from Yosemite National Park Search and Rescue, Contra Costa County, Marin County, Monterey County, and the Bay Area Mountain Rescue Unit (BAMRU). Additionally, the park helicopter and a California Highway Patrol (CHP) helicopter are assisting ground teams in the search for Chaufan Field. Search dogs are also being utilized in the area.
For a missing persons flyer of Chaufan Field, please go to www.nps.gov/yose/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&pageID=518370.
