A hiker in Wind River Range was due last week. He is now missing
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PINEDALE, Wyoming — An avid hiker who was supposed to return last week is overdue and is now considered missing.
The Sublette County Sheriff’s Office in Wyoming is searching for John Diepholz, 64, from Minnesota.
Diepholz is believed to be in the Wind River Range out of the Elkhart Park trailhead, which is known to be a popular area to hike. He is by himself. His end goal was to travel to Wall Lake, according to Sgt. Travis Bingham with the Sublette County Sheriff’s Office.
Bingham said Wall Lake has multiple ways in and out with a few divides in the trail, so Diepholz’s exact path isn’t known.
Bingham told EastIdahoNews.com the last time anyone had talked to Diepholz was around the time he was going in to hike on Aug. 5. He was scheduled to be gone hiking for about 11 days.
“He was supposed to be out on the 16th, and his family called in a couple nights ago and said he was past overdue,” Bingham said.
The sheriff’s office was notified that Diepholz was missing on Monday. Search and rescue efforts with a helicopter and ground crews have been taking place since then.
“That’s when we started to interview hikers coming out of the trailhead, talking to his family about his path, like what he planned to do, what equipment he may have,” Bingham said Wednesday. “This morning, we have the helicopters up again, and today, we have some more ground teams on foot walking those trails in that area.”
Diepholz is believed to have a bright yellow tent and a red or blue backpack. The pictures shown are from his previous hiking trips. No items of his have been found so far by the sheriff’s office.
He is 6’3” and weighs 170 pounds. He has long gray and brown hair.
“If anybody had been hiking in there and may have seen him — and a location and when — is helpful,” Bingham said. “(We are) searching everywhere we can based off his projected path and where he might be and hoping for the best.”
If you are hiking in the area or see Diepholz, you are asked to call Sublette County Dispatch at (307) 367-4378.
