Updated at 7:54 p.m., Sunday, December 9, 2007
Search continues for missing Mauna Kea hiker
Advertiser Staff
Big Island fire rescue specialists will resume searching the mountainous upper elevation area of Mauna Kea tomorrow for a missing 67-year-old male hiker.Today's unsuccessful fourth day of searching for Bryan Murphy, a visitor, involved 52 people who covered five miles on foot from the 13,400-foot elevation down to 8,000 feet, according to Big Island fire officials. A helicopter and three all-terrain vehicles were also employed in the search effort conducted in clear, 60-degree weather which turned foggy and cold in the afternoon.
No clothing or footprints were found in today's search.
Fire Capt. Grant Kojima of the Kailua, Kona station said the search is being conducted on steep, high-altitude terrain that makes it difficult to move around. "The weather is unpredictable and what's hard is we don't know where he went," Kojima said.
Murphy was reported missing by relatives Wednesday night when he failed to return from a hike, said Kojima.
Searchers tomorrow will be concentrating on areas south and west of Mauna Kea Access Road below the Hale Pohaku Visitors Center, also known as the Onizuka Center for International Astronomy.
