Top News Article | Reuters.com | Family searches for Texan hiker missing in Nepal

Thu Aug 4, 2005 7:26 AM ET
By Gopal Sharma

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - The family of a 25-year-old American hiker missing in Nepal for two weeks stepped up their search for him around Mount Everest Thursday after making an emotional appeal for information.

Trevor Stokol went missing on July 22 while trekking near Everest base camp. Thursday, a helicopter will make a second aerial search of the area, and drop supplies for a team of trackers led by an Australian search and rescue expert.

'We have not given up hope. We need your help,' his father, Arnold Stokol, told reporters Wednesday.

Members of the Stokol family came to Nepal to coordinate the search after being told by the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu that he had disappeared.

So far the search party has found no trace of Trevor in the beautiful but rugged Khumbhu region, where the 8,850-meter (29,035 feet) summit of Everest is located.

Arnold, an optician from Dallas, Texas, appealed to locals, to keep an eye out for their son.

Trevor, who was on the final leg of an eight-month tour of South and Southeast Asia before going to medical school in Dallas, had phoned his family before setting off for the 5,350 meter (17,650 feet) Everest base camp.

'He was extremely, extremely excited about the final leg of his trip and returning to his family and dog,' said the 53-year-old Arnold, holding photographs showing his son with curly brown hair and a full beard.

Every year thousands of foreigners visit Nepal, home to eight of the world's 14 highest mountains. A total of 185 mountaineers have died on the slopes of Mount Everest, the world's tallest peak.

Arnold said his son, an enthusiastic photographer, was extremely strong, tenacious and had excellent survival skills.

'It is possible that he got disoriented as a result of altitude sickness or hypothermia and has wandered down the valley,' he said.

"It is also possible that he is injured and immobilized at any location, either near the area where he was last seen or further down the mountain."

Trevor was carrying a camera, some snack food and a bottle of water when he went missing after leaving his hiking companion behind.

Arnold said he thought it unlikely that Maoist guerrillas, active throughout the Nepali countryside, had abducted his son. Maoists do collect money from foreign trekkers as "tax" but have so far not harmed or captured any foreign tourists.

Arnold said a fund had been set up in the United States to help pay for the search. Sphere: Related Content