Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

High Sierra search for Camp Pendleton Marine curtailed

Rescuers unable to make it into Kearsarge Pass

Kearsarge Pass, 11,709 feet
Kearsarge Pass, 11,709 feet

An all-out effort to find a Camp Pendleton Marine, missing in the snow packed wilderness of the Eastern Sierra is winding down. Other than his rental car, found on March 9 at his planned trailhead above Independence (312 miles north of San Diego), there have been no other signs of missing 1st Lt. Matthew Kraft.

Kraft began his ski hike on February 24. He was to descend the High Sierra trails by March 5, into USMC’s Mountain Warfare Training Center, located off the Sonora Pass, on Highway 108, 23 miles northwest of Bridgeport.

1st Lt. Matthew Kraft hiking

Four surrounding county sheriffs departments, CHP, National Guard, Marine Corps air units, and resources from three surrounding national parks deployed the search effort.

Sponsored
Sponsored

On March 10 search-and-rescue units called off the ground search due to heavy snow and extreme weather conditions. The trail the missing Marine planned to traverse is at the 9,000–12,000-foot level. Rescuers were not able to make it into Kearsarge Pass (11,709 feet), where Lt. Kraft was to have first linked up to the main south-to-north trial.

Flying the 200-mile route for over a week using thermal, night vision, and special technology to find people buried in avalanches, several points of interest were identified, but investigators determined the scenes were caused by animal.

Kraft was headed for USMC’s Mountain Warfare Training Center near Bridgeport.

Aircraft spotters found avalanches, ice fields, snow bridges, and crevasses along the trail. Possible trail exit routes were searched; the hope was that the Marine may have tried to come back down another way.

“There have been no substantiated clues,” read a statement issued over the weekend by the Inyo County Sheriff’s Department, announcing the search is transitioning to “limited continuous mode.” The agency said this would be the final statement to the media, unless new information was obtained.

One Eastern Sierra local familiar with the terrain, told me the statement means the agencies know he’s up there, but his body may not be found for months, even years. (In 2007, it took over a year to find the Eastern Sierra crash site of famed aviator Steve Fossett’s plane and his remains.)

“No one should be up there this time of year,” said the Lone Pine resident familiar with the search efforts. She said most of the Sierra mountain trails are inaccessible with too much snow.

Stationed with the 1st Marine Division, 7th Battalion, Lt. Kraft serves as an infantry rifle officer. “When an officer goes on leave, we know exactly where he’s going,” said USMC spokesperson, Capt. Paul Gainey, indicating that Lt. Kraft’s reported travel plans had aiding in the search. Now Capt. Gainey says the Marines are turning their efforts to support the Lieutenant’s family and his fellow solders he served with.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Undocumented workers break for Trump in 2024

Illegals Vote for Felon
Next Article

Escondido planners nix office building switch to apartments

Not enough open space, not enough closets for Hickory Street plans
Kearsarge Pass, 11,709 feet
Kearsarge Pass, 11,709 feet

An all-out effort to find a Camp Pendleton Marine, missing in the snow packed wilderness of the Eastern Sierra is winding down. Other than his rental car, found on March 9 at his planned trailhead above Independence (312 miles north of San Diego), there have been no other signs of missing 1st Lt. Matthew Kraft.

Kraft began his ski hike on February 24. He was to descend the High Sierra trails by March 5, into USMC’s Mountain Warfare Training Center, located off the Sonora Pass, on Highway 108, 23 miles northwest of Bridgeport.

1st Lt. Matthew Kraft hiking

Four surrounding county sheriffs departments, CHP, National Guard, Marine Corps air units, and resources from three surrounding national parks deployed the search effort.

Sponsored
Sponsored

On March 10 search-and-rescue units called off the ground search due to heavy snow and extreme weather conditions. The trail the missing Marine planned to traverse is at the 9,000–12,000-foot level. Rescuers were not able to make it into Kearsarge Pass (11,709 feet), where Lt. Kraft was to have first linked up to the main south-to-north trial.

Flying the 200-mile route for over a week using thermal, night vision, and special technology to find people buried in avalanches, several points of interest were identified, but investigators determined the scenes were caused by animal.

Kraft was headed for USMC’s Mountain Warfare Training Center near Bridgeport.

Aircraft spotters found avalanches, ice fields, snow bridges, and crevasses along the trail. Possible trail exit routes were searched; the hope was that the Marine may have tried to come back down another way.

“There have been no substantiated clues,” read a statement issued over the weekend by the Inyo County Sheriff’s Department, announcing the search is transitioning to “limited continuous mode.” The agency said this would be the final statement to the media, unless new information was obtained.

One Eastern Sierra local familiar with the terrain, told me the statement means the agencies know he’s up there, but his body may not be found for months, even years. (In 2007, it took over a year to find the Eastern Sierra crash site of famed aviator Steve Fossett’s plane and his remains.)

“No one should be up there this time of year,” said the Lone Pine resident familiar with the search efforts. She said most of the Sierra mountain trails are inaccessible with too much snow.

Stationed with the 1st Marine Division, 7th Battalion, Lt. Kraft serves as an infantry rifle officer. “When an officer goes on leave, we know exactly where he’s going,” said USMC spokesperson, Capt. Paul Gainey, indicating that Lt. Kraft’s reported travel plans had aiding in the search. Now Capt. Gainey says the Marines are turning their efforts to support the Lieutenant’s family and his fellow solders he served with.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Live Five: Sitting On Stacy, Matte Blvck, Think X, Hendrix Celebration, Coriander

Alt-ska, dark electro-pop, tributes, and coastal rock in Solana Beach, Little Italy, Pacific Beach
Next Article

Birding & Brews: Breakfast Edition, ZZ Ward, Doggie Street Festival & Pet Adopt-A-Thon

Events November 21-November 23, 2024
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader