hikers body found

“Remains of Dallas hiker likely found

12:31 PM CST on Wednesday, March 30, 2005


Associated Press



BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK, Texas - A muddy backpack found by hikers in Big Bend National Park led to the recovery of skeletal remains believed to be those of a North Texas man missing since June.

Park rangers returned to the site where the hikers discovered the pack Thursday and found what they believe are the remains of Peter Bastien, 37, of Dallas, a news release said.

They also found clothing and Bastien's identification, the release states.

The remains were found in the western part of the park in an area known as Mule Ears, which had been searched extensively when Bastien disappeared.

Missing hikers can die from exposure quickly in Big Bend. A New York man who went missing in May 2004 was found less than 24 hours later. He died of dehydration, officials said.

Temperatures in the park often exceed 100 degrees during the time of year Bastien disappeared.

In early June, rangers found his Ford Taurus in the Mule Ears parking lot, but a seven-day ground search covering about 5,600 acres of the 801,163-acre park in southwest Texas turned up nothing. Planes searched a 33,000-acre area.

Family members have been notified of the preliminary identification, but dental records will be needed to confirm the remains are Bastien's, the release said.

From 1996 to July 2003, Bastien was employed at Massachusetts' Lincoln Laboratory, a federally financed Massachusetts Institute of Technology research center that specializes in defense technology.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/033005dntexmissinghiker.18c2c7560.html”

“: (”

“don't know what happend to him but desert hiking is something you need be prepaired for.”

“sad story”

“between this and the big kitty story i heard a few years ago, this is one place way at the bottom of my list”

“Not so CB I've hiked Big Bend in July and did just fine. It is a great place but you must be prepared. There is very little or no water in many areas so you have to pack a lot. I started up Emory Peak with 2 gallons of water in my pack and it was a good thing. About 1/2 mile from the top I ran into two dehydrated dayhikers who had decided to head up with a only a 1 quart army canteen each. They ran out half way up and still kept going. They were laying in the shade (yes there are trees on Emory) waiting for someone to offer water. I still had almost a gallon after filling their canteens. I told them to head down because the trail ahead was steep and they would run out of water again. It is hot but not unbearable with lots of water and midday shade. I find my summers here in the swamps of Louisiana to be worse.”

“"They ran out half way up and still kept going. They were laying in the shade (yes there are trees on Emory) waiting for someone to offer water"

IDIOTS. i hate these kind of ppl. they go into things half-assed then potentially put others at risk when they need rescuing. i say pull their feeding tubes (oops, wrong thread)”

“On my visit there a kid fell off emory on his 15th birthday. No one knew because he was the last one to come off the peak and no one waited for him. When everyone gathered for supper and he didn't show is when they started a search and it took two days to find his body wedged in the boulders at the cliff base.”

“I think park rangers should all have a gmrs radio so that us hikers will carry one in case of an emergency we can call them with it

I am a ham operator and I hacked my ham radio so I can talk on the park ranger's radios in case of emergency's I always bring my 2 way radio with me. and I can call them with a push of a button they are also fun to listen to”

“Awesome idea Rooster.”

“http://www.kirotv.com/news/9501573/detail.html?subid=22105247&qs=1;bp=t


Anyone else read about this yet?”

“Just read it. People that kill make me mad enough to kill. So perhaps, I'm as bad or worse than they are.”

“Bummer”

“Blah, I wouldn't want to find the bodies. Poor hiker guy. That trail is 40 miles from here. Yikesy.
We've had a lot of missing hikers this summer...”

“In one week's time---less than a month ago---there were three MI "hikers" (two from this general area of West MI) who died in hiking related accidents around the country. I think one of them is being investigated as a homicide.”

“I have said many times that I am more afraid of wierd-o's on the trail than wild animals.

...then I started hanging out here.”

“The suburbs and cities are getting closer to the woods. Take the Ocala, for example. For the last 30+ years it's always be a place to be careful, but mostly from over zealous country folks, and nowadays it's a hangout for the transients - particularly at places like Lake Delancy - to the point where (I'm pretty sure) the rules now limit your stay in not just a specific campground but the whole of the forest to a couple o' weeks. It's getting harder and harder to tell where the forest and the towns start and end - take Salt Springs and Forest Corners, for exampe. There's just more people in the forests now - the roads are closer, drop offs are more convienient.”

“It's the potential for crazy people on the trail that has kept me from solo-hiking.”

“Tarabull, I hear ya. In the Ocala, though, it appearently doesn't matter if you are alone or with a partner. The last rape and murders were upon hiker / campers who had friends with them, and the crimes were commited pretty close to well-known trail and camp areas. Maybe large group camps are the best protection, or winter and 0 degrees.


How's the crazies up your way toward and toward Canada? You ever hear of these incidences much from Canada?”

“I still feel safer on the trail than in any city or town.”

“Actually, I'm not aware of any recent serious crimes on the trail up this way.”

“Here's a bit more info on the bodies found. Early speculation was murder/suicide or an animal attack, but the two women both died of homicidal violence. Truly sad.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/277413_hikers13.html

Damn, the one place you thought you could go to seek peace...”

“I think once you make it through the first day you are pretty safe. Most of the undesirables are within a dayhike in. Just look at the soda bottles, candy wrappers etc. you see the first few miles. It is a shame that we may have to only hike in large groups for safety. But as stated in may large cities it is impossible for someone that does not belong there to walk the street. There are places where you have a 100% chance that you will be in danger. New Orleans, my closest major city had many of these areas. These however were some of the hardest hit areas by Katrina. Now much of the crime although returning, was washed away by the storm. Nature works in strange ways.”

“"Guns on the trail" thread?

Don't mean to digress here, but the only person responsible for your life is YOU...

like it or not, plan and prepare, just like you would for bears or snakes, coyotes or any other critters....

Pheonix AZ has had 34 shootings of lone hikers, cyclists or joggers in the last year....time to do a few stakeouts and kill the people responsible.”

“i think Tango's on the case in AZ ;)”

“SuperTroll most of my backpacking is done out of my home state. Gun laws vary so much from state to state that it is not easy to remain legal while carrying a gun. Some of the wilderness areas also ban the carrying of guns. The other thing is if on a group trip the fact that you are carrying a gun may make others uneasy. It wouldn't bother me, if I new the person was responsible and properly trained to use a weapon. Just any old joe carrying a gun, if I didn't know his level of competence with it might scare me more than the criminals. I know from hunting that improper gun use is dangerous. I've had a near miss or two myself. I've been hit by birdshot on more than one occasion while duck hunting nearby others. I myself once broke a window in a neighbors house while making a stupid shot with a .22 as a kid. The bullet lodged in a wall, luckily no one was standing there. Guns are only as dangerous as the people carrying them. I do often carry a .22 pistol on my hip, while alone in the woods where it is legal. In the culture I grew up in everyone is cool with that. Showing up at the trailhead with a gun on your hip, will get you some strange looks and possibly arrested.”

“Around here the city has always been close to the woods. But the area those ladies were in are close to some pretty redneck sketchy towns and meth labs. It will be interesting to hear why they were killed. Maybe it has nothing to do with the woods at all. Maybe the daughter was friends with the wrong people, etc.”

“.time to do a few stakeouts and kill the people responsible

Gee...that would make me feel really safe...vigilantes with guns hiding out on the trail....NOT!”

“"At first they thought they were using the bathroom because they were hunched over in the fetal position," Anne Keller said. "The closer they got, they realized they weren't alive."

They said the condition of the victims' bodies made it difficult to discern they were women, according to the Kellers. The couple appeared "visibly upset," the Kellers said.

Fetal position........mangled???

Bear attack??”

“Would you feel better if they had knives and chainsaws?”

“A #&%!$ of a lot better!”

“A teacher from White River Junction, VT was assaulted in the Scottish Highlands ;ast week.

http://www.vnews.com/07082006/07082006.htm
NEWS: Teacher's Condition Stabilizes
White River Junction -- Marty Layman-Mendonca, the White River School reading teacher assaulted while hiking in the Scottish Highlands on Wednesday, remained in critical but stable condition yesterday.”

“Kind of the opposite of MarkO. He's not critical and he's damn sure not stable.”

“I wish Roamy, I'm quite busy here at the campground.

There are 2 serial killers in Phoenix right now. And I just read about a lone hiker killed at Havasu falls in May (female of course).

I'm sure I'll hike with my gun, I don't know about shooting first and asking the questions later!”

“POLICE conduct stakeouts where I'm from. Because I advocate it does NOT mean I suggest HIKERS do the deed.”

“Around here the city has always been close to the woods.

That is untrue. The woods keep moving around, making it very hard to gauge how close the city is to the woods on a per-annum basis. It is also rumored that some cities around here have moved as well.”

“Very true kleetn. All those unincorporated Seattle areas that are now cities.

Anyhoo, it's pretty sad, because turns out the mom who was killed lives near me and I used to talk to her when she was out in her yard. : (

In fact, I'm kind of upset about it. Too "close to home" for me.”

“Gosh, sorry to hear that Pixie.”

“Heard yesterday they are still thinking murder/suicide. Ugh.

Friend of mine did the autopsy on a guy who died in the Alaska bush. State Trooper insisted that it was a bear mauling. The body was badly decomposed so you couldn't see much, but the cause of death was pretty clear when they found a hole in the skull and the slug fell out. Turned out to be a suicide and the bears fed on the body after death.
last edited: 7/16/06 7:09:18 AM”