Missing Pilot Found Dead in Yosemite

Seven months after Nicol Wilson’s single-engine plane dropped off the radar above Yosemite’s North Dome during a winter storm, his body and the small aircraft were discovered Saturday in the national park’s rugged high country. The plane, largely intact, was spotted by a park visitor near the Vogelsang High Sierra Camp, officials said, and rangers will work to remove the wreckage over the next few weeks.

Wilson, in his sixties, was flying from the Santa Barbara area to Mammoth Lakes when his plane fell off radar at around 12:30 p.m. on December 17. An air search was launched, but bad weather grounded crews on and off for the next several days. The search was eventually called off for the winter season but had resumed in recent months. The last time a plane crashed in Yosemite National Park was approximately 25 years ago, officials at the time said.

A Yosemite spokesperson noted rangers were assisted in search efforts by the CHP Civil Air Patrol, California Emergency Services, and YoDogs, a canine search and rescue team.