July 13, 2025 – Inyo County Search & Rescue officials report that on Wednesday, July 9, the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park concerning a missing hiker, Harris Levinson, who planned to hike the John Muir Trail from Whitney Portal to Yosemite National Park.

Mr. Levinson planned to begin his hike on June 23 after putting in a food resupply cache at Onion Valley that he planned to pick up on June 29.

On July 8, his food cache had not been picked up, prompting a friend of Mr. Levinson to contact Sequoia-Kings National Park. Mr. Levinson’s car was located at Whitney Portal and Inyo County, in coordination with Sequoia-Kings NP, initiated a search using helicopters from the California Highway Patrol Office of Air Operations and Inyo National Forest, and ground searchers from Inyo County Search and Rescue.

Aided by data from Mr. Levinson’s satellite messaging device, ground searchers located the body of Mr. Levinson at approximately 9,400 feet in the North Fork of Lone Pine Creek, apparently the victim of a fatal fall.

The Inyo County Sheriff’s Office and Inyo County Search and Rescue extend our sincere condolences to Mr. Levinson’s family and friends, and we thank Sequoia-Kings National Park, Inyo National Forest, and the California Highway Patrol Office of Air Operations for their cooperation and assistance in this mission.

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Source & photo: Inyo County Search & Rescue