Authorities Search for Local Hiker Missing in Sierra Nevada

Authorities are searching for a San Rafael man who went missing Sunday while hiking in the Sierra Nevada between Inyo and Tulare counties.

Thomas Heng, 31, was last seen around 1 p.m. Sunday in an area about 13,000 feet up on the 14,023-foot Mt. Langley, said Dana Dierkes, a spokeswoman for Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.

He had been hiking with others earlier in the trip but separated from the group, Dierkes said.

Heng was an experienced outdoors man, who enjoyed snowboarding and scaled peaks all over California, including Mt. Lassen, Mt. Carillon and Mt. Russell, according to his Facebook page. 

Heng was wearing a white T-shirt, blue pants, a tan full-brimmed hat, sunglasses, a black hooded sweatshirt and North Face mid-rise hiking boots, Dierkes said.

He has one scar from his left ear to the base of his neck and another scar on his left arm from his elbow to his wrist, Dierkes said.

Heng is 6 feet tall, weighs 166 pounds and has brown eyes and short black hair.

Anyone with information about Heng's whereabouts is asked to call the Inyo County Sheriff's Department at (760) 878-0383 or Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks dispatch center at (559) 565-3195.

Check back for updates.

Bay City News Service