Search Continues in Yosemite for Missing Oro Valley Hiker
Rescue crews expanded their search of Yosemite National Park Tuesday, looking for a missing hiker from Oro Valley. Sixty six year old Walter Reinhard went on a day hike 12 days ago. No one has seen him since. Just yesterday, park rangers found his car at a trail head, but they found no sign of him. Five dog teams, two helicopters and dozens of people on the ground searched a rugged area east of Yosemite lodge Tuesday.
Reinhard's family says he's in good shape physically. He's a former marine who did two tours of duty in Vietnam, went through survival training and after retiring from the armed forces, he became a sheriff's deputy in Virginia. When he retired from law enforcement, he kept in shape by doing something he loved, and the sign on his front door says it all. It says 'gone hiking." The problem is, this time, he didn't come back.
"We found one ominous piece of information." Oscar Rothenbuecher and wife Margot went through Walter Reinhard's home over the weekend, looking for clues. Reinhard is Margot Rothenbuecher's cousin. The two live just a few houses away from each other in Rancho Vistoso. The Rothenbuechers say they know this much. Walter drove to Montana last month for a vacation. Then, he drove to Bend, Oregon, where he met up with his hiking club. On September 16th, Walter dropped off a friend at the airport in Bend, then got in his car and headed south to the next stop on his vacation; Yosemite National Park. "He had arrived at Yosemite on the 17th at 4:11 PM and filled up the car." Oscar knows that because he tracked his cousin through credit card purchases. The last time Walter used that card was at a Yosemite motel on September 19th. He hasn't been heard from since. The Rothenbuechers also know Walter loves to hike, but he would not wander off the trails in an area with which he is not familiar. And they figured he would drive across the park en route to his final vacation stop; Las Vegas. The Rothenbuechers encouraged rescue crews to search the trails along the main East-West road. Yesterday, they found Walter's car parked at a trail head. Margot says her cousin likes to hike by himself, in part because he's a fast walker, and most people slow him down. "Oh yeah, he goes for hikes by himself, but it shows again, you should not do that."
Margot is also a hiker and hikers know they shouldn't go out by themselves. Even experienced hikers like Walter Reinhard. Reinhard is a orderly man; in fact the Rothenbuechers say they found his license plate number for park rangers and his credit card information because he keeps neat and organized records. So for Margot, the rest of this story is a mystery, because it's nothing like the organized, regimented man she knows. She says he's never been gone this long without contacting family members, especially his two sons who live back east. Oscar and Margot hope for the best, but fear the worst. Oscar is sure something bad happened to his cousin. "As a marine with two tours of duty and training in survival, he would come out on his fingernails." That is, if he could. "We come back to the original thought. Was there any foul play involved? (Park Rangers) say they see no indication of that." In fact, Oscar says, search crews see no indication of Walter. "We really don't know what went on, but we know something must be seriously wrong."
The Rothenbuechers say it's frustrating just waiting for the phone to ring. Each time it does, they both jump, hoping it's park rangers saying they found Walter alive and well.
They also say they're making it their mission to come up with a plan for people to leave next of kin information in a repository. In Rancho Vistoso, they say lots of people know Walter has two sons, but none of his friends would know how to contact them.
