Search Underway For Newport Beach Hiker Matt Thoke Missing For 9 Days In Sequoia National Park

SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK (CBSLA) — The search for a missing Newport Beach hiker continued Thursday in Sequoia National Park.

According to the parks service, 43-year-old Matt Thoke was last seen July 21 at about 1 p.m. leaving the High Sierra Trail approximately three miles east of the Crescent Meadow trailhead, just east of Panther Creek.

Authorities said Thoke had split from his group during a multi-day wilderness trip and was hiking from Bearpaw to Crescent Meadow when he walked off of the trail, downhill to the south, without his pack.

Thoke was last seen wearing an orange t-shirt, blue shorts and pink hat. He has brown hair and brown eyes, is 6-feet-tall and weighs about 160 pounds.

"We are very optimistic and hopeful that the NPS will bring Matt Thoke home," Lisa Thoke, the hiker's wife, said. "We appreciate the passion, care and strategy they have for this mission. I truly believe his love for life and people are what's keeping him going strong and alive.

"He is extraordinarily loved, not just by me, but by hundreds of family members and friends and everyone he's touched throughout his life and all over the world," she continued. "We can't wait to get him back into our arms, so he continues to bring joy and impact others positively as he's always done."

Anyone who may have been in the area Thoke was last seen was asked to contact Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Dispatch by calling 888-677-2746 or emailing seki_dispatch@nps.gov.