Hiker didn't pick up food cache, then he's found dead in creek, CA officials say
Harris Levinson began his hike on June 23 with plans to hike the John Muir Trail from Whitney Portal to Yosemite National Park, according to a July 12 Facebook post from/by the Inyo County Search and Rescue.
By July 8, Levinson, 61, still hadn't picked up his food cache, which prompted his friend to call Sequoia-Kings National Park rangers, officials said.
His car was found at the Whitney Portal and helicopters were deployed to search the area, officials said.
After tracking Levinson's GPS messaging device, search personnel on the ground found Levinson's body at an elevation of 9,400 feet in Lone Pine Creek, officials said.
Search and rescue personnel said Levinson had a fatal fall, officials said.
Levinson's friend, Carrie McCarthy, created a website to update friends on Levinson's family's behalf and said he fell off a 100-foot ledge.
Levinson was a co-founder of Sharing the Stage, a project created to pair student musicians with professionals, according to the mentorship program's Instagram.
He was 'widely known and beloved' for his work as a teacher and mentor, according to the Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber.
He was a teacher at Vashon High School from 1997 to 2017, where he taught American studies and theater, but was 'best known as a Spanish teacher who exuberantly taught hundreds of students to love and speak the language with skill,' the outlet said.
Users took to the website's to share their thoughts on Levinson with one person saying, 'Harris was my Spanish teacher and he made sure that I passed. Such an amazing person.'
'We are so lucky to have had Harris for our son's mentor the past four years. He was a great man and a fantastic mentor,' another wrote.
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