76-year-old hiker vanishes in Arches National Park. His car was found one week later
An abandoned car at a trailhead in Arches National Park led to a massive search after rangers realized it had been driven by a 76-year-old hiker who vanished one week earlier.
Rangers became aware of a rental car left at the Sand Dune Arch trailhead in the Utah park the evening of Aug. 23, officials said in an Aug. 25 news release. They believe the car entered the park the morning of Aug. 16.
Francis Userovici, a French national, was last seen by his family Aug. 13, rangers said.
Rangers started a ground search Aug. 24 that “expanded into a multi-agency effort with teams from the National Park Service, Grand County Search and Rescue, and the Moab Interagency Fire Center participating with Bureau of Land Management helicopter assistance,” officials said.
Userovici is about 5’6 inches tall, and slender with short gray hair and glasses, officials said. He might be wearing size 8.5 sneakers and may have a small red Nikon camera with him.
Anyone who has relevant information or was in the area and saw someone who fits Userovici’s description should contact the National Park Service Tip line at 888-653-0009, online at go.nps.gov/SubmitATip or email the park service using its submission form or nps_isb@nps.gov.
While the 0.4-mile Sand Dune Arch Trail is considered easy, hikers have the option to pass the hidden arch and continue across a grassland to Broken Arch and then return via the same trail or loop through the campground, according to the webpage for the trail.
On Facebook, several people commented that the trail is not well-marked past Broken Arch.
“Really easy to get lost out there,” someone said.
Many also commented that the area of the park can get tricky for hikers, especially if they’re alone.
“I have frequently hiked through this area alone and there are a lot of places to go from there,” someone said. “I have helped lost people back a few times.”
“Arches has some really treacherous areas,” someone said. “I’ve hiked there and going up some areas isn’t hard but then coming back down it’s terrifying. I definitely wouldn’t hike there by myself.”
Some speculated perhaps Userovici had wandered off the trail and ran into trouble.
“Depending on where he went he may have encountered just a high enough spot to slip on, or he succumbed to heat exhaustion once off trail, and never could get back,” someone said.
Arches National Park is a roughly 230-mile drive southeast from Salt Lake City.
This story was originally published August 26, 2024 at 2:33 PM with the headline "76-year-old hiker vanishes in Arches National Park. His car was found one week later."
