ZION NATIONAL PARK – A third hiker is now missing in The Subway area of Zion National Park.
Britt Balkcom said he has been in contact with air recovery and the dispatch center at Zion who are working to find his brother, 37-year-old David Balkcom of Salt Lake City.
David Balkcom went into The Subway yesterday afternoon around 3 p.m. after being advised not to go in.
“He was told about the other two missing hikers on his way in,” Britt Balkcom said. “He was advised to stay out and went in anyway.”
Britt Balkcom said his brother is an aspiring search and rescuer who has taken classes and is working to be certified. He had 24 hours worth of survival gear with him.
“No one has heard from him. That isn’t like him. But I do think it was like him to go in despite the caution of others and look for the other two.”
Britt Balkcom said David Balkcom was supposed to contact his wife by midnight, with instructions to call park authorities at 2 a.m. if she had not heard from him.
“It’s going to be dark in a few minutes and I’m guessing night rescues are pretty slim out there,” he said. “It’s getting serious. If he’s alive right now, he’s in trouble.”
Britt Balkcom said his brother’s car was found by park rangers and his brother is believed to be hiking in the same area as two hikers who have been missing since Saturday.
Evgenia Bruzulukova, 25, of Roy, and Jonathon Wilson, 28, of Portland, Ore., had a day permit for Russell Gulch and the Left Fork of North Creek (The Subway). This area is located near the Kolob Terrace Road in the park approximately 15 miles north of Virgin.
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