The strange death of Timothy Nolan in Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National ParkNational Park Deaths

Nov 23

Timothy Nolan disappeared September 9, 2015, Body Found September 15, Yosemite National Park, California.

Revised July 2024

Tim Nolan, 36, had a wilderness permit to backpack from Happy Isles to Tuolumne Meadows from September 1-4, 2015, in California’s scenic Yosemite National Park. He last contacted his family on September 1.

Tim failed to show up on September 9 as planned. Visitors to the park later spotted his body on the afternoon of September 15.

Who was Tim Nolan?

Timothy Nolan was a 36-year-old from Orange County.

The trip to Yosemite National Park

Tim planned a solo trip through the park from September 4 to September 9, 2015.

According to his mother, Tim had planned on hiking a loop: Happy Isles-Little Yosemite Valley-Sunrise Lakes-Tuolumne Meadows-Lyell Canyon-Rafferty Creek-Vogelsang-Merced Lake-Little Yosemite Valley-Happy Isles.

The search

After Tim failed to return on September 9, park rangers conducted extensive searches using ground teams, dog teams, and the park’s helicopter.

Discovery of the remains

Tim was eventually found on a well-traveled High Sierra Camp Loop trail on September 15. Despite a request to Yosemite National Park in February 2016 for a Freedom of Information Act request for a law enforcement report on Tim Nolan, the Department of the Interior refused to grant authority on privacy grounds.