The disturbing death of Thomas Heng in Sequoia National Park
Thomas Heng disappeared July 22, 2012. Remains found found July 25, 2012, Sequoia National Park, California.
Revised July 2024
Thomas Heng, 31, from San Rafael, went hiking on Mount Langley (14,042 feet) in the Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park on Sunday, July 22nd, 2012 with three other friends from the Bay Area "Anything Active Hiking Cl” The three of them had originally planned to climb the mountain the previous day but changed their plans.
Heng decided to summit alone and separated from his other friends. He was last seen alive at around 14,000 feet on Mt. Langley at 1 pm.
That was the last time he was seen alive, and his body was located three days later, on July 25, 2012.
Who was Thomas Heng?
Thomas’ wife, Petra Heng, said her husband was an accomplished hiker, having climbed about eight of California's 14,000-foot peaks. Heng described himself as a San Francisco native who enjoys hiking, camping, climbing, running, snowboarding and mountaineering. His Facebook page describes his climbs on Mount Russell and Mount Carillon. He also posted about future climbs on Mount Rainier and Nevado Salkantay in Peru.
What is and where is Mt. Langley?
Mt. Langley is about midway between Fresno and Death Valley in east-central California. The group spent the weekend of July 21-22 hiking up White Mountain Peak in Mono County on Saturday, camped overnight, and then headed to Mt. Langley on Sunday.
The disappearance of Thomas Heng
For some reason, Thomas Heng decided to hike on a separate trail from the other two hikers, but he did sign the guest book at the top of the mountain. This was a little out of character since Heng was an organizer for the group and always put effort into supporting other hikers. His companions reached the summit of Mt. Langley before him.
They waited until dark, but stormy weather made them turn back as Heng continued to the summit. No one panicked when he didn’t appear because a campsite was nearby. However, no one at that campsite or nearby Lone Pine had seen Heng.
The search
The Inyo County Sheriff's Department notified Sequoia and Kings National Park that Thomas was missing at about 5:45 p.m. on Monday, July 23rd. By noon Tuesday, 20 people were searching, and one helicopter was deployed. An additional helicopter and related staff from Yosemite National Park also joined the search.
Trained specialists from Montrose and Sierra Madre search and rescue teams, China Lake Mountain Rescue Group, Friends of Yosemite Search and Rescue, Inyo National Forest, Manzanar National Historic Site, Tulare County Sheriff's Department, and Yosemite National Park were also involved in the search.
Discovery of Thomas Heng’s body
On July 25th, searchers found Heng's body in the Old Army Pass area of the John Muir Wilderness in Inyo National Forest at around 11,000 feet, about 300 feet from a ledge. Identification was made at around 5 pm.
The autopsy revealed he had died of “multiple traumatic fractures and hemorrhages due to a mountain hiking accident,” according to the Inyo County Deputy Coroner’s Investigator Jeff Mullenhour. He also said “We have no way of knowing where he was before he was found. We don’t know how far he fell. There was a ridge and ice in a crevasse above Heng’s body".
What happened to Heng?
This case is probably a misadventure on the mountain. But given that Thomas was a group leader, why did he decide to climb to the peak of Mount Langley alone, on a separate trail from his two friends? Did he summit too late and, in darkness, stumbled over a cliff edge? Given he was so experienced, it would seem a stupid thing to do. Perhaps altitude sickness at over 14,000 feet caused an irrational decision? The storm hitting the mountain would have also impacted descending at speed.
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Sources
https://patch.com/california/sanrafael/local-hiker-died-from-a-fall-cononer-says
https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2012/07/26/missing-san-rafael-hiker-found-dead/
