BACKPACKING LIGHT editor missing on AT

Ken Knight, avid hiker and contributor to BACKPACKING LIGHT, goes missing near Punchbowl section of the Appalachian Trail.

Disturbing news from the BACKPACKER message boards this morning.  We hate to hear of any hikers going missing, but it always seems a little scarier when it’s someone who’s a seasoned backpacker.  Ken Knight, who is visually impaired, has chronicled his wilderness adventures on A Wandering Knight and on podcasts for Backpacking Light.  He apparently had complained of illness before the rest of his group set off.  Knight has brown hair and eyes, is 5”4”, approximately 180 lbs. and was wearing a bright orange backpack.  If you have any information regarding his whereabouts, please contact publisher@backpackinglight.com or the local law enforcement authorities.

This press release from Ryan Jordan, CEO Backpacking Light, has more information:

*** URGENT ***

Backpacking Light editor KEN KNIGHT is missing after a hike on the Applachian Trail in Virginia.

If you saw Ken or otherwise know of his whereabouts after Sunday morning, please contact us at the following email address:

PUBLISHER@BACKPACKINGLIGHT.COM

About Ken

Ken is 5'4" tall and approx. 180-200 lb. He is vision impaired, has dark hair, and is probably using a dry bag-style pack with an orange packbag.

Ken is an experienced AT hiker but his vision impairment may have caused him to lose the trail.

Point Last Seen

He was last seen on the AT on Sunday morning, around 9-10am, at Punchbowl Mountain, Blue Ridge Parkway, mile 51.7, in the area of Buchanan and Bedford, Virginia.

He'd been trailing behind a group and meeting up with them at their camp sites. On Sunday, he reported not feeling well and suggested he might go off the trail. The group did not see him since leaving Punchbowl Mountain on Sunday.

He was anticipated to reach mile 76.3 on Tuesday, which the rest of the group did. To date, he has not arrived, and he has missed his flight back home to Michigan Wednesday night.

Ken regularly blogs via iPhone when he has cellular coverage. His last known blog entry was Sunday morning, April 26, at 6:36 AM Eastern:

http://twitter.com/kenknight

Search in Progress

Ken's family has been notified, and a search is currently in progress by NPS and VA State SAR.

Non-agency SAR and other volunteers interested in assisting with this search should contact us at publisher@backpackinglight.com, who is coordinating the efforts of outside volunteers with the SAR Coordinator on location. Please send your name, cellular phone number, and distance from SNP in your message, and then wait for further instructions.

Please Distribute This Info

Please distribute a link to this post as wide as possible via this tinyurl link via Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking avenues. Please copy and paste this exact text to retweet this info on Twitter etc.:

EMERGENCY @KENKNIGHT (KEN KNIGHT) MISSING ON A.T. IN VA: http://tinyurl.com/ded5tt INFO? EMAIL PUBLISHER@BACKPACKINGLIGHT.COM RT @BIGSKYRY

I am in contact with the NPS Ranger and the VA State SAR, the agencies responsible for the search and will relay info promptly them.

                                                    #               #               #

As always, a big THANK YOU to our BACKPACKER.com forum members for posting this information!!

– Adrienne Saia Isaac