Found Deceased VA - Wallace Anderson, 80, Shenandoah National Park, 30 April 2016

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80-year-old hiker missing in Shenandoah National Park
wallace-anderson-wtvr.jpg

Search crews are in Shenandoah National Park looking for Wallace Anderson. Anderson, an 80-year-old hiker from Rappahannock County, was reported missing Saturday evening.
http://wtvr.com/2016/05/03/wallace-anderson-missing/
 
It would be nice if that had any more info. I was camping there this weekend. It was crappy all weekend and brutal on Saturday night in particular. There was so much rain and wind that I thought the top of my tent might blow away. That was the worst rain. Friday and Saturday into the early morning were light rain and lots of fog. The rain picked up Saturday afternoon and then was the worst Saturday night. There was some pretty heavy rain Sunday morning too, so after another hike to a viewpoint with no view, I left around 9:30.

I wonder what trail he was on, if they even know that. Now looking at it, he lives so close to the park that I guess he could probably hike from his house.
 
According to a release, Anderson's family says he is an avid hiker who carries aluminum hiking poles when he goes out.

Officials report those poles are also missing from his home in Rappahannock County.

(...)

An initial search focused on the Old Hallow Road area around his home and then expanded to cover part of the national park.
http://www.newsplex.com/home/headli...man-expands-into-national-Park-377962801.html

I'm not sure of this article's accuracy, but the way it's worded makes me feel like they aren't sure he left to hike in the national park. The fact that his aluminum hiking poles are gone is an indication of his possible intentions, but just one clue as to his whereabouts.
 
http://www.rappnews.com/2016/05/02/teams-search-for-missing-80-year-old-sperryville-man/148201/

The article linked above says he hasn't been seen since last Tuesday--was reported missing on Saturday. He apparently lives about a 100 feet from the park boundary so the search started from his home. He regularly hikes in the park and I guess some hiking equipment is missing from his home, according to this link: http://www.newsleader.com/story/news/local/2016/05/03/search-shenandoah-national-park/83869058/

I hope I'm still hiking at 80!
 
So he lives alone in a log cabin basically next to the park. I hope they would know his favorite routes and where he'd regularly go. With how bad the conditions were, I could definitely see an accident. I added a photo. This is from down in one of the hollows on Friday evening. Saturday could've been even worse. The fog was so thick driving around that I couldn't see much in front of me.
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I read it that they were scaling back because of the weather conditions and the searching will pick back up this weekend when the weather is expected to improve.

Yes, I read it that way too. My comment was only based on the length of time he's been missing (it's been 10 days since he was last seen and 6 since he was reported missing) and the fact that they seem to be focused on finding him in the woods.

It's possible he planned on a long hike and took supplies but from the brief articles published so far I got the impression that the only articles noted missing from his house were aluminum walking sticks. I do wonder who reported him missing and if that person is the one who suggested he went for a hike. So little detail has been given that I guess we can't rule out the possibility he took a taxi to an airport and is lying on a beach somewhere but I suppose they wouldn't be expending the resources of a wilderness search if they thought there was a good chance of that.
 
If he would've planned a multiple day hiking trip in the park, he's supposed to get a backcountry permit. I'm thinking he would follow the rules, so I'm guessing that isn't likely. I'm surprised they wouldn't find him though if he was on trail. I don't know about the specific area he is in, but the park is well used. That was even the case on a crappy weather weekend like last weekend. I did run/hike a 4.5 mile each way fire road where I only saw one guy and that was shortly after he left the same lot as me. I'm thinking maybe he fell somewhere.
 
I've been checking every day for confirmation and finally found his obituary. Here's the link and a snippet...sounds like he lived a good life!

http://www.moserfuneralhome.com/obituary/Wallace-Thad-Anderson/Sperryville-VA/1618287

He is a proud alum of the University of California, Berkley. After graduating college, Wally volunteered to be a part of the United States Marine Corps. And like his father, served as a Marine with distinction. He then decided on a different path, and dedicated himself to a life of science. Most notably working for over 25 years as a physicist at the Naval Research Laboratory. After retiring from the Navy, Wally spent most of his time hiking, working on his house, spending time with is grandchildren and being a part of the community of Sperryville and the Shenandoah National Park. Albert Einstine, like Wally was a physicist, said to never stop questioning and to always follow your curiosity. Wally did every day of his life.
 
He sounds like an interesting, great person. RIP.
 

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