UPDATE: Nurse missing in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks found alive
UPDATE: A Bay Area nurse who had been missing in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks has been found alive and is in stable condition, the park service reported Monday afternoon.
Mary Joanna Gomez, 56, was found off trail about 3.5 miles over rocky and steep terrain from her vehicle.
ORIGINAL STORY: A search is underway in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks for a missing 56-year-old woman from Mississippi, the park announced in a news release Monday.
Mary Joanna Gomez arrived in Kings Canyon National Park on Wednesday. There are “limited clues” about where she may be, officials said. She had been on assignment in the Bay Area as a traveling nurse.
“Her last communication with family was on October 24th when she text messaged her daughter with photos taken in different areas of Kings Canyon,” officials said. “She was expected back to work on October 25th, missed her shift, and her family reported her missing to the San Francisco Police Department.”
Park officials think she was in the Giant Forest of Sequoia National Park on Saturday morning.
Her vehicle was found near a trailhead along the Generals Highway on Saturday night, shortly before midnight. It had not been at that trailhead earlier in the day.
“If you have been in the parks since Wednesday, October 23rd, specifically in the Little Baldy area, and you think you may have seen Mrs. Gomez or her vehicle, please call the tip line at 888-677-2746,” officials said.
The investigation continues. Updates will be posted to Inciweb as they become available: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6655/.
This story was originally published October 28, 2019 at 12:20 PM.
