newsminer.com

Park officials were searching Sunday for a pair of missing hikers in Denali National Park and Preserve.

The hikers, both women in their 20s who work at a lodge near the park, were due back Friday from what they’d indicated was to be a one-night backpacking trip, park spokeswoman Kris Fister said.

“At this time, we haven’t seen any sign of them or anything of theirs that we can say is definitely theirs,” Fister said Sunday afternoon.

The National Park Service initiated an air search for the backpackers, 23-year-old Erica Nelson and 25-year-old Abby Flantz, on Saturday. Flantz is from Craylord, Minn., and Nelson is from Las Vegas, the park service said.

On Sunday, the service expanded the search to include ground crews, and 40 people were involved Sunday, according to Fister.

The search is focusing on the Savage River area north of Denali Park Road, an area Fister said in a news release the pair would likely have taken to get to the wilderness space for which they had received a camping permit.

Fister said the two hikers, who work at the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge, are experienced hikers but lack experience in Alaska’s backcountry. The park service was notified when they failed to show up for work Saturday, she said.

Weather in the park has been typical for the season, according to the park service. The area being searched is slightly less than 100 square miles and consists of rugged terrain, with elevations ranging from in elevation from 2,000 feet to 6,000 feet, according to the parks service.

Search managers want to talk to anyone who was hiking in the Savage River drainage between Thursday and Sunday. Anyone who may have information to share is asked to call the parks service at 683-9648.